Xbox 360

Castle Crashers

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. Castle Crashers is the best beat-em-up ever. I guess 3 years is just enough time to master an entire genre, ‘cause The Behemoth has done just that.

Together Castle Crashers and Alien Hominid have really proved The Behemoth know what they're doing when it comes to making quality old school games. We can only wait, quivering with anticipation, to see what they'll come up with next. Maybe it'll be a light gun game where kitten commandos fight an army of cyborg sasquatches hell-bent on rewriting American zoning code. Fight, tiny kittens, for everlasting sensible zoning!

When you play this game with a room of other people, and you find yourself laughing at all the gags and references to old games, you’ll be in love with this XBLA treasure.

So then, what of these crashed castles? Are they worth 800 MS funbucks? Yes. I can say it more times if you want me to. Yes, yes, yes, yes. Especially if you have three (or more!) friends. The Behemoth has made one of the best games on Xbox Live Arcade, and it's a 2D beat 'em up that feels fresh from an early '90s arcade. It's beautiful, it sounds great, and though it has occasional stumbles, it is some of the most fun you can have with your Xbox 360.

The game is one of the best on XBL and that's no lie. I thoroughly enjoyed swinging my mallet and or sword around and killing some randoms all while looking for the princesses and kicking major ass. The gameplay is wicked badass and the online play is sick nasty too. The characters are awesome and there a tons and tons of them as well. The game is solid from newgrounds and we can all thank Tom Fulp for another innovative and interesting game that offers great bloodshed as well as strong gameplay. The game is worth the Xbox points and has solid gameplay, sound effects, and replay value. This is a great party game and is great in single player as well as co-op so don't think it isn't worth it if you're a loner. Even if you are there is still online play that is kick ass as hell.

So fans of old school beat 'em ups will definitely appreciate the style of fun Castle Crashers represents, and even the younger generation will be able to get behind the simple but addictive nature of the co-op mode. It truly feels like a throwback to classic arcade brawlers in both play and design, and Castle Crashers is a fantastic inclusion for anyone's XBLA library. Hopefully they get that online mode sorted out soon though, so everyone can get the most out of reliving a homage to a classic genre.

Despite the serious online issues, Castle Crashers is pure light-hearted fun that is accessible to everyone. This is not to say veteran gamers won’t enjoy a challenge – in fact, some stages can be pretty tough – but unlike Alien Hominid you won’t be beaten over the head at every turn. With tons of stuff to do, amusingly cute artwork, catchy music and online multiplayer (when it works), Castle Crashers is a definite must-have addition to your XBLA library.

A Xbox Live Arcade vive o melhor momento de sua trajetória até então, com uma seqüência incrível de lançamentos. "Castle Crashers" é mais um título que confirma esta ótima fase, revitalizando um gênero fora de moda com uma abordagem divertida e repleta de extras. A pancadaria é extremamente divertida, com vários objetos e personagens para encontrar, além de um multiplayer que evoca a era de ouro dos fliperamas. É um jogo imperdível para fãs da ação pura e simples, principalmente entre os veteranos.

Video games have come a long way since man first slipped a quarter into an arcade machine. These days, if a game doesn't have a free-roaming environment or bump maps on every surface, it seems to fall to the wayside. Thankfully, we have games like Castle Crashers to remind us how fun simplicity used to be. The beat 'em up gameplay and unique presentation go a long way, and for lack of a better explanation, the game is just damn fun.

Castle Crashers ist ein sehr gelungenes und umfangreiches Hack n Slay Spiel mit viel Humor. Trotz des hohen Preises sollte sich jeder das Spiel näher ansehen, schließlich handelt es sich hierbei nicht mehr um ein einfaches Arcadegame sondern vielmehr um einen Vollpreistitel zum Arcadepreis.

Castle Crashers ist das Spiel geworden, das wir anhand der Vorberichtserstattung erwartet haben, nicht weniger, aber auch nicht wirklich mehr. Die Optik und der Sound können überzeugen, das Gameplay ist recht einfach, bietet dennoch genug Tiefgang, um durch das Spiel hindurch für Spielspaß zu sorgen. Die Möglichkeit, verschiedene Charaktere hochzuleveln und der vierspieler Co-op Modus sowie die beiden Minispiele „Wettessen“ und „Arena“ sorgen für Mehrspaß. Ob der Wiederspielwert, zumindest alleine so groß ist, wird sich noch herausstellen, dennoch reiht sich Castle Crashers recht nahtlos in die Riege der hochwertigen Arcadespiele ein, die in letzter Zeit erschienen sind. Wir hätten einen Preis von 800 Punkten als angemessen empfunden, aber 1200 gehen dennoch gerade so in Ordnung.

There simply isn't a game like Castle Crashers, and that's what makes it so spectacular. The astounding visuals, classic gameplay, obscure humor and hours of beat-em-up action make this worth every one of your 1200 points. Let's just hope we don't have to wait long for a sequel.

Castle Crashers takes the best elements of traditional side-scrolling beat-em-ups and adds lots of flair. There's some great humor here and some nice surprises that will please most. Of course, the most important thing is that it's a whole lot of fun -- especially when you play with friends. While there are some cheap moments with enemies firing at your backside, the bulk of Castle Crashers is an enjoyable ride and one every 360 owner should experience.

Castle Crashers is a fantastic addition to XBLA, and a must-have for your collection. There are few games on the service that can match the depth here, and those that come close do not offer Live co-op.

But if the thought of grinding through endless waves of goons induces a yawn, even the vital social dynamics of four-player co-op and arena contests might prove insufficient. On the other hand, if you find yourself occasionally lamenting the bygone heyday of those arcade knuckle-dusters you played to death, you’ll love every crazed minute of Castle Crashers.

