Joyswag: A Castle Crashers tee for your thoughts
by Christopher Grant 
{ Sep 10th 2006 at 3:35PM }
In the spirit of continuing this line of communication, we'll be giving away two of these super sweet Castle Crashers tees to a randomly selected comment containing feedback. Do you like the graphics? How much would you pay for a title like this? Did you manage to acquire the coveted "first post"? Just kidding, that last one doesn't count. Let us, and The Behemoth, know what you think of their latest effort and you could win a tee (continue reading for the rules). Get to it, we'll give you another chance tomorrow.
P.S.- Tom agrees with us, the world would be a much better place with a Pirate Baby's Cabana Battle Street Fight 2006 game. He didn't say they're making one, he was just saying. We're gonna puff up our cheeks and hold our breath until PBCBSF2006 climbs out of its animated grave and into our interactive world. Starting. Now.
A few other things:
- Only one entry per person, please (cheaters will be automatically disqualified)
- The contest is limited to US entrants only, mainly because we don't want to ship overseas
- You'll have until 2:30pm EST on Monday, September 11th to enter
- This shirt is a size L ... we'll have an XL for you tomorrow afternoon
- Please allow two to three weeks for prize delivery
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
Alex @ Sep 10th 2006 3:46PM
It looks cool but i dont think i would pay more than 800 points for it but i would pay for new levels or characters, mabey 100-200 points each.
Jaleeb Caru @ Sep 10th 2006 3:42PM
Love those graphics, but I don't know what I'd pay for a title like this.
Luck @ Sep 10th 2006 3:43PM
First post! :p
Naw, this game looks awesome. Maybe it'll even sell some units in Japan. They go batty for this kind of stuff
AC91 @ Sep 10th 2006 4:11PM
Lol! First Post (if nobody posts while I type, but anyway)!!!
I think it looks awesome. We need games like this. What are the most popular titles on XBLA? It's not Frogger or Pac-Man....and really not even Street Fighter! They are Geo Wars, Marble Blast, Outpost Kaloki, Cloning Clydes etc. These are the games that I want more of. We all know Tom Fulp can do a good game, with titles like Alien Hominid. That was a crazy Arcade type game...and since this is Xbox Live Arcade...well Tom, your games were meant for this space.
Chris W. @ Sep 10th 2006 3:48PM
The game looks awesome. Just make sure that the multiplayer is tons of fun. Maybe add some online play. An a flash demo/version would be cool too.
MartinG. @ Sep 10th 2006 3:48PM
Looks like I'll this will be my 2nd XBL arcade game to be purchased. The first being Geometry Wars. I love how smooth the animation looks and the the colors are definately attractive. Wrap that around what looks to be awesome gameplay and you've got yourself a winner.
Stukodokka @ Sep 10th 2006 3:49PM
This is my most anticipated upcoming XBLA game. I loved Alien Hominid for the GameCube, and I fully plan on buying AH for XBLA as well.
Castle Crashers looks to return to the great days of classic co-op. Only it takes that online.
As with Alien Hominid, the hand-drawn characters and backrounds are excellent. They are a welcome change from the over-done, fancy graphics that we see in most current games.
ElChibo @ Sep 10th 2006 3:49PM
The game looks very nice, much better than I expected. The best thing about it is easily the art style. The game looks really nice with high definition, which helps bring nice vibrant colors to the worlds and characters.
We havn't seen a genre like this for a while, and reminds me a lot of games like The Simpsons for arcades that used to be really popular.
The fighting in it looks like it gets a little hectic at times, but if you have four people together playing that should only make it more fun.
If this was a full long game with a nice amount of extras packaged as a normal game, I think it would sell great at a budget $20, or maybe $30 at the most. With all these $60 games owning the 360, it would be nice to see some budget titles under $40. However since I believe it is being distributed over Xbox Live Arcade, that means you don't get anything physical for it, and it probably won't be as large of a game with space restrictions and such. However this game seems to be much more than the standard card game or mini-game esque game like Geometry Wars. It should be around 800-1000 MS Points.
bob23 @ Sep 10th 2006 3:50PM
I think this game could sell rather well. I like the not so serious cartoony graphics and the gameplay looks sweet. This would definitely be a game I'd want to buy. I think around 800 to 1300 MS Points would probably be a good price for the game.
