For those stuck in the thief arena, equip the ram animal orb and go stand in a corner holding block. The thieves will shoot arrows at you, which you will block, and the ram will keep ramming them until they die. Cheap and slow, but it works.

Franklin Comes Alive!

Best arcade game after castlevania IMO, Still playing it, and I guess Im lucky cause I can play online with my friends o.O.

If you dont have it yet, get it!

Ethernal

STEAM STEAM STEAM STEAM STEAM STEAM STEAM STEAM STEAM STEAM STEAM STEAM STEAM STEAM STEAM STEAM STEAM STEAM STEAM STEAM STEAM STEAM STEAM STEAM STEAM STEAM STEAM STEAM STEAM STEAM STEAM

LlamaNL

@denebola - If the voices of the people who chastised the notion of reviewing Eternity's Child after the 1-day -old patch are any indication of "how you should review a game", then it shouldn't.

As for my opinion, I think the review should reflect the state of the game for the person reading the review. If there are glitches, they should definitely be mentioned, but if there are fixed on the way (or already released by the time you read the review), then they should be noted.

On a side note,
I really have to get my 360 hooked up to the internet again so I can play all these games and/or demos!

Arttemis

@Eville1 says SKUse me a sec.: I started the game with the alien unlocked... But that might be because the game scanned my HD for Alien Hominid, which I have for XBLA.

I thought he was playable from the start, but I guess I'm wrong. Still neat, though.

art_zombie

I agree with all of this review. It's really a shame that they didn't polish the mechanics of the game more. Broken online and wonky hit detection really bring this game down in my eyes, but the art direction is great. Paladin needs to find a better programmer. And they need to patch this shit before everyone loses interest in it. I bought it on launch hoping to play with my friends who live far away from me and we've yet to have a succesful game. This, in my book, makes the game a "don't buy" until they patch. I'm sick of unfinished games being forced on us. Isn't the certification process supposed to find bugs and stuff? I guess it's no substitute for good old QA. And Behemoth needs to get back to work on this game and quit appearing at horrible Penny Arcade Expos.

BurgerBat

I do have to agree that the enemy AI can be cheap at time, ALWAYS having an enemy just outside of melee range and while your currently attacking an enemy to shoot you from the front and back. It's gets really annoying

Anyone who has tried the Thief Arena challenges knows what I mean.

exkon

Castle Crashers is easily one of the best games I've played all year. The multiplayer side-scrolling brawlfest was my favorite kind of game as a kid, and to see it realized so well today (with a great sense of humor to boot) is a dream come true. And if you think the game is hard, just try Insane Mode. Good times.

You have to give props to The Behemoth for raising the bar on arcade-only games. Together with Braid, it's been an excellent month.

CitizenTian

Will this review be updated when they patch it?

denebola

Wait a minute...Didn't Alien Homind HD win Reader's Choice Best XBLA Game?

[kotaku.com]

Hopanoe

Jealousy Towards Owners of 360s Meter: ||||||::: RISING

vid3oman64

I had a level 35 character, many animals and weapons as well as a few unlocked characters...took my HD to a buddies to play co op and all of it was gone. Didn't think too much (maybe tied to my console). Played to get a new character to the low 20s...went home and hooked up the HD to find neither character...to say the game needs a patch is an understatement.

I love it, but seriously get this patched up soon.

Shinamano

Let's be fair.
It's hard to review a game on Co-Op when (assuming they're truthful) they didn't know the bug was there to begin with.
I've played Co-Op a few times, albeit without d/c issues. It definatly opens up a new element to the game, ordering who fights what and who grabs what. There isn't enough of that on XBLA.

I think the 'rough around the edges' thing was just looking for something to be a 'con'. You certainly don't have to be perfectly aligned. Usually after you hit twice, you will auto-hit it regardless. Enemies have a way of getting into the path of your sword it seems.
The knock-down thing, yes. It is very annoying, if you don't learn tricks to avoid it, like holding block. Simple. :/

Good review, points out the great bits, but was a bit unfair on the roughness. Let's wait for a patch. ;]

Sanjo

I've managed to have no issues with saves or online co-op. A friend of mine and I spent most of the holiday murdering cute hand-drawn enemies with nary a blip.

scumm_boy

Alien Hominid was fun for the 20 minutes it let me live. Castle Crashers stays fun way into the early hours of the morning. Though it can be glitchy, cheap, and very busy, having another knight in the game (and level grinding) helps to alleviate the pain.

hagridore

In all fairness, Alien Hominid was not a bad game. But, it's repeated "must die here" scenarios wore thin. Quickly. A little balancing could have made AH as good as Castle Crashers is.

