Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond will be available on January 6, 2010 for Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) and January 7, 2010 for PlayStation Network (PSN).  The adventures of our hero have been priced at 1200 Microsoft points ($15.00) on XBLA, and a standard price of $14.99 on PSN. WOW that’s bloody expensive now isn’t it?

Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond has an ESRB rating of “M” for Mature, and you can learn more about the title on the official Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond Facebook page, located here: http://www.facebook.com/matthazard , and the official Twitter page, located here: http://twitter.com/HowHazardRollz .

A quick bio on sidekick-turned frienemy-turned sidekick again, Dexter Dare.

Dexter got his start in one of Matt Hazard’s games in the mid-90s (Matt Hazard Must Die!) as a character who saved Matt from certain doom. He was so popular that Marathon Software made him Matt’s permanent sidekick in the Matt and Dexter series of platforming shooters.

Although initially grateful for the opportunity to share the spotlight with a gaming legend like Matt, Dexter soon began to harbor a great deal of resentment toward his mentor. He also developed a crush on Matt’s then-girlfriend, Kitty Abundanza, and resented Matt all the more for being so successful with the ladies.

All of this led a to a Mana abuse problem that ended the partnership and put his career on the rocks. He disappeared from the gaming scene and retired to his palatial virtual estate, where he assuaged his loneliness by building an army of female robots, all of whom were modeled to look like Kitty. (Despite his many difficulties, Dexter was always quite good with money.)

Dexter spent years blaming Matt for all of his personal problems and knowing deep inside that he, Dexter, could surpass Matt as the best action hero in games if given the chance. So, when Wally Wellesley offered him a starring role in a next-gen action title in exchange for destroying Matt, he jumped at the opportunity to exact revenge and become the hero he always wanted to be.

After Matt spares Dexter’s life—in spite of the fact that Dexter tried to kill Matt—Dexter’s life turned around. He kicked the Mana habit and resumed his friendship with Matt. Although his bitterness at being a sidekick for the rest of his life still comes out from time to time, Dexter is always ready to do some serious ass-kicking when the need arises.