Game Spoon - Crashing Castles on XBLA

After many years, the creators of Alien Hominid are back with Castle Crashers. Created by 'The Behemoth' the company formed after the success of their first title. Castle Crashers is a throw back to such famous games as Golden Axe and Knights of the Round. Allowing the player to hack and slash through thousands of enemies and acquire power-ups as they progress.

The player starts by selecting one of four knights. All having an elemental magic such as fire, lighting, ice or poison. The story of the game is that the knights have to go on a quest to save the four princesses of the kingdom from the evil horde. With the plot out of the way the player begins chopping through thousands of enemies using everything at their disposal to save said princesses.

This is where the game excels at the classic Golden Axe/Knights of the Round type of game-play. As the player progresses they gain levels, abilities and various weapons. Through out the game the player will find or buy various weapons that allow them to customize the look and abilities of there knight. On top of that, while going through the game the player can unlock different companion animals that have their own abilities to assist the player.

Now comes the fun part/hincky part. Up to four players can play Crashers online or locally. Now I know your like, "How could this be hincky?" well eager gamer I will explain. Currently, there are some server issues and involving certain Internet connections that are not allowing people to join or play on-line. Do not be intimidated by this as the creators have announced they are currently working on patch to fix this and will also have additional weapons and playable characters. This should be available "soon" which in the games industry means 1.5-2 months.

So, is it worth the 1,200 points to download this title? Of course, the unique/beautiful art style and addictive hack and slash game-play make this an immediate buy. Once hooked you will want to keep playing to find all of the hidden characters, animal companions and playable characters. Check this one out and you won't be disappointed.

TOTAL SCORE 8 out of 10

Links Courtesy of Wikipedia