Which take me to the next point: Castle Crashers rocks the shit! Very fun and if, like me, you'll never grow tired of poo jokes, you'll like the humor. Watching a grizzly crap himself really puts into perspective just what you're up against :)

I would recommend this game to anyone who enjoyed the old school brawlers like Final Fight and it's ilk. Good, senseless violence is food for the soul. I think Twain said that.... ;)

J

FranksnBeans

I've managed to play co op private games with a number of my mates and around third of the time it will have a wobbly and either die just as we have selected characters or just after we have completed a level. Seems to be some whacky combination of one or two of my mates who don't have their routers set up right. The times it does work though are utterly golden, such a great fun game. 1200pts is a fuckin bargain compared to the amount of time you'll get out of it.

NecronomiconUK

Sounds like fun.

Next up, updated Low G Man.

wolfeditor

Alien Hominid was tough, yes... but so are most Contra games. Just because its tough doesn't mean that you can't enjoy it.

As for Castle Crashers, I love it, even with its shortcomings. I really hope they get a patch out soon for multi though.

DerrickDS

Anyone who can say Alien Hominid isn't fun I don't think understands the meaning of the word. At the very least, they have a definition of fun that in no way correlates to my own, or Webster's.

getbonus

I never played a retail version of Alien Hominid but if it's the same as the flash game, it's fucking terrible.

GusherKid

Alien Hominid isn't even nearly as hard as real quarter munchers like Contra and Metal Slug... which everyone still thinks are fun.

Ninegauger

Alien Hominid is fun, but I'll never beat it. Don't have the desire to memorize the levels.

Anyway, YES. Castle Crashers is game of the summer.

thegreatseal

@seamroy: Defending my earlier point, Contra was easy as heck to me on the NES, but that was a different time...

Omnimon

Omnimon; fair enough. I just wish Castle Crashers let me control people by jumping on their shoulders like AH did. Has anyone unlocked the Alien for CC?

Eville1 says SKUse me a sec.

Two Flower; try the Thieves arena. That will make you want to kill every ass faced creature you ever see with a passion.

Eville1 says SKUse me a sec.

I agree completely with the "Rough around the edges". I can't stand being knocked down and before I can get up, I'm knocked down again. However, I realized that when you do get knocked down, all you need to do is hold the left trigger to block.

It's still a great game, and I do not regret my purchase at all.
Easy to get into for any type of player. And it's not a loaded hardcore RPG where you have to tweak your stats oh so perfectly to get 1 more damage out of a hit.
It's humorous and "cute", while being gory at the same time lol.

SillyHalfMexican

@Mommar: @AokiShinya: @Eville1 says SKUse me a sec.: @PC+Mac Coexist: It was hard for someone to just pick up and go, even if you're a gamer. I'm sure it was easy for some types of players, or players that are used to the type of game.

Omnimon

I somehow managed to get into a Castle Crashers online game. It ran great, except for crashing after we beat the final boss and nearly wiping out everyone's save games. ...okay, so, uh, not so great. But it was fun as hell before that point, and even my weak little Level 5 was able to get in there and have a good time alongside the stronger characters.

Now, however, I'm stuck on my solo game with, as the review noted, the evil ranged onslaughts. Specifically, the thieves forest, which I can get through but grinds me down so much that the final boss eats me alive. Need FAQ...

Twoflower

The breaker for me is the game's uncanny ability to lose save files. I'll wait for a patch.

Xagest

I'll get it when the patch comes out, if it does indeed fix the online. I don't buy games today based on the promises of tomorrow.

KaneRobot

One of very few titles that makes me want to buy X360, together with Geometry Wars 2 and Dead Rising.

Barts - www.bartsnews.net

@Mommar: Frustrating as a mofo though. Gives even Ikaruga and the like a run for their money with the bullets flyin'

Setzer IIDX

The game is pure genius. I spent the weekend with my brothers and sister playing 4 player co-op. The game never stopped being fun.

