Reasons to be Cheerful [Castle Crashers]
September 17th, 2008
Having played through the sublime Castle Crashers a couple of times now, and in addition to my initial impressions, I thought I’d give you five six reasons why this rapidly became one of my favourite games of the year and is definitely my top pick from Xbox Live Arcade. Oh, and just as a warning: I’ll be referencing a few events that transpire during the game so if you don’t like spoilers now is the time to jump out.
Visual Splendour
There’s no denying that Castle Crashers looks absolutely amazing thanks to the artistic talents of Dan Paladin. The locations, characters, and environmental effects are all lovingly drawn and a joy to behold. While a lot of mainstream developers strive for what seems to be the holy grail of “ultra-realism”, this game shows us that an unconventional art style which is well designed and implemented can still easily hold its own in today’s marketplace and in fact actually elevates it above the masses making it stand out from the crowd. It reminds me of why I play video games in the first place – Escapism.
The Bazaar of the Bizarre
Speaking of escapism; in what other game could you encounter a tribe of cat worshipping minions (replete with paw print branding), a catfish boss (using the name literally) that regurgitates hair balls, a sock puppet wielding dragon, snowball throwing Eskimos, alien abductors, a game of volleyball on top of a sand castle, and finally find an enemy fortress that blasts into the sky?
It’s refreshing to play a game where the characterisation rule book has been flung out of the window and instead you’re plunged into a world that feels like it was designed while too many opiates were coursing through the bloodstream. But you know what? It all works. I’ve never even thought about questioning why these strange creatures and events exist in this bizarre world, I’ve just simply got on with enjoying the ride.
Sledgehammer Subtle Humour
It’s true that some of the humour is a bit “in your face”, and I suppose the most obvious case in point are the diuretic creatures in the forest. But even these events when taken in context of the approaching ginormous monstrosity - which I assume the creatures have caught sight of before the player finally encounters the beast in the abandoned sawmill - are still fairly amusing, at least to me.
There are also more subtle touches of humour on offer. For example just after you’ve defeated the Cyclops, he trips only to fall into a grave of magma, and as he finally disappears below the molten surface an arm rises out from the fiery grave giving the “thumbs” up. A tribute to Terminator 2 that many, including myself, will think is just too darn “cool” for words.
Depth in Simplicity
Although on the surface Castle Crashers feels like a really simple game it’s masking some underlying game mechanics that add a great deal of depth to the game-play.
Of utmost importance are the RPG aspects which enable a character to grow and change as the player desires assigning skill points to either “Strength”, “Defence”, “Magic” or “Agility”, which has the effect of strengthening the bond between player and avatar. The game never goes as far as to openly declare what the new attack or defence rating will be, but you can certainly tell that the character has improved.
To enhance your character further there’s also the possibility of discovering new weapons adding them to your repertoire in the armoury - which just happens to be in the gut of a giant toad-like creature. Depending on how skill points have been allocated during levelling some weapons may be more useful than others and having a wide selection available allows you to “mix-and-match” between stages if you deem a sword or an axe can offer additional benefits, usually at the expense of another skill, but overall will be more appropriate.
Complementing the variety of weapons are the “animal orbs”; small animals that follow the player around, if chosen, and provide a variety of abilities from the more commonplace statistic boosting to the more unusual such as the “Giraffey” that speeds up the levelling process, or the “Cardinal” which helps to finds secret items.
Annoyingly Addictive Music
Maybe it’s a sign that I’ve played the game too much, or perhaps The Behemoth have excelled in composing and enlisting some wonderfully addictive little ditties, but sometimes I just can’t get a a tune out of my head. Some tracks have burrowed there way into my brain, forcing me to hum them continually, and they won’t relinquish there grip without a fight…. or alcohol. Whatever the reason the chosen score perfectly suits the game.
Play it again…
Instead of just the four coloured knight characters (Green, Blue, Orange, and Red) there are a host of un-lockable characters to discover, some of which can only be unlocked by completing the game with specific characters. Not to mention the different weapons and “animal orb” companions hidden away. It actively encourages you to play through the game multiple times to unlock all you can, and when it’s this much fun to play you honestly don’t mind.
So there you have it, five six reasons I keep returning to Castle Crashers time and time again.
