Castle Crashers
First, a foreword: I spent quite some time thinking about the first game I would review on this website. Obviously, I decided on a game that I am fairly passionate about. However, as my first review, I also picked something that I could handle without biting off more than I can chew. I also picked a game that will highlight the difference between Player of Game and traditional gaming websites. Although I will give you a feeling of how much I enjoyed the game with every review, as a game designer I am also interested in the unique or particularly well-done aspects of a game. This manifests itself in each game having a dual score: the first serves as a traditional score, while the second is a reflection of a game's Greatness, a measure of the lasting impact this game should have, will have, or has had on gaming.
I look for two key things in every game I play: Innovation, and Mastery. A game without either is simply not a good game, but mastery traditionally accounts for a larger percentage of typical game reviews, while innovation is typically relegated to a bonus point category. First, let me loosely define these terms: Innovation represents the new things that a game does, while mastery applies to the refinement of gaming activity and the perfection of game design. Traditional gaming websites, I feel, are weighted more towards the Mastery aspect of this equation than Player of Game will be. While not every game will execute perfectly on innovative design (see Europa Universalis), I try to give credit where credit is due.
Games that might score lower on Mastery, but higher on Innovation include Spore, Europa Universalis, and Elder Scrolls III. Games that might score low on Innovation, but high on mastery include games like Halo 3, Warcraft II, or the Soul Calibur series of fighting games. Games which would score high on both scales include Grand Theft Auto 3, Half-Life, and World of Warcraft. Due to this rather unusual system of grading, you should not be surprised when I bestow a higher measure of Greatness on a game like Spore than I would on Warcraft II. In addition, you will find that my reviews almost always heap more praise on a game than is reflected in the Greatness score. This is because I find it hard to look for faults in excellent games.
With all of that said, nearly every game that I review here will be a good game, will be worth your time and effort (some highly innovative, but not terribly fun games will make appearances here), but some games simply have more potential than others to change the face of gaming. It is this measure of Greatness (capital G) that I will try to distill from each game that I review.
With that, on to the review!
Castle Crashers
Traditional Review
Gameplay: 9.5/10
Graphics: 9/10
Audio: 9/10
Overall: 9.2/10
Player of Game Review
Innovation: 5.5/10
Mastery: 9.5/10
Greatness: 7.5/10
Synopsis: Castle Crashers is a masterful side scrolling beat-'em-up that fuses strong base mechanics with top notch artistic design and solid multiplayer capability to create an arcade experience that we all can enjoy. While Castle Crashers does not extensively toy with side-scrolling convention, it executes so well that I find it difficult to resist employing the label "genre-defining".
Innovative Features: Dynamic and unique boss battles that are somewhat unusual for traditional side scrolling beat-'em ups, leveling system and melee combo attacks.
Masterful Features: Well adjusted difficulty setting, outstanding multiplayer experience, highly approachable, strong sense of humor, graphics (artistic).
Castle Crashers is an addictive and humorous sidescrolling beat-'em-up brought to us by the lovely folks at The Behemoth. As an Xbox Live Arcade download, it can be downloaded by anyone with an Xbox 360 and a high speed internet connection. One of the most popular XBLA (that's Xbox Live Arcade) downloads, Castle Crashers is at the forefront of a resurgence in old school gaming that has occurred in the past few years.
In Castle Crashers, you play as a cartoon knight who is tasked with saving a group of princesses, bringing an evil wizard to justice, and restoring order to the world. By completing a series of levels (you can revisit old ones you have already played), you will level up your hero and ultimately defeat various forces of evil, and shenaniganry, that have beset the land.
When you begin the game, you start with a basic melee weapon capable of performing two different attacks, and a single spell power. As you defeat enemies, acquire items, and learn new skills, you will gain an assortment of new melee attacks, a ranged attack, and even some nifty spells in your particular school of expertise. You will also gain access to upgraded weapons and a variety of pets, whose abilities range from allowing you to walk faster in water to periodically knocking down enemy combatants.
The environments in Castle Crashers go a long way towards making this game the sublime experience that it is. Environments are varied, and often bizarre, but always attractive and pleasing to the eye. What the game lacks in technical graphic prowess it makes up for in masterful artistic design, with a bold and pleasing color palette that never disappoints. Moreover, it reinforces the sort of action that is playing out on screen; it is hard to take the game too seriously, which significantly adds to its multiplayer appeal. The musical score in Castle Crashers is dynamic and well-chosen; it adds to the atmosphere and is definitely catchy, while the sound effects are meaty and draw the player into the action.
Yet what the game does best is create an experience that you feel comfortable sharing with your friends; its relatively low learning curve (as compared to most modern games) allows even non-gamers to get in on the action, which is great because its multiplayer is a blast.
Up to four players can get in on the action; these can be players on four different systems across the globe, using Xbox Live, or four players sitting across the couch from one another pounding soda and potato chips. Either way, the game is a hoot, and the multiplayer experience is at the heart of what makes this game so special. Players will fight over power ups and kissing the princess, work together to defeat impressive (and well-balanced) bosses, and laugh together at the particularly odd experiences they are bound to encounter during adventures.
While the multiplayer is one source of lasting appeal; the other comes from mastery of game elements and the lesson that Pokemon taught us: Players freakin' love catching 'em all. During your many adventures, you will slowly accummulate a mass of weapons with which to dispatch baddies, but the aforementioned coterie of lovable and adorable pets, each featuring a unique ability is particularly gripping.
Special mention should also go to the game's unique, well-inspired, and often hysterical bosses which you must dispatch from time to time. Each of them has different mechanics (it's not just the tank and spank from beat-'em-ups of yore), and nearly all are hilarious and fun to fight. While each of them is challenging, most everyone should be able to figure out how to beat them eventually (playing Castle Crashers will help with this quite a bit).
Overall, Castle Crashers is the type of experience that everyone can enjoy. While I would be hard-pressed to call it a particularly innovative game, its mastery of common beat-'em-up mechanics is without parallel, and this mastery is ultimately what makes the Castle Crashers gaming experience so rewarding.