Even playing one player, its a blast. Still that patch really needs to come out soon.

FrigidAir44

@PC+Mac Coexist: Wanna do it for me? I have constantly seen everyone say AH was hard as hell. I just don't get it really.

Eville1 says SKUse me a sec.

Wow, schizo. Ok, the last part of the post was about Castle Crashers.

Eville1 says SKUse me a sec.

@Eville1 says SKUse me a sec.: Care to stroke your e-penis a bit more to finish?

PC+Mac Coexist

Was Alien Hominid really that hard? I remember when I bought it I beat it that day, then a friend played co-op and we beat it that way too. It was much easier than say, Contra in my opinion.

seamroy

@Mommar: Seriously, he could not possibly be more wrong. Alien Hominid was awesome.

PC+Mac Coexist

Alien Hominid was not hard. The rest of the world just sucks at it. Seriously. I've only played with 4 players offline though. Red level 40 rules!

Eville1 says SKUse me a sec.

Actually, Hominid is my most played Gamecube game.

AokiShinya

Alien Hominid wasn't that bad.

AokiShinya

"The Behemoth's last game - Alien Hominid - wasn't fun."

I 100% disagree. It was awesome. It was balls hard, old-school styled arcade shooter fun.

Mommar

Yes, air combos rule all! I'd be interested in seeing a time challenge. How long can you stay in the air? Mine was 45 seconds so far.

Eville1 says SKUse me a sec.

Great game but the poop jokes feel cheap and pointless.

Turael

I enjoy the game, it's fun, and I'm glad I bought it, but I think it's probably the most overhyped game for XBLA.

It's a brawler with cute art and characters that can level up. It hasn't brought a lot to the genre that other games haven't.

StupidDufus

"Or times when you finish 4 levels, quit, then restart to find the game only remembered you finished 2 of them."

When you do an uninterrupted section of levels- For example when playing Home Castle when switching screens at the end of it simply progresses to Castle Keep. If you die on Castle Keep you get kicked back to the world map where it is selectable but if you exit the game and come back before completing Castle Keep you`ll be kicked back to Home Castle. Don`t know if they did that on purpose but I found it odd as well... And especially annoying when it happens for the final boss.

And yea when you do find some people that you can play with online for more than 5 minutes without it killing your game it is absoulutely amazing.

cheesecake000

Seriously? Alien Hominid HD was great! Sure, you can beat the game in a couple hours (If not less), but it was just good ol' side-scroll, shooting fun. The story was funny, and there genuinely is enough technique to actually beat the game without using a continue. All around though, great game.

And Castle Crashers online? Really? I don't understand what everyone is going through. I've played with four different people online, two times of which my wife was playing with me (2-player on same console) and everything worked perfectly. No lag, no disconnection. Just straight fun.

UCB-Disco

I'm finally going back and getting all the Gamecube games I should have gotten a long time ago (feel kinda bad picking up the games now, the developers aren't getting any sales recognition).

Anyways, among Viewtaful Joe 1 & 2, and Killer 7, I picked up Alien Hominid. As an old school style, run & gun game it's not bad. I can see why people wouldn't like it, it's genre of gameplay is very niche these days. Great game to pick up and play for twenty minutes - which is about my attention span with games these days.

quadmonkey

Great game, especially if you enjoy poop humour. Love its style and art direction... ranged weapon attacks are a little cheesy, but I haven't had too much trouble with it.

Buy this and Bionic Commando: Rearmed, and you'll be blessed with gaming goodness for a good while!

dae_giovanni

this game is absolutely awesome until u try to play co-op online. I played for 2 hours with a friend and we lost all of our progress. It needs a patch bad, since when it crashes it basically wipes out everything you did if you didn't go back out to the map screen... which u don't for several levels in a row.

houkah

My brother, a buddy of ours, and I played the game for six hours straight over Live Saturday night with no issues. The game for lack of a better word, is awesome. Fortunately the "gross humor" as you call it was done by the end of the second mission/world/level. It was unnecessary but the first time you see it, you can't help but laugh. We saved the first three princesses three times (to ensure we each got the kisses), played arenas, and just had a blast. I haven't played it off line since I am trying to finish a couple of games before I go at it again since I know it will suck a lot of time (but in a good way).

web_man_dan

@The_Atomic_Pod:

I was about to say the same thing... air combos are key to surviving, plus its just fun to ride the waves of dead without even touching the ground...

