Fast-paced classic beat-em-up
I haven't had this much fun mashing away at buttons in a while. I almost forgot the feeling of walking across a 2D environment beating enemies into pulp. If you enjoyed games such as the old TMNT games, Simpsons arcade game, Double Dragon,X-men in the arcade, then this is the game for you. Castle Crashers utilizes this old formula and drugs it with some speed, adds RPG elements (leveling up), hilarious and over-the-top boss fights with a 4-player online co-op and comes up with quite possibly the best XBLA experience ever! You can upgrade your skills such as; Strength, Agility, Magic and Defense, which gives more incentive to replay levels. You can buy and find better weapons throughout the game and some interesting items as well. The game is faster paced than previous games of the same genre, but there was one thing that bothered me. The fact that the levels are seen at a perspective a few feet above ground gives your character the ability to walk vertically(on a "Z-axis"), but this isn't the problem, the problem was that the location of the enemies was sometimes unpredictable. Sometimes It would appear as if I was right in front of the enemy, however, I would be slashing away at the air...this was more problematic in boss fights, but it's a small problem that can be easily overlooked.
Graphics 10/10
I absolutely love the art-style. There's nothing more charming to look at than these bright, colorful and outlined cartoon characters. It's very vibrant and some of the character designs are down-right laughable. It's definitely appealing to the eyes and the game wouldn't be the same if the art-style was taken another direction.
Animations 10/10
Just as the character designs, the animations are equally as hilarious. The timing appears spot-on and it just adds to the humor. Everything feels like a cartoon and it's incredible.
Sound 9/10
The music is epic and may give goosebumps to some players. The music is good enough to be in war-movies. Simply brilliant. The sound effects are good as well, giving some extra punch to the clashing of blades against creatures and objects. In case you were wondering, there is no dialogue in this game, except for screams. lol.
replay value 9.5/10
4-player online co-op, more difficulty modes after you beat the game, hidden weapons and items, unlock-able characters...need I go on?