Castle Crashers

There's not really much more I can say about Castle Crashers that hasn't already been said by the four of us. The networking issues are known, the repetition in combat is a given, and "All You Can Quaff" still sucks, but at the end of the day, Castle Crashers remains one of the best beat-'em-ups ever created and certainly one of the top games on XBLA to date.

Castle Crashers provides great value. The main storyline offers hours of bad-guy beating and princess-rescuing fun that it is sure to please. The ability to play with friends should make the experience richer, even if it is limited to a more local experience. As a testament to its entertainment, feature losses and some disappointing online play hardly slow this juggernaut of amusement down. This is an absurdly hilarious romp you won't soon forget.

Whether crashing castles or the dusty corners of your nostalgia, these little guys score big. The gameplay is addictive and the self-referential material is charming. It also manages to hit the sweet spot between accessibility and depth that we expect from top shelf downloadable games. It isn’t too often that you see a good retro-themed game hit the market, and Castle Crashers is just that.