Anyway, this is one of the most addictive games i've played in years. I give it 5 thumbs up.

polezo

Air combos work really well against thieves too. Keep them in the air and just juggle them back and fourth.

This game was worth every last penny!

The_Atomic_Pod

I played Local Co-Op with a friend, combined with two guys Online. Worked without a blip all night.

Castle Crashers is the kind of game you can waste a week with; addictive & brilliant.

The Catfish glitch is a bit of a game ruiner though.

Toastbusters

Me and a friend played through the main story in about maby 3-4 hours, leveled our characters and started insane mode.

The game is amazing and playing it on a single box with three other friends is dead fun (although quite hard to spot your own character in the ongoing onslught).
I´d love to se either a sequel or an extension of CC with more levels and more weapons/animals/items. There's a ton of things we havent found and/or unlocked yet and i love that fact. Can't say much more than that it's woth picking up and play through (with atleast one friend).

phiranaplant

I played Castle Crashers over the weekend with a friend, and it was a good time. I really miss beat-em-ups. The question I have, though, is how it has managed to make the old gameplay fun again. First of all, the old gameplay never stopped being fun. Cases in point, the D&D, X-Men, Simpsons, and TMNT arcade games. The way I see it, CC just sells the old gameplay to an audience that doesn't leave home.

Gospel X

@Eville1 says SKUse me a sec.: No kidding. At one point, when I was still playing it regularly, I played all the way to the last level on hard mode within the continue limit. Of course, the final boss usually kills me; I need like three continues for that guy.

Oh, and I'll chime in as another person who loved Alien Hominid. It's my whole reason for wanting Castle Crashers.

Petezah

See that deer? the one at the bottom?

It is propulsed by a fear induced diarrhea (not kidding)

(and I loved Alien Hominid though it's true it's too difficult)

interstate78

I had some left over microsoft points and got castle crashers for 12 bucks. This game is a great mix of sidescroller/rpg. I had some friends over sunday night, took me and a buddy 5 hours to beat the game just messing around. Played some 4 player for a few hours as well. I gotta say i havnt had this much fun with a game in a long time. Its actually cutting into my soul calibur time. I have all the animal orbs and most all the weapons. I still have a bunch of characters to unlock though.

Sinharvest

Alien Hominid was very fun. Just happened to take inspiration from Contra. Nothing wrong with that.

HikariOblivion

Castle Crashers is great! love it. I hope they make a remake of Battle toads. That game made me love side scrolling fighters.

tenske

i always thought Prince of Persia was the best XBLA game but this is awesome in co-op

LocustWhored

The cheap attacks are pretty annoying but they really only happen if your by yourself. The game is pretty difficult in the later stages but it is soloable if you play a hit run like tactic. You can tell this game was meant to be played with a full group of people, especially in insane mode.

MINIBOSS

this is the best arcade game on xbox live at the moment.

Lombax

@polezo: I second the air combos suggestion. And to gather cash, just keep beating the Barbarian Boss. And to level up in no time keep facing the bat boss, trapping the boomering behind him. It racks up hundreds of hits and levels you ridiculously fast. The only problem is you won't want to max out your character this way - it takes all the fun of adventuring away. It does, however, ease up on the difficulty, especially during Insane mode.

Anarchist_Gamer

Besides Brawl, Castle Crashers is THE most fun I've had with three other players in a game in a long, long time.

JN64Lover

Alien Hominid was so difficult, that I refuse to give Castle Crashers a chance.

D00mM4r1n3

Apparently I'm blessed, because I've had no issues with the game whatsoever. 4 player offline co-op is the way to go anyway, though - you get to laugh in your mates' faces when you kick their arse in a princess duel, or yell at them for being cheesy when they win. For me and my mates, it's this generation's best local multiplayer game, on a console that seems to not have time for them any more.

Pombar

I love this game. Best 1200 points I ever spent. 4 players on the same box is a blast and I find the combat much more rewarding than any side scrolling beat-em-up I remember playing back in the day.

Gray665

I 100% recommend Castle Crashers, this game is amazing. However, I also recommend you wait till a patch comes out. There are enough unlockables in this game to last you a long while. I played the Alien Hominid trial and hated it, but I LOVE this game. Give it a chance and download the trial.