Even at a price of 1,200 Microsoft points, Castle Crashers provides great value. The main storyline offers hours of bad-guy beating and princess-rescuing fun that it is sure to please. The ability to play with friends should make the experience richer, even if it is limited to a more local experience. As a testament to its entertainment, feature losses and some disappointing online play hardly slow this juggernaut of amusement down. This is an absurdly hilarious romp you won't soon forget.

Castle Crashers really is the great co-op experience that you were hoping it would be, but because it's just so consistently fun to play and look at, it holds up as a single-player experience as well. It's exciting, twistedly epic, funny, and great to play with friends. It may be a small step below Braid and Geometry Wars 2, but it's one of the best XBLA releases so far, and one of the better 360 releases, Live Arcade or not.

Recogiendo un género tan tradicional como el Hack and Slash, Castle Crashers consigue convertirlo en una deliciosa experiencia gracias a su sentido del humor y a su simpático tratamiento. Lo mejor de su campaña es su ritmo, y si a esto sumamos la posibilidad de disfrutarla en cooperativo el resultado es fenomenal.

Looking at the whole package it must be said that "Castle Crashers" is an essential download and must be considered as one of the current top three games available on the Xbox live arcade service. Add to this other recent very impressive releases on the service and the future of Xbox live arcade is looking very bright.

Castle Crashers is a smorgasbord of excellent 2D animation, dramatic and powerful music, and hours of online fun. Forgiving the difficulties online is too much to ask, but with a patch to fix them coming soon, there is no reason anyone with at least one friend on Xbox Live can’t enjoy Castle Crashers.

Castle Crashers is een prachtig vormgegeven, humoristische beat ‘em up, die zeker met vier personen voor veel plezier kan zorgen. The Behemoth weet met zijn Flash-achtige grafische stijl Castle Crashers prima te presenteren. Helaas voelt Castle Crashers, ondanks enkele leuke toevoegingen, nooit als een game die je tot in de puntjes kunt beheersen. De game vraagt slechts van je willekeurige knoppen in een rap tempo in te drukken. Maar met drie vrienden mag dat de pret niet drukken.

Despite the occasional design niggles, and the clunky matchmaking system, there's still more than enough fun in Castle Crashers to justify its 1200-Point price-tag. It's a big, bright and bold dollop of irreverent fun, and it could have been truly phenomenal with a little more attention to the finer details. As it is, it's brushing against greatness but falls frustratingly short of its true potential.

Whether crashing castles or the dusty corners of your nostalgia, these little guys score big. The gameplay is addictive and the self-referential material is charming. It also manages to hit the sweet spot between accessibility and depth that we expect from top shelf downloadable games. It isn’t too often that you see a good retro-themed game hit the market, and Castle Crashers is just that.

Final judgment: It's a fine line between "retro" and "rehash," and while Castle Crashers coughs up a few neat ideas, its freshest element is its art.

Encore une fois, le Xbox Live Arcade nous offre une petite bouffée d'air frais avec Castle Crashers. Beau, fun et drôle, le titre de The Behemoth se donne des airs de défouloir de luxe, à savourer avec des potes en multijoueur. A essayer et à adopter.

The truth is, the current state of Castle Crashers is a disappointment. The game's structure, RPG elements, presentational style, and lasting value are all top notch - and this is without question one of the most entertaining brawlers you'll ever play. If it weren't for the broken online component, persistent data loss, and an all-around lack of polish, Castle Crashers could have been one of the best titles on Xbox Live Arcade. If you have the capacity to overlook its technical issues and have a group of friends who like the genre, this could be worth a download. However, until a patch arrives, the game cannot be wholeheartedly recommended.

Buggarna och det allmänt obalanserade spelsystemet gör Castle Crashers till en frustrerande upplevelse, även om det i grunden är ett riktigt trevligt spel. Precis som Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords tar det en gammal förlegad arkadgenre (pussel respektive beat'em up) och skapar en beroendeframkallande helhet genom att lägga in rollspelsinslag, och med tanke på hur omfattande spelet är känns inte det högre priset särskilt omotiverat. Det har också skön grafik, utmärkt design (även om det är lite väl mycket bajshumor på en av banorna) och strålande musik. Men som sagt... fråga dig först hur många extra 360-kontroller du kan offra och hur hållbar din TV är...

It holds up ok as a beat-em-up, and they try to give you something new with each level. In fact it reminded me a lot of Battletoads, with the chases and stuff. It's the humour that makes it enjoyable though, enemies doing funny things and outrageous bosses. It’s highly replayable, with lots of unlocks and multiplayer options. I quite like the style as well, 7/10.

Overall, it’s a good quality title that does indeed deserve at least a look at the demo. If you instantly fall in love with the scratchy graphics and the simple but engaging gameplay then you might not baulk at the price. If you didn’t get on with Alien Hominid’s toughness or its look and feel, and you think that games like Golden Axe have had their day and aren’t innovative enough any more, you might just pass this one by.

A lot of people are unable to connect to online games at the moment, and there’s an issue where the game doesn’t save properly. This is unfortunate for a game so focused on co-op, the save issue can sometimes be solved by logging out and then in when you start the game, and the developers have said they’ll bring out a patch for online ASAP. But even in single player it's good for a laugh. 6.5/10

Castle Crashers is an entertaining brawler, but the replay value is chopped into little frustrating bits by a horrifically painful online experience. I’m left wondering why I spent $15 (1200 MS points) on a five-hour single player game. Multiple playthoughs will unlock new characters, but the repetitive nature is a bit tiresome. Avoid purchasing Castle Crashers until the developer sorts the major online problems out. Skip it (for now)