Wedge @ Sep 10th 2006 3:50PM
I played this at PAX and it was frickin' sweet. The graphics are the usual excellent stylistic fare from Behemoth. Which means lots of awesome battle and death animations. There were some really nice backgrounds going on too, with tons of sprites and animation going on. Based on the content there looked to be from the overworld map, I'd easily pay $20 for this, maybe $25 or $30 if they get the Live multiplayer support ends up working out. Though in that case, prolly best to keep it cheaper so more people will buy it and play it.
AGhost @ Sep 10th 2006 3:54PM
I would definitely buy this game!
One thing I found was that some player-controlled characters seemed to get very close to the edge of the screen and even partly off it. I would like it if the view moved slightly so that all the player's characters stayed as much in the middle of the screen as possible.
Another thing that I really want is Live Co-Op play that you could do like the fourplayer shown in the video but over live with your friends.
Looks awesome!
Dylan @ Sep 10th 2006 3:53PM
May it please come out on Wii's virtual console as well?
Also plague rat flail, and sword-chucks.
LaughingTarget @ Sep 10th 2006 3:56PM
It is particularly difficult to judge by the content of the video. How smooth are the controls? What is the estimated first run play time from start to finish? Will it focus on 4 player on the same system, or will it also allow co-op via Live? The visuals, while interesting, hardly make up a reason to make a purchase. I feel such a game may become dull fast. The button masher beat'em up is an old throwback from the 90's that died out for a reason. While in the early stages, like TMNT, Double Dragon, etc were entertaining, they lacked any real substance and quickly were dwarfed by other games that offered a much more complex experience.
I would probably go for the equivelant of $10 maximum for this title given the style being presented.
exy @ Sep 10th 2006 3:55PM
Absolutely a must by in my opinion! This trailer has piqued my interest and I can't wait to play with my friends. Okok, here's my two cents:
Concerning the treasure chests... when all four players rushed to get said treasure, or when there was action going around the chest... I could never tell who actually opened the thing, just that a "Weapon" was released.
Is it possible to get a small animation, such as when a player levels up, when a player opens a chest? Or maybe a controller shake so the player knows he opened it?
Maybe it's obvious when you're playing, but as a spectator I couldn't tell at all.
PS. LOVED the boss, and when he died, his bones melting away... super job! Look forward to more great Work Tom & Behemoth!
Encodes @ Sep 10th 2006 3:58PM
I remember these kind of games from when i was a wee little thing and i used to sit in my living room playin with my mates and how it would often dissolve into a kind of free for all brawl around our house! ah the memories id buy this game for them alone, and the fact it looks like such a pretty lass of a game makes it even better!
Lucas Kollauf @ Sep 10th 2006 4:00PM
I would pay, at the most, 15 dollars for it. I bought Alien Hominid and it was great. I am expecting great things from this as well.
Lucas
Grim @ Sep 10th 2006 3:59PM
Besides from the already mentioned problem, I don't see anything wrong with this game. The graphics are crisp, the atmosphere is really cool, and the gameplay looks like loads of fun.
I have only seen one mini-game so far, in which the players tapped the X and Y buttons and the A button every so often. If they can make this into one of those games really fun party games by including more mini-games, Castle Crashers will be gold.
As for a price, I think many people would be willing to pay between 800 and 1200. The upcoming XBLA game Roboblitz is going to cost 1200 points, so I don't see why this fully-fledged game can't as well.
McWeen @ Sep 10th 2006 4:01PM
I love the graphics. Depending on the length and variety of the game I would pry pay a fair amount. After watching the video maybe I think I may get a 360 after all. It looks like the sort of game I'd play with my friends while enjoying umm "sodas"
Can Dulgar @ Sep 10th 2006 4:09PM
This game reminds me of that Alien Hominid game that was on newgrounds. I definetly love the graphics and all but I hope it doesn't not get repatitive. It's cool how they have a bunch of enemies like the mole people and the black hairy rectangular solids.
Zatch @ Sep 10th 2006 4:10PM
The graphic style alone makes me curious. For sure I will get the trial and if I find it has more depth than I thought, I will buy it. (I just bought Time Pilot, so maybe depth doesn't really matter to me. :P) I think 1200 is the most MS points I would spend on it. I hope it's 800 points though...Playing online with 3 other friends is going to be so much fun though. So far we have just Gauntlet and that gets sort of repetative and boring after a short while.
taliesin nine @ Sep 10th 2006 4:03PM
This game does look awesome. I really miss this kind of gameplay. The graphics mesh perfectly with the style of gameplay too. I'm not much of a console fan (although I might get a 360 eventually) so it would be great if they would port this to PC. I think twenty bucks would be a fair price for a game like this for me. As for improvements, the greater the number of unique playable characters, the better.