Quicksilver4648

It's a fun little game and swallowed a whole night for me and the flatmate but since we've completed it I've not really touched it much.

The character balance is a bit iffy... blue knight seems a tad underpowered due to lacking an AoE magic jump in PvP fights and while freeze is nice, killing them is nicer =P

Out of the 7 Characters we've got the orange knight, the green knight and the demon thingy are considerably better than the rest. Their magic does more damage without any recognisable downside. I can't judge the red because his magic is a little weird but I can't help imagine that standing still to shock everyone like that would get you maimed in the final castle because there's so much stuff running around =P

The floating infinite combo is funny but kinda kills the challenge unless it's an enemy that's too heavy to float (all 2 of them or something).

It's a fun game despite all that and I heartily recommend it for some living room coop =D

Geminosity

I love this game. Definitely worth the $15.

But depth? Eh... I dunno. Yeah, there's some RPG-lite stat building in it... but once you reach Lv.78 with any character, all of your stats are maxed out... and the leveling up can continue to Lv.99! I don't know if you still get stronger, and that the point allocations are just extra bonus stats... but at this point, there's probably little reason to keep leveling up.

It does seem, however, that the online has had its issues. I've been able to play fine with some friends, and not-at-all with others. I'm realling hoping this gets sorted out soon!

BPMΣ

castle crashers is well worth the 1200 points. i bought other crap way more expensive that i never played ever again, this game is hilarious and kind of action packed. also i couldn't find anyone online due to it constanly crashing when i tried to connect.

Milkzhakes

I played through this whole game on-line multiplayer. It was just me and one friend whom I invited into the game, but it worked fine for us.

Then I tried to get in random games with other people, and those constantly dropped players.

Also, this is one of the greatest video games ever made.

melvin_x

It's an amazing game. Well worth the money. I would've paid $60 for it. Just a few weeks ago XBLA gave us Braid and now this?Incredible. I couldn't be more happy right now, I fully support this movement of high quality games on XBLA.
It's a lot of fun to play with friends, I haven't had any problems with losing game saves or connecting online.

SoamX

None of my friends want to play this game. NONE. They hate old arcade games.
This makes me very sad; 1-player is a BITCH in this game.

Crippl3

I'm in love with Castle Crashers art style. Dan Paladin has to be one of my favourite artists/developers. I'm half way through the single player and can't wait to play this with a few friends in co-op, once they've bought the game. Unlocking new characters and finding new weapons is pretty fun too.

I haven't had many issues with the online, though i did try to connect to a few games of the eating mini game, it failed several times but in the end i got in a game and instantly got my ass kicked.

Walker

I love Castle Crashers, just a ridiculous amount of fun.

Eschguy

Oh, Castle Crashers rules. Much better than Alien Hominid.

L_K_M

The problem I had with Alien Hominid was that the bullets were too small. I constantly got shot without being able to see what direction the bullets were coming from.

L_K_M

I've been meaning to buy Alien Hominid since it came out on the last gen consoles, it may be time if the price is right.

Now the only question is Castle Crashers or Braid? Makes my head hurt.

FLYmeatwad

I got suckered into buying AlienH when it launched, a friend and his bro were playing it and sent me an invite. So I paid for it and joined them. Then when I tried playing the SP I just couldn't get anything done. I'm more for games being fun and not challenging to the point of frustration. One of the very few regrets on XBLA.

I was only going to purchase CC if I could get friends to get, and this past Saturday a friend said he'd get it and we played through the whole campaign.

Very fun game, but like all arcade games it won't last me months of gameplay.

Teamwork Takedown

The review seems spot on except for its comment on alien hominid. Yes, it was hard. It was also fun though, you can have fun and hard.

Warskull

I've spent WAAAAY too much time playing Castle Crashers. Ive beaten it with multiple people and have a level 99 and am ranked 300 something in the world. Trying to beat it on insane but even with my level 99 Orange Knight I can't do it... Great game, online play is a lil shaky but I love it.

VirgoKnight

AH was hard? I just pressed forward and shoot and I finished the game on the cube.

