It isn’t often that I get addicted to Live Arcade games. I don’t know why, but most of the games end up being fun for a little while, but don’t have any lasting appeal. I wasn’t even sure about grabbing Castle Crashers at all, but a friend of mine had purchased and given me a 1600 MS Points card with which to buy the game. Gratefully, I accepted and downloaded the game. I played it briefly single player, and found it to be enjoyable enough, but as usual didn’t find it to be all that amazing.

Then I played it with my roommate and his brother, and together we got the full Castle Crashers experience.

There are just some games that aren’t meant to be played alone, and Castle Crashers is one of them. This technically puts it in the category of “party game”, which is quite fitting. Not only is it great for multiple people to play, but it is entertaining for an audience as well. As I played with my roommate and friends, there was always at least one observer, and never did any audience member get bored and just walk off. I imagine watching isn’t nearly as fun as playing, but the art, music and humor all combines to be an entertaining experience to watch as well as play.

The game draws heavily from arcade hack-and-slash titles, Golden Axe being the first to come to mind. Those old enough to have played Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Arcade Game and Battletoads will find a number of familiar elements or homages scattered throughout the levels. Even so, Castle Crashers is such an evolution of the genre that it makes you wonder why it took so long for anyone to breath new life into it.

The combat itself is simple enough for anyone to pick up, but it is quickly apparent that the simplicity is a mere disguise. Just as in games like Ninja Gaiden or Devil May Cry, you have your quick/light attacks and your slow/heavy attacks, and swapping back and forth creates new combos. As you level up, you gain new combos and abilities. There are a number of combos that can be performed, some dealing high levels of damage necessary to success and gaining experience. Learning to juggle enemies in the air is also quite important, as it can leave you dealing high levels of damage with little risk of getting hurt by other enemies. This is all in addition to your ability to throw enemies, dash attacks and stomping on enemies while they are down. There are so many moves available that combat is constantly entertaining and never dull.

Magic and bonus equipment also play a heavy role in fighting. As you level up, you are given points that you can allocate to four stats: strength, defense, agility and magic. The magic stat unlocks new spells after so many points are accumulated, and each character has different types of spells to cast with differing side effects. Magic is cast by simply holding the R-trigger and then, based on how high your magic stat is, what button is pressed. The first level is R-trigger + Y button, unleashing a spell designed for close combat. Players will also gain bows in the game, allowing for some projectile combat whose damage is determined by the agility stat. Later on characters will obtain bombs and even a sammich that causes your character to grow super huge and deal extra damage.

Yet the combat is not alone in giving the game a surprising level of depth and entertainment. The levels are constantly pepperred with new and interesting experiences, such as riding through a barn on deer while escaping a large, furry monster, followed by fighting on a river while attempting to keep afloat on logs, corpses, sharks and even magikarps. This is in addition to llama mounts, being chased by the large furry monster on a carriage and escaping an exploding alien vessel. All in all, the levels are constantly kept interesting with gameplay not experienced previously.

The game also features collection that will please gamers with OCD. In addition to finding and collecting weaponry throughout the game, players will also find small and cute monsters that will aid in combat or provide other methods of support. Simultaneously, there is treasure that can be found once a shovel item is obtained.

All in all, Castle Crashers is a deceivingly deep game, and it is clear why it has been in development as long as it has. Unfortunately, despite long development and an amazing local play experience, it still has issues with online play. Apparently two-player co-op works fine, but any other number of players online and the game will crash within ten minutes. A patch is currently being worked on, but for a title where multiplayer is such a huge aspect of the game, one must wonder what the Hell they were thinking.

If you are someone that always has a lot of friends around (typically high school or College students), then this game is a must buy. However, for those that can usually only do multiplayer online (typically those that have entered the work force), then it might be better to wait for a patch. Still, there is no doubt that this game is amazing, and is certainly the first Arcade title I’ve played that I’d call a Killer App.