Castle Crashers - Leave out the Hype

[General Chaos]

I have a few complaints I suppose. One mirrors your complaint about the lightning spell. In general the hit detection seems very "flat," meaning that you often have to be nearly exactly on the same plane as the enemy. This came into play with the giant pooping bat and my attempt to shoot it with a bow. However, it should be noted that this game's affording me to even write the previous sentence makes it pretty good in my book.

Anyway; the difficulty seems pretty good, but I agree that some of the bosses seem to be quite a bit more dififcult than they probably should be. I've only played as the green knight and the alien so far but my wife is playing as the red knight and our characters do indeed seem to be the same statistically and move-wise.

Despite the possibility that the characters are all alike, it's still really fun to make two different "types" of fighters when playing co-op. Right now my wife is playing as a "beef cake" in her words (maxed out STR) and I'm maxing out dexterity to create the ultimate archer. It makes a nice combo but I'm realizing that health and armor are also important unless you plan to carry 5 potions with you at all times.

Lastly, has anyone bought "monkey face?" I'm interested to know if it helps much with loot drops.

[Doctor Fugue]

I guess that's the answer, isn't it? To develop different kinds of characters. The red knight I'm working on is totally balanced, but I will try "beefing" out some others in different ways.

I forgot about the potions. I suppose I could bring along a few for that stupid wedding.

[RadarScope1]

the giant pooping bat

Now, how cool is that??

I agree about the "flatness" of the hit detection. It's a bit annoying but just takes getting used to. Somehow your attacks seem a little less badass when they're only like two inches wide.

[General Chaos]

I guess that's the answer, isn't it? To develop different kinds of characters. The red knight I'm working on is totally balanced, but I will try "beefing" out some others in different ways.

I forgot about the potions. I suppose I could bring along a few for that stupid wedding.

Despite really enjoying games I'm not all that good at them, so the potions are a must for me. It's a nice option to have.

[Gamerforlife]

I'm glad to see some complaints being put out there. Although I definitely give the game a thumbs up, I agree with some of the complaints brought up. I feel like The Behemoth still has a lot to learn about game design, but this is definitely a step up from Alien Hominid.

One thing that bugs me is that the game over emphasizes ranged combat. At first I thought, nah, it's not a problem but as you get farther and farther into it you see enemies CONSTANTLY using spells and ranged attacks on you and I've pretty much built my character around ranged combat to compensate. Most of my points are in magic and speed, which allows me to outrun enemies and quickly fire off some spells or arrows before they can catch up to me. Plus, being able to quickly put distance between me and the enemy gives me a chance to see incoming ranged attacks and avoid or block them.

I also have issues with launching enemies and doing air combos. Shame too, cause once you get an enemy in the air and in proper position, you can hit him infinitely with the strong attack. It's fun watching my character wack an enemy from one side of the screen to the other without my feet touching the ground. For melee oriented characters, it's all about the air combos. Too bad launching enemies is a bit tricky

Why can't Alien Hominid switch weapons?

Though it's much less of an issue than in their last game, sometimes you still get blinded by certain things onscreen. One level has me constantly running behind a huge pillar in the foreground, making it momentarily impossible to see my character and my enemies

The iffy collision detection. I don't know if I should blame the game or the genre, as this is an issue in many older generation beat'em ups

Still some cheap BS, though the rpg elements help balance this out quite a bit. The enemies in the arenas are pure cheese however. I've resigned myself to accepting that there will always be SOME cheap BS in The Behemoth's games.

What's with the mountable enemies? The ones I've seen so far are ridiculously weak, not like the dragons in Golden Axe. EDIT:mountable ANIMALS

I realize that repetition is normal in beat'em ups, but some stages provide zero enemy variety. Kill some dark knights, kill some more dark knights, kill some more dark knights, kill some more dark knights, kill some more dark knights, now fight a boss that is just an uber dark knight. Sigh

Some levels should have a check point.

Minor complaint, but unskippable cutscenes? C'mon.

There doesn't seem to be any way to back up your save date onto memory card. In fact, I have no idea where the game saves everything. There's NOTHING on my hard drive other than the game itself

In closing, I will say that I haven't beaten it yet. These are my impressions so far. For all the complaints I've made, the game has some really, really cool moments and is just plain fun.

[RackGaki]

This game is definitely a leap above Alien Hominid. I'm thoroughly enjoying the game!

Ranged combat is truly a pain. I'm more easily slighted by this than anything else.

Anyhow, the arena levels stink to high heaven, mostly due to arrows and such. Can't stand it! The little ram's head helps me more than the other critters, though, by knocking down my enemies so I can retreat or advance more easily. It's more difficult to block the ranged attacks when the enemies position themselves in all directions.

A positive aspect of Castle Crashers is that my wife loves playing it! Thoroughly enjoys it over Alien Hominid, and finds it much easier to play and follow. She always thought Alien Hominid was too busy and frantic to play.

I think I'm at level 17, upgrading mostly strength, then health, then speed. Works well so far. No use for magic (I've only played the green knight so far). I plan to play at least another hour when I get home...

[racketboy]

So how's it compare to Guardian Heroes?

[General Chaos]

A positive aspect of Castle Crashers is that my wife loves playing it! Thoroughly enjoys it over Alien Hominid, and finds it much easier to play and follow. She always thought Alien Hominid was too busy and frantic to play.

I think I'm at level 17, upgrading mostly strength, then health, then speed. Works well so far. No use for magic (I've only played the green knight so far). I plan to play at least another hour when I get home...

It's funny, I've discovered my wife is really into Castle Crashers and didn't like playing Alien Hominid very much (except the car level which is just plain fun). Castle Crashers is just easy enough to be a fun challenge, and I think they did a good job of reaching that area.

I'm working on the green knight as well and just got to level 18. I'm all in agility and now beefing up defense. Archery is just crazy once you max out agility and the sand creature (I forget its name) that speeds up exp gain is nice for characters lagging behind in levels.

Racket: As some have said, there's really no comparison between this and GH. GH is undoubtedly still the champion of insane side scrolling beat m' ups (in my opinion at least). However, in spite of what anyone else says, I think Castle Crashers appeals to me on nearly the same level as GH. It has a great sense of humor and some really outlandish characters and there are moments when I feel the same way I did when first playing GH. It's a good sign that it makes me want to go back and devote dozens more hours to GH.

I really don't want to unduly heap praise on Castle Crashers but some games just really make me happy to be playing because of some intangible quality, and its proving to be one of those.

[Doctor Fugue]

So how's it compare to Guardian Heroes?

From what little I've played of Guardian Heroes and compared to the hours of Castle Crashers I've played, there is no comparison. Guardian Heroes is quite a different experience, and by far a better game. I'm sure Gamerforlife can explain it...

[Gamerforlife]

So how's it compare to Guardian Heroes?

From what little I've played of Guardian Heroes and compared to the hours of Castle Crashers I've played, there is no comparison. Guardian Heroes is quite a different experience, and by far a better game. I'm sure Gamerforlife can explain it...

I do have some more thoughts on how the two games compare, but I have to get to sleep. Early to rise tomorrow and a long ten hour shift at work. Stayed up too late already(thanks to Castle Crashers:)

I'll make another post tomorrow. I made some more progress in Castle Crashers today. Maybe I'll get to finish it within the next day or so. I'm still having fun with the game, in spite of my complaints last post. It's definitely worth the price.