Hyperfludd

Best game on XBLA so far! I'm just trying to figure out what The Behemoths fascination with shit is. I mean the deer shits to run away (pictured), the bear shits himself out of fear and there's a few other instances I can't remember...

Trowble (XBL/PSN)

topaz420: No split screen co-op at all. Sorry.

...But four people can play on a single console though, but the screen won't be split.

Drake Lake: Phase Lunaire

Nope, no split screen coop, there's something much, much better: 4-player coop on the same screen. :D

TheContender

Alien Hominid... Not fun...

Huh.

No, Wrong, shut up.

And the part of CC that made me not upgrade past the demo is the thin enemies. That's inexcusable, imo. I'm not going to spend half of my game trying to make sure my feet are within two vertical pixels of the enemies' feet.

Moonshadow101

One aspect that should be addressed in EVERY review -- is there SPLIT SCREEN co-op?

After the ridiculous exclusion of it in Mercenaries 2, I make it a point to learn this about every game before purchasing.

topaz420

I'd take Castle Crashers over Braid any day

Tha_Villain

I have to say, I enjoy my love/hate relationship with the thieves. Sure they were extremely hard in the arena, but letting the AI team up on you and use cheap strategies to win is plain awesome. It helped teach me how to get out of those situation, which could be very useful online. Although, by all means, don't think I was not annoyed when it first happened lol.

GcRayden

@TheContender
@Drake Lake

Thanks guys, that's just as good!
*BUYS GAME*

topaz420

I think the online problems for Castle Crashers exists only if you are trying to join random public games... Don't quote me on this though, I'm not entirely sure >_>... My friends and I played 2-4 player co-op the day it came out for 6hrs+ straight, so.. In terms of private games, I haven't had much trouble..

Katorok

@Mommar: Agreed. Alien Hominid was awesome sauce.

Spiffyness

Alien Hominid was a great game! Short, yes, but it was extremely fun! And it wasn't THAT hard. You probably like to hit your balls with a hammer too much.

SuperStingray

Hominid is awesome!! Cute and charming too.

ali_g_84uk

Man, I beat this game twice and I still want to play it. That's saying something. Half the time, I don't even beat a game once, because I get bored with it.

Too many games these days take themselves way too seriously. This was a nice breath of fresh air.

1Grand_Marquis

God damn. Am I the only one who clutched his junk while reading this post?

Dont worry babies I wont hurt you....

Terrorsaur.

@Luke:

Paper thin characters -- were you using Red Knight? The only problem I had with hitting things was with the Red Knight's area magic (RT+Y). However, that was before I found out that you can HOLD RT+Y. Wasn't a problem afterwards.

Cheap tactics -- try jumping or magic-jumping with the stick held up/down. Jumping like that moves you to a farther/closer plane, hopefully allowing you to avoid or disrupt the continuous hit pattern.

Distracting Stage Art -- which stages in particular?

Missing Progress -- that sucks. Do you remember how you quit? The game displays the "Saving" message everytime you exit to map.

As for Alien Hominid, what wasn't fun about it? The difficulty? I had trouble at first until I actually looked through the in-game help and discovered that the Alien had a bunch of very useful moves that really really helped survivability (e.g., hiding in ground, dodging, riding and controlling enemies).

kftgr

@wolfeditor: YES. That game was so great.

Anyways, yes, Castle Crashers is almost completely fantastic (Blue Guy FTW), though it can be a bit buggy. And Alien Hominid is awesome. You sir, are a wuss.

@Crippl3: You should kill your friends. DO IT.

Placentasaurus

yeah, i'm loving this game. On my second playthrough now. I like the way all the unlocks continue to all your other characters.

Ahmunnaeetchoo

@vid3oman64: For sure. If this game in co-op is as fun as Bionic Commando: Rearmed's co-op, it's a definite buy.

unfathomablej

getting an Xbox (finally) as soon as that price-cuts hits :)

honest to god, this game is the last exclusive to make me have to cave in and "jump in". it's funny how there are only like 5 games i want on the system at the moment... but there is a whole, giant crapload of Live Arcade games. i still don't agree with having to pay for online play- but there are just too damn many great games for live that i don't want to miss out on (plus i'm already a netflix subscriber- yet another unplanned bonus).

those devils at microsoft are playing serious hardball for my money...

laser beams

I really, really didn't like Alien Hominid. It was cool until it started ripping me to pieces, which typically is the exact opposite of fun. It's the primary reason I have yet to download Castle Crashers, and even after the review I'm still not sold. Too many other games I'd rather be playing than an apparently rather glitchy platformer, especially when the team that made it also made a game I don't like much at all.

