A year and a half of drooling comes to fruition this Wednesday, as The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai rides a blood-soaked guitar riff onto Xbox Live Arcade.

The Dishwasher has come quite a long way since it won Microsoft's 2007 Dream-Build-Play competition, but its core values remain intact. It's still a bloody good mess of sexy, stylish 2D action. Co-operative multiplayer using an Xbox 360 guitar controller only sweetens the deal.

The Dishwasher has arcade co-op, drop-in solo campaign co-op, and drop-in solo phantom guitar co-op using the guitar peripheral. Phantom guitar players can unload electric death by playing wicked solos, perform basic movement, and use the guitar's motion control to rip through enemies with a razor-sharp headstock.

All this, and another reason to drag the plastic guitar out of my closet? Sold.

The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai goes on sale April 1st (no really) for 800 Microsoft points.

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