Microsoft’s Summer of Arcade promotion delivered a long stretch of quality downloadable Xbox Live Arcade titles. From arcade shooters Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 and Galaga Legions to platformers Braid and Bionic Commando: Rearmed, you won’t find a dud in the bunch...and Castle Crashers is a wonderful footnote to it all. It’s a rollicking beat-em-up -- the rare multiplayer game that reclaims the "party game" moniker from the likes of Rock Band and other peripheral-based releases.
Atmosphere is so core to the grin-a-minute success of Castle Crashers, and most of the praise goes to the vivid characters and environments created by artist Dan Paladin. The game presents a wildly disparate cast of players and settings, but the skewed, slightly deranged feel to everything allows the kitchen-sink approach to succeed without notable discrepancies. A partial list of the frequently amusing boss characters should give you a sense of what to expect, whether it’s a giant-eyed, Hayao Miyazaki-esque lumbering beast, an artistic robot that spawns foes from his canvas, or an anthropomorphic ear of corn that sheds beneficial pieces of popcorn as you assault it.
Everything shines with hand-drawn care (the vibrantly hued Flowery Field stage is especially stunning), and the distinct elements conspire to make Castle Crashers one of the funniest games in recent memory despite an almost complete lack of "ha ha" jokes. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the fantastic soundtrack, which -- like the visual approach -- combines a slew of highly diverse ideas into a surprisingly cohesive package. My co-op partners and I couldn’t resist holding impromptu dance parties to the map screen theme, which plagued our minds all weekend (and likely will continue to do so for some time).
Of course, a game is buried underneath all that gloss, too -- and a strong one at that. Castle Crashers draws obvious inspiration from classic quarter-munchers like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Golden Axe, packing beat-em-up action in scrolling stages with frequent boss skirmishes and occasional playable diversions (like a deer-assisted sprint from the aforementioned lumbering beast). Combat remains simplistic and approachable throughout the game, though a leveling system unlocks several combos and rewards repeat play with assignable attribute points. Unlockable characters, weapons, and Animal Orbs (sort of like noncustomizable Mags from Phantasy Star Online) keep things interesting beyond the four-hour campaign, along with optional Arena battles and an "All You Can Quaff" eating minigame.
As expected, Castle Crashers is at its best when you’ve got a handful of buddies playing in the same room (four total, in this case). Taking on the campaign without companions is still sharply amusing (and completely recommended if you don’t anticipate playing with friends), but the shared joy of taking in the hilarious set pieces and eliminating giant swimming felines dulls the repetition that comes naturally with beat-em-ups. Sadly, those seeking co-op partners online may struggle to do so thanks to widely reported connection issues. Between dozens of "Game is not available" messages and multiple console freezes, my experience with the online menus was overwhelmingly frustrating. Even without functional online play for all users, Castle Crashers is zany, accessible, and memorable, and it deserves to stand among XBLA’s best entries -- but until a suitable fix is released (developer The Behemoth says it is on the way), my recommendation remains tempered...if only slightly so.
Index
Date Added:
