GAME - Castle Crashers Remastered
Created and Developed by - The Behemoth
It can sometimes be hard to review something that has already been released because most people who owned it on a previous console and will no doubt know what the script is. I am not one of those however, as this was one that I did look at when it hit the 360, but then I got sidetracked by other games, which most big gamers will know is all too easy to do. This is a bigger shock when I tell you that I am a retro gamer at heart, so love old school game styles, such as the lifeblood of Castle Crashers, the hack and slash side scroller. Golden Axe is the one title that screams to me when I look at it, but there is a lot more to this than simply bashing buttons and beating little magic imps to death to grab some mystic powers.
There is a slight hint of RPG to proceedings with a very simple, but effective levelling up system, which gives you points as you gain each level to use on certain attributes, like agility, defence and so on. It is better for being simplified mainly because the rest of the game is also easy to use. The amount of buttons is not exactly strategy intensive, but the layout makes it quick to learn. You have your usual light and heavy attacks, but the item button is very versatile and can quickly be changed from health and magic potions to bow and arrow for more ranged attacks.
The versatility also extends to the characters, with a huge selection to choose from once you get the unlockables flowing. This also extends to a lot of little hidden places and pet companions that each have their own attributes, such as the seahorse that I picked up, allowing to get through water better, which is great for some of the river stages, such as the Catfish boss level, which is typical of the minds at The Behemoth.
The game itself is not too bad in size and with all of the aforementioned secrets and grabs which are there to tempt you in. There is also the ability to play with both a local and online co-op setup, although you do need to make sure, even for this arcade title, that the connections are good. If that isn't the case the lag can be extremely punishing. In one case I had to leave after 5 seconds because it was an unbearable connection. The two main modes from the original release are there, namely the main game and the survival based arena. The new mode is Beat the Barbarian, which is almost like a rhythm mini game, where you have to push the colour coded buttons to move your character away from the increasing amount of enemies until such time as you succumb to the intensity. It's much more fun in multiplayer, but the single player can be lacking.
In all honesty, the multiplayer things are the bread and butter of Castle Crashers is in terms of getting the most enjoyment out of it. it's sort of like, if you're old enough to remember that is, being in the old arcades on something like Final Fight or Golden Axe, in that it was all fair and well playing it on your own, but it was always more exciting when someone else was there to chuck money in the slot along with you and you both blitzed it towards the end (possibly after spending all of your pocket money in one sitting). The same applies here, in that it can get a little dull when played on your own, but there is a more engrossing feel to things when it is all done with some friendly help.
What you end up with is a game with loads of levels, fun and easy gameplay combined with some truly mental enemies and a few gross moments at the same time. For some reason you will actually decide you never wanted to know whether a bear did indeed "do one" in the woods after finding out the answer to that question here. It all really boils down to whether or not you have already owned this game on Xbox 360. I mean, it is always going to be difficult to highly rate something that has not really had a substantial upgrade. One game mode and a few mini tweaks here and there don't really constitute a classic twice over, but you can't really punish it for bringing out a game on a newer gen console for a fresh audience.
It may not look a huge difference in graphics from the original to this, but the fact remains I never played it on the 360, which also means there will be loads of people in the same boat that never touched it. It is thankfully easy enough to get online games through it, the humour is there and it cannot be slammed for being a bit bland, due to the colour scheme and the zany characters contained. Add to this the easy to follow level up system and all the additional stuff spread throughout the levels and it certainly makes for a few hours of retro guilty pleasure.
It all depends on your age group, in my opinion. If you were brought up on 80's and 90's scrolling beat 'em ups, like Double Dragon, Final Fight and more or less every Konami brawler then you will love this throwback to an easier time in gaming, where things were less annoying and just a few buttons here and there. Castle Crashers is good for playing as a family or a drunk group of mates at t house party looking for something different. If you haven't played it at all then it is certainly worth picking up, but if you already did it on 360 then there really isn't enough to make you splash out again and the additional content just doesn't cut it enough. Indeed, this could end up on the backwards compatibility list, so it then deems the whole purchase silly if you already own it.
To sum it up, totally worth it if you've never played it. If you owned it before then I'd hold off, as you may end up with it again anyway, without any more cost to you.
Thanks to the Xbox Community for letting us review this game.