Xenigma

You got owned on that Alien Hominid comment. Balls hard, or maybe you're balls ain't good enough.

KannonMAK

Since when was Alien Hominid not fun? Looks like we didn't play the same game here, because as far as I know, most people enjoyed it.

WorldDude

@Katorok:

I've encountered difficulties with both. Usually it's a "Gamer no longer available" or NAT error.

LanciePants

For those with data loss issues, try logging out and in again after you start CC. This has worked for me. I lost ~38 levels to what appeared to be data erasure, but after a friend's suggestion to log out and in again at the character selection screen, it worked (what tipped us off was that his dude wasn't lost, and all mine were). So, I think it's a matter of accessing that data, rather than it being erased.

RE: Getting knocked to the ground a lot. You are able to tech out of falls by pressing "A" when you land. Instead of laying on the ground, you pop right back up.

And about the 2D guys? That's just how 2D side scroller games are. And, to be fair, you don't have to be *precisely* lined up to hit. You can be a bit in front or behind them and still hit them (or be hit).

I advertised and marketed the heck out of Castle Crashers to my friends for the better part of a year. The game did not disappoint on any front, and four of my friends have already purchased the game. I'm giving all the credit to the game; all I did was show it to them and get excited about it.

The game rocks. Buy it now.

jinkywilliams

i wish it would show up on PSN, but thats okay.

joeloliol

PC version?

artofwar420

Alien Hominid wasn't fun. The worst aspects of old school hard as balls games + deliberately sadistic elements + all the depth of a flash game + totally awesome art and characters != a game worth paying for, IMO.

Castle Crashers is awesome. I played offline co-op for a few playthroughs, and it was a blast. We didn't even try online co-op, and there's been minimal single playering. It's fun. It isn't deep, but it's deep enough to keep you interested in playing and replaying much longer than any other game like it.

Rough around the edges it is, however. The vertical hit detection is a huge pain, (with magic far more so than melee attacks). And the positively inexcusable save game disappearing is absurd. A friend with every pet and nearly every weapon unlocked lost all of that. He kept his levels, his progress, and his characters, but all his items simply vanished, and he never even touched online play.

Jawajoey

Why isn't it on PSN?

For the love of all that is holy, why isn't it on PSN?

I'm really hoping for a port in the coming months.

Kainy

Alien Hominid wasn't fun?! What the Hell is wrong with you guys?!! You're probably the pussies that killed Contra and Metal Slug. Go back to playing your no-death point & click adventure games.

Gunhaver

I think calling Alien Hominid easy is the greater insult to the game :)

Agreed, Castle Crashers is FUN

Tubatic

Huh... I'm sorry, but Alien Hominid was fun.

I mean, sure, it might not have been up there against contemporary PS2 games with top-of-the-line graphics and control schemes, but it was a deceptively simple and brilliantly designed game that could best be described by one word: fun.

That said, I'm looking forward to this new game. Sometimes it's good to have a simple - yet fun - game.

brandechh

uhhh... not sure which games YOU guys have been playing, but every version of AH I've played has sucked the big one. Literally one of the worst experiences ever.

Still.. looking forward to giving this game a test run at the very least.

Superlocke

I love the game to death but thats what bothered me most was the super thin enemies. Even the hugest of beasts were no wider than a pencil.

King Seafoam

Is Castle Crashers as Insanely hard as Alien Hominid? Because the demo made it seem easy.

MURDERFACE

bonus: if you have alien hominid, the alien is a secret character in CC.

yuoma

@MURDERFACE: Castle Crashers gets progressively harder towards the end. But it's much more fair than Hominid. However, if you enjoyed Hominid's difficulty, you're more than catered for in Insane mode. ;)

RabidZombie

What is all this complaining about the (I thought funny) cheap humour? It's in one level, and completely appropriate at that point in time. Hell, have you seen the size of that thing!? I'd shit myself.

RabidZombie

sorry but you are wrong a;oen homnid rocked my face off. sounds like you just couldn't beat it.

