Castle Crashers

Recently I found a fun little game on Xbox Live Arcade. Castle Crashers is a nice throwback to the old sidescrolling arcade games I grew up on. While I still haven't beaten the game (I don't play video games that much), I've played enough to know that I like it.

The biggest improvement I see in this arcade game over others is the inclusion of multiplayer functionality both over Xbox Live and on the local console. The game really reminds me of the old Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game for the Nintendo. Basically, you go through areas swinging your weapons to kill enemies. When they die, they drop gold, food, or other items. The more you kill, the more experience you get.

The graphics on this really don't try too hard to impress you, from a technical standpoint. This isn't trying to be a top of the line processor intensive game. This is a game you just sit back and have some fun with. After all, isn't that the point? There is subtle, crude humor in the game that will surprise you when you see it (funny surprise, not 'OMG, cover the kids eyes' surprise).

Overall I'd have to say I really recommend this game to anyone. This is the game I'll turn on when family comes over so that my brothers (and sister) and I can all play together. The price is pretty steep for an arcade game (1200 MS points = $15.00) but I still think it's worth it. Compared to $60 for a full retail title, this is definitely worth the money.