perpetual memory loss

Giddy-Up!!!

Today I dusted off my XBOX 360, and checked out some of the new games and demos.  One game that I ended up buying for the arcade was Castle Crashers.  So what’s good you say?  Well, honestly, pretty much everything from top to bottom.  If you can’t tell from the above picture it is an old-school side scroller that is slightly reminiscent of the old TMNT’s arcade game–complete with the retro cell animation look.  The plot of the game is pretty simple.  You’re a knight (of various colors, but there are a ton of extra characters that you can unlock) who have to go save four princesses who have been kidnapped.  You will travel throughout all different kinds of terrains to look for them–volcano, desert, forest, ice et al–and all of the terrains have a distinct look and feel.  They really did put a lot of details in all of the different areas–which brings me to the art work.

The art work and character design is completely rad, with characters that look new but also familiar (personally I’d say some Futurama, Simpsons, and Ren & Stimpy influences–and probably even more that I don’t get).  The gameplay is furious.  It is not quite a straight button mashing game, but there are times where it is close, and after a few hours of playing you will be hard pressed to use your hands for anything but the most pedestrian of tasks.  There is also a ton of items that have to be collected and found, which some people don’t like, but I have always like collecting items in games.  I’m weird like that.  Also there is a ton of humor, and hidden easter eggs throughout the game.  Stuff that you might not catch until your secon or third time through.

One of the best parts of the game, however, is that you can play 4-player online co-op.  More games need to include this feature, because it adds immense replay value to the game.  I’m already looking forward to some long seshs hacking and slashing my way through the game whilst drinking some nice cold Colorado Kool-Aid.  Besides the main game–that has 20 levels–there are a couple of mini games that it comes with.  One is “All You Can Quaff”  which is a game where you have to mash buttons to eat food faster than the other knights–this game absolutely kills the hands.  The other game is an Arena fighting game where you have to fight a bunch of enemies.  Each round you play they increase in number.

So that’s pretty much it.  It’s a great game, and if you have a 360 you should definitely buy it because it is worth it.  Castle Crashers is a great addition to you XBLA, and it’s an even cooler throwback to the old side scroller days.  Go get it…now.

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