Neo_X

I have alien hominid HD with 1 achievement unlocked and do not have him available as a secret character in CC. Do you have to beat the game first?

sicknick02

@RabidZombie: Awesome!! Thanks for the info i will buy the game once i finish Braid.

MURDERFACE

Oddly I've only been playing this game online and we have been enjoying ourselves immensely. I wonder what the specific network settings are that cause problems

qhue

Finally got to play this with my brother last night. Didn't want to put it down. It's fun, funny, difficult at times. For the cost, if you make a game this good, it's worth it.

broomperson

I'm an avid Metal Slug fan, and Alien Hominid gave even me fits, because it was so pattern-based. You had to be able to anticipate enemies before they even appear... and not so much with Castle Crashers, thankfully. I wouldn't let AH get in the way of your knight-bearing fun. It's a far more forgiving and deep game.

AlienRopeBurn

"The Behemoth's last game - Alien Hominid - wasn't fun."

i'm glad there's someone else who thinks that.

pasquinelli

Alien Hominid was incredibly fun, and unless you were trying to not die once on the hardest difficulty, I don't think it's really as hard as its reputation makes it out to be-- I had more trouble with BC on Super Hard, for instance.

EmTeeZ

This game is a major flashback to Golden Axe II.

I'm having a blast playing it with my fiance. Fortunately she likes it too and doesn't bitch at me for stealing all the gold, although maybe she hasn't noticed yet.

Bgrngod

@Bgrngod: One of the main things I noticed when I first started playing Castle Crashers is how closely it resembled the first two games of the Golden Axe series in many way. Then combine that with the Gauntlet-like character selection and leveling, it was instant win with me.

Currently, I'm trying to get the Red Knight leveled up strong enough to take on the Arena by the barn. The one with the evil green armored dudes. The ones that kill me without remorse more often than I'd ever have wished.

MrBionic

Pfff Alien Hominid WAS fun.

McPaper

I usually dislike the XBLA games (yes, even Braid) but Castle Crashers really grabbed hold of me. It really IS fun to play! So much so that I'm think of going out and buying another points card - The first in quite a long time!

It's so inspired, funny, and mysteriously addictive that it really stands out from the crowd of EA clones. I've played the demo so much that I owe the creators some money by now. :P

Rhawb

It's a great game, but I was hoping for more character variety. They all play essentially the same way. But they can't all be Guardian Heroes, can they? Still worth the purchase.

onidavin

Got this and played with three other friends locally and holy shit was it fun. Definitely a buy!

GreyFoxV1

I really like this game. It feels like a great weekend timewaster game. But it's so addicting, it's so much fun restarting with new characters and new and different combinations of characters and team mates. I especially like the inclusion of the ass kicking insane mode, which in 2 player co-op we've only gotten half-way through and are around level 40. It's just so much fun kicking the crap out of these guys, then in the next battle you waste 3 potions and are dead before you get to the boss. I can't wait until the co-op on Xbox live is fixed so four experienced players can easily play insane mode for the hell of it.

Danarcho

I finally tried online play last night, and wow. Usually when people complain about online being buggered, it's because of local issues or some such thing, but it really is massively, massively broken.

I couldn't connect to a single game, in any mode. It would freeze, drop me, freeze my entire system, etc.

please please please please patch this game!

MrBionic

@Barts - www.bartsnews.net: I must say, if those are the only games, you're an odd fellow (please don't take offense). Though I enjoy geometry wars (bought on steam :D), I'm just saying your list is too short. And Dead Rising? Never played it since I know nobody else who has it. But don't say you hate Halo 3 if you've only played less then 20 minutes of it or you just don't like it because you halo 3 haters are elitists and think you're "soo cool"

Shockadin

@Barts - www.bartsnews.net:
Good luck finding a new copy of Dead Rising but if you do grab it! I got mine off Amazon for $20!

GreyFoxV1

No need to play online when you have 3 friends. The best gaming experience I've had in a while and I will continue to have. (There's so much to unlock and I love every minute of it)

BMiggs

Co-op is what makes these types of games fun. This game shouldn't get any higher than a C right now. I couldn't get through 5 minutes of game play online without the damn thing dropping my connection. This happened to me 3-4 times in one session. My friends and I finally gave up and went to play Halo 3 instead.

henhowc