in which Nick plays Games: Castle Crashers
Picked this up when it was on 50% off sale a few months back, just got around to finally playing it a week or two ago. Beat it last Friday.
Things I Liked:
- Mindlessly entertaining - it's just a beat-em-up, really.
- That said, it's got a lot of polish - good juggle routines, clean counters, a distinct art style.
- Upgrades and XP?! Money to buy stuff with!? Sweet.
- Multiplayer!
- It was at times quite funny. Repetitive, sure, but I LOLed once or twice.
- The big treasure chest at the end was hilarious.
Things I Didn't Like:
- Most/all of the animal orbs were useless.
- Most of the weapons were likewise useless. The few standouts were all I ended up using, most of the time.
- I had to grind for a few levels to be able to take on the boss, even though my Blue Knight (picked because he looked the ANGRIEST) played through the whole thing solo and was a STR/DEF focus.
- Lots of characters, but the only difference between them was their magic, and most of the unlockable characters use the SAME magic. Weak.
- I still haven't beaten the last 2 arenas, as mobs of guys generally seem to result in me (as a solo) getting ping-ponged from archer to archer until I die.
- Going through the whole "rocket to the castle" thing before the final boss was annoying to do EACH FREAKING TIME I left to go grind, and added nothing.
- The ninjas were underused.
- The Flash-esque graphics look dated, even though the game is only a year old.
- Most of the bosses were pretty easy, or easy until they got moving so fast as to be nigh-hittable. I'm looking at you, Corn and Ice Whale.
Verdict:
Worth the pickup, though I can't see myself replaying it much but for a) boredom or b) completion. About half the achievements require me to beat the full game in multiplayer or to play in the online ranked tourney, and neither of those are things I'm particularly interested in. Look for a sale, but only if you like beat-em-ups.
Things I Liked:
- Mindlessly entertaining - it's just a beat-em-up, really.
- That said, it's got a lot of polish - good juggle routines, clean counters, a distinct art style.
- Upgrades and XP?! Money to buy stuff with!? Sweet.
- Multiplayer!
- It was at times quite funny. Repetitive, sure, but I LOLed once or twice.
- The big treasure chest at the end was hilarious.
Things I Didn't Like:
- Most/all of the animal orbs were useless.
- Most of the weapons were likewise useless. The few standouts were all I ended up using, most of the time.
- I had to grind for a few levels to be able to take on the boss, even though my Blue Knight (picked because he looked the ANGRIEST) played through the whole thing solo and was a STR/DEF focus.
- Lots of characters, but the only difference between them was their magic, and most of the unlockable characters use the SAME magic. Weak.
- I still haven't beaten the last 2 arenas, as mobs of guys generally seem to result in me (as a solo) getting ping-ponged from archer to archer until I die.
- Going through the whole "rocket to the castle" thing before the final boss was annoying to do EACH FREAKING TIME I left to go grind, and added nothing.
- The ninjas were underused.
- The Flash-esque graphics look dated, even though the game is only a year old.
- Most of the bosses were pretty easy, or easy until they got moving so fast as to be nigh-hittable. I'm looking at you, Corn and Ice Whale.
Verdict:
Worth the pickup, though I can't see myself replaying it much but for a) boredom or b) completion. About half the achievements require me to beat the full game in multiplayer or to play in the online ranked tourney, and neither of those are things I'm particularly interested in. Look for a sale, but only if you like beat-em-ups.