Xbox LIVE arcade games are usually short quirky affairs that focus on one or two features and provide around five hours of entertainment. But then there are games like Castle Crashers that just overflow with content and keep you busy for hours without end.

It is the second game from developers The Behemoth, following up on Alien Hominid, which incidentally is also an unlockable character if you own the game. It features a refined art style but still maintains the colorful comic style appearance. It tells a tale of saving princesses, defeating typical medieval villains and collecting swords and axes, for the most part. There are a lot of surprises along the way, including a downed UFO, and some very unique levels and monsters thrown your way, keeping things fresh.

On a basic level Castle Crashers is a beat ‘em up similar to Golden Axe or Double Dragon of old. Beating up hordes of enemy bandits and thieves with a wide range of weapons could be fun for a bit, but there is a lot more. A basic RPG system allows each player to customize his character (of which there are four to choose from initially) to suit his own style. Each character specializes in one magic elemental area, with Poison, Fire, Ice and Lightning in the arsenal when you first start the game. Progressing and gaining experience unlocks new combos and adds spells as skill points are allocated to four basic stats: Strength, Defense, Magic and Agility.

As you progress the amount of content grows as you collect weapons, unlock new playable characters and find animal orbs. Animal orbs are little creatures that follow you around, each with a special ability, ranging from collecting fruit to replenishing your health to boosting your stats. Something to take note of is that weapons don’t have the normal damage amounts found in most games, damage is determined by your attack skill, but they do all have skill point modifiers so even a carrot has use.

As a single player experience Castle Crashers is fun, but it is really meant to be played multiplayer. Up to four players can join a game, with a mix of local or Xbox LIVE players, so you and a buddy on the couch can team up with two friends online. Besides playing through the story mode, there is also an arena mode for some player versus player battles, which also sets everyone to the same level for an even match. Even more than two years after the original release it continues to be one of the top Xbox LIVE games, making finding a multiplayer game and experiencing the games true potential a no hassle affair.

There are also two expansions out on Xbox LIVE Marketplace, each adding additional playable characters, animal orbs and weapons. These expansions, together with the playable Alien Hominid, are also included in the initial PlayStation Network release as a gift to PS3 players for having to wait to play the game.

Castle Crashers has some very humorous moments along with boss battles that you will never forget. It truly stands out as one of the best games Xbox LIVE Arcade has to offer and is definitely worth the cost as it will keep you playing for hours on end.

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