Castle Crashers

"Hack! Slash! Burn!"

Castle Crashers delivers a mindless hack-and-slash action game that is both beautiful and thrifty in execution. There are only a few things that prohibit this game from being a true gem.

Music 7/10 - The audio for this game is fresh and entertaining. It shifts from quirky techno riffs to calming serenades; it is extremely effective in setting the mood for each level. The only downfall is that the music is repetitive and can become annoyingly catchy. I found myself humming the tunes at work the next day to my own detriment. Overall though, the music does what it is supposed to do.

Graphics 9/10 - The graphics in this game are smooth and flawless. They are beautiful from start to finish. Every hand drawn character meshes perfectly with background and theme. Furthermore, in terms of gameplay, the characters and enemies show no tearing or weird motion; they are integrated into the levels with perfection. So why only a nine out of ten? I do not think that this game stretches the 360 enough in terms of graphical awe. The game looks like it was programmed entirely in flash and could very well have been executed just as well on Firefox! The graphics are beautiful and well done but they do not live up to the expectations that the 360 can deliver.

Story 7/10 - The story is, albeit without words, interesting. You're trying to save the princesses and win back this crystal for the king. The story brings in some adult humor to sort of put ease to the continuous hack and slash action. Outside of this though, there is very little else to be seen in terms of story. Without a doubt, this is the game's weakest point.

Gameplay 8/10 - Hack and slash has never looked so pretty. The side-scrolling 2D gamplay brings me back to the days of River City Ransom only better. Castle Crashers is just what you can imagine. The characters move smoothly and without error. However, on single player mode, the enemies have a distinct advantage that proves to be rather irksome. Projectiles have to be exactly on target. For a human player this is difficult to achieve and the computer players are always spot on and can hit you repeatedly before your character gets up. In addition, if you develop a melee character over a magic one, the projectile characters are even more annoying. They continuously move out of your attack range and pummel you with arrows or fireballs from both sides.

The online gameplay is fun but has server side errors that result in dropped connections and many a controller thrown out of frustration. This is not so much a gameplay flaw as it is a glitch that I believe will be sorted out with time. Meanwhile, online gameplay has shown to be a weak point in the game that will, hopefully, become it's strongest.

Replay 9/10 - This game can be replayed over and over again and to the game perfectionist, this game will take a good chunk of time to complete as there are tons of characters to level, weapons to acquire, animals to find and friends to beat up along the way.

Overall 8/10 - I recommend downloading this screen gem right away. It's only 1200 MSP (15ish USD) which is utterly amazing! With a videogame market that ranges from $39.99 to $59.99, there is very little to complain about when such a crafty game comes along that costs a fraction of the price. If you are not a side scroller fan, go download the demo for free and see if you are entertained. You have nothing to lose and only hours of mindless, CHEAP entertainment to gain. Castle Crashers! Go download it now!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/03/08

Game Release: Castle Crashers (US, 08/27/08)