The Xbox LIVE Arcade never really caught my attention before, I always saw it as the place to try out some cheap retro classics of those oh-so nostalgic years gone-by. The quality of Arcade titles seems to be shifting with some classics getting a much deserved face lift and spit-shine, though perhaps more importantly is the release of new, fresh and fun simple games that compliment those titles of the past, just with much nicer visuals this time around. Castle Crashers looks to be leading the pack of the recently released Arcade titles and just may give an indication of how the Arcade will evolve further in the future, meaning that not every Arcade release needs to be a port of some classic game from the past. With titles such as Alien Hominid HD and now Castle Crashers from The Behemoth, and other recent hits such as Braid and Bionic Commando: Rearmed, the Xbox LIVE Arcade could very well becoming into its own if it can continue this flurry of mesmerizing, fun and unique titles. Castle Crashers puts you in the role of a knight, whose King's sacred crystal has been stolen by an evil wizard, he's also picked up Hefner's dolly-birds along the way, or rather princesses' as the game likes to call them. It's kind of like the three musketeer's but there can be up to four of you playing, vying to return the sacred crystal and rescuing the dolly's in distress, but not first before dueling to the death where the winner gets a quick peck. Sounds like a rather admirable task, though there's plenty of owl pooping among other things to keep you distracted throughout... At a rather hefty 1,200 MS Points does Castle Crashers prove to be worth the treasure or does it crash and burn in its own sense of humour?

Gameplay:

Upon first firing up Castle Crashers it does something rather well, in bringing in that nostalgic feeling even for a new game, this is mostly down to the gameplay, for anyone who has played Golden Axe either on the Sega Mega Drive or of course the Xbox LIVE Arcade, then Castle Crashers will feel very familiar in regards to the basic gameplay; the combat itself is almost identical with the only real difference being in the way that magic is used as a weapon. Much like Golden Axe, Castle Crashers is a side scrolling beat 'em-up but with an emphasis on dry humour that meshes with the game's rather animated stylistic presentation considerably well. You can pick from a selection of 'knight' characters in several colours, they're all basically the same in terms of gameplay though do have different magical abilities, such as ice, fire and more. Further characters can be unlocked by playing through the game, including the main playable character from LIVE Arcade hit, Alien Hominid HD. During progression through the game's campaign, points are accumulated as you level-up, these points whilst drip-fed can be used to increase such abilities such as strength, defense, magic etc. Upon leveling up your character and dishing the points out to your Magic meter, you will notice that your Magic has further reach and can inflict more damage to more enemies in a single-blow. The idea here clearly is to max out all of your abilities thus moving on to the next or unlocked character and proceed to do the same, though as Castle Crashers offers up to 4-player local and Xbox LIVE co-op, then there should certainly be some longevity to be had from the campaign alone, not yet mentioning the multiplayer modes on offer. The game takes some rather amusing inspiration for its bosses, including reference to films such as Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and then there's a giant cat-fish to contend with (fur-ball and all), as well as plenty of other rather bizarre bosses, and as far as humour goes, well there's animals crapping all over the place, which is good for a few laugh-out-loud moments on the first play-though. During co-operative play it is not all too friendly as there's several princesses that need rescuing after all, which ultimately results in a duel between the players where the last knight standing gets a big-whet kiss from the dazzling princess. The basics of Castle Crashers comes in the generic combat with light-quick attacks and heavy attacks simply designated to a single face button each; as you level up your character you also unlock more devastating combinations to punish your foes with, and there's a shield to defend yourself with, which certainly proves useful with many enemies attacking at once or even as the arrows comedown from the sky up above. There is some rather unexpected attention to detail that one wouldn't expect to find within your typical Xbox LIVE Arcade game, Castle Crashers not only delivers a unique graphical presentation but something as subtle as walking through a small puddle and having that momentarily effect the speed of your character, things such as this do not go unnoticed. There's plenty of collectibles to keep the player busy too, from finding hidden animals which follow you around to locating and digging up buried treasure. These Animal orbs as they're known, once one is approached it will follow you everywhere, and each animal has a specific ability for example one can randomly knock down an enemy, whilst another can point you in the right direction for locating buried treasure. You can visit Merchant's in the game who will provide details on the current animals unique ability, here you can also visit a weapons dealer and buy some much needed spruced up weaponry, such items include an Axe, a sword, a bigger sword, more swords and, a light-saber, so you can go around like a true-jedi lobbing off enemy heads without worrying about getting blood on your blade; that's money well spent for peace of mind, no doubt. The multiplayer offering includes Arena and All You Can Quaff, the Arena mode offers up Melee and Quick draw multiplayer combat scenarios. These can be played both locally and over Xbox LIVE in Ranked or Unranked matches. The Melee multiplayer mode is essentially the same as the princess scenario mentioned above, where 2-4 players whack each other about a bit until there is only one player left standing, though there's no princess kiss to be had in multiplayer, unfortunately. Quick draw is again a similar concept except all players are locked to only using their bow and arrows, though health and other items do spawn around the map, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled during combat as these only appear momentarily. All You Can Quaff is something rather different from the typical combat that you will be accustomed to from Castle Crashers, though nevertheless this mode can also be played in Ranked as well. The basics of this mode is that up to 4-players are visible on-screen and by repeatedly tapping X and Y you continue to consume the food on your plate, once consumed you press A and another item will be thrown to the plate, the player to consume the food the quickest will be the winner. Generally, All You Can Quaff feels out of place to the campaign/co-op and arena multiplayer offering, but still it's something different and unexpected. Castle Crashers most certainly has some unavoidable issues, especially if you intend to take it online for co-operative or versus play. Getting into a match is a chore in that of itself, but staying in seems to be determined by the flip of a coin. The issue most certainly needs fixing, but there are some further issues which we think should be addressed as soon as possible; for one, the more concerning of all is losing your saved game data from Castle Crashers, thus meaning your characters level resets and you have to start-over from the first mission, this is especially painful if you have put in some considerable hours in getting your characters abilities up, this is a fate which I, myself have suffered. In addition to that, the game has further issues with game lock-ups and somehow the title Castle Crashers seems all too appropriate for this game.

Graphics:

Castle Crashers has a very unique and animated look about it, this sits considerably well with the visual effects, music and sound effects featured in the game. Chaos ensuing in the background during your up close and personal bloody combat looks impressive enough to distract, as do the rather realistic smoke and fire effects, that is realistic at least for a game which looks generally more like a cartoon. These things just seem to mesh rather well and add to the overall presentation of the game, as do of course the very gory head-slicing with subsequent blood-splatter.

Sound:

Dramatic music and intriguing sound effects is the order of the day for Castle Crashers, though not quite fitting for the game, but it is a rather unusual game to begin with – unusual is probably putting it too lightly though: Castle Crashers is quite frankly one hell of an amusing game.

Longevity:

If an evil robot that thinks its a Terminator, a barfing giant cat and several in-game animals and bosses pooping everywhere, if that is your thing, then when combined with like minded friends locally (or Xbox LIVE – when it's working properly), then Castle Crashers will no doubt be providing hours of entertainment. Assuming the game gets updated soon to address its issues, then there is certainly significantly more enjoyment to be had here with online play, though currently the online play is very hit and miss, and for now at least, that potential is mostly missed.

Overall:

Castle Crashers, even with the faults it currently has is quite possibly still the best Xbox LIVE Arcade game available. While losing your saved game data is no laughing matter (Castle Crashers only data), as neither are game lock-ups or not being able to connect or even permanently stay in an Xbox LIVE game (even if you host). These issues need sorting, quite frankly, given all of its merits and it no doubt being one entertaining game, we're still rather shocked that it released in its current state. For 1,200 MS Points of your hard earned, Castle Crashers is most certainly worth it – that is at least, when it works. The main enjoyment comes from the co-operative experience, if you have people locally to play with, then by all means go and buy it now, though if you're a solo-gamer and wish to play co-operatively with your friends online, without issue, then I'd recommend keeping your ears to the ground for any indication of the game being patched before you drop the 1,200 MS Points on this game.