Psaakyrn @ Sep 10th 2006 4:06PM
There's definately a marked difference between this and the previous build. Not to be whiny again, but there seens to be longer intervals between enemy meetings this time, though it's probably more of a balancing issue than anythign else. Wish I knew the difference between the 3 weapons though..
The biggest problem with judging games like this is that we can't really tell how varied the enemies will be from looking at 2 stages alone. Taking the Little Fighter example again, the variations don't really come until the half-game mark, but suddenly having spellcasters (offensive from 3rd stage, and healing from 4th stage IIRC) does wonders to spice up the battles. (The other thing I like about little fighter is the item usage (both you and the enemy), but I'm not sure if the engine for CC has options for such interactions)
If it's still in development (or if development continues after initial purchase, with at least a few guraunteed "free" updates) I would think that there would be potential, but for now, I'll just take what I can see. (sadly, no 360 for me for a long time, even though I plan on developing games myself, because I'm poor...)
Ethan @ Sep 10th 2006 6:06PM
I would probably pay up to 800-900 points for this. I love the beautifully animated backrounds. I noticed some weapon switching in the video (some sort of menu appeared above the character's head) and I am wondering how that works. D-pad maybe? Well anyways, I am definetely looking forward to this and I'll get it whenever it comes out.
Greg @ Sep 10th 2006 4:07PM
I was lucky and got hands-on with Castle Crashers at the San Diego Comic-Con... it's an instant trip back to 'good old days' when four people sank quarters into the Konami arcade games and bashed ninjas endlessly.
Seriously, which knight do I pick? Yellow? Red? Donatello? Man do I ache for that style again.
Within a minute of cut scene, the visual comedy and violence enchanted my friend, who had never seen Hominid in action.
It's great to see a company like The Behemoth strike success AND keep the old roots alive, they rock! -GD
Crimson Angelus @ Sep 10th 2006 4:09PM
I would say that for the most part that the price I pay for any arcade game is dependant on a few things. The main thing of course being gameplay, whereas the second many people don't think of is longevity. Bungie could have made me pay a ton more for Halo 2 than the $60 I did pay and after getting hooked to the online play I would have understood why. If Castle Crashers can manage to have a component, whether online or off, that makes me want to keep playing it for fun I will gladly pay almost any asking price. On the other hand if the game falls short and doesn't have a reason to keep going back to it I can't see it being worth more than five to ten dollars. That's just my take and others may feel like it's unfair, but there are so many games that used to ask $50 or more for a four to six hour adventure and that just doesn't seem fair to me when other games deliver more worth for the amount you spend on them.
Rogue Soul @ Sep 10th 2006 4:09PM
The video reminded me of the classic title - 'Guardian Heroes' on the Sega Saturn with its crisp, bright, chaotic visuals and sidescrolling bash-em-up gameplay.
My only concern was that the 4players had a tendency to clump together on the right hand side of the screen.
Jordan K @ Sep 10th 2006 4:10PM
z0mG that game reminds me so much of Alien Homid (maybe cause its made by the same people lol) Id definatly pay $45 for that and a good ol' $15 to $20 bucks on the tShirt. I CAN'T WAIT FOR THIS GAME!
Raynre @ Sep 10th 2006 4:15PM
After Geometry Wars, this is my most wanted title on XBLA. The graphics are Dan Paladin's usual fare, (that is to say, kickass) and the gameplay looks really tight other than the aformentioned enemies-getting-stuck-on-the-edge-of-the-screen. Hope this game comes to the Wii virtual console eventually, some wand-waving multiplayer action would deprive me of so much of my already non-existant free time.
ster @ Sep 10th 2006 4:16PM
I love the visual style because it's just so clean cut and awesome.
hack @ Sep 10th 2006 4:17PM
I think the game looks great, and I look forward to grabbing it. The style is simple, yet crazy, and looks incredibly chaotic (see: fun). An online multiplayer component looks like it would rock. And I'd love to see more variations on the environments (from the video, they all looked rather the same, that is simply walking forward through the environment). I'd love to see destructable objects, interactive objects that perform actions (such as triggering a large weapon, making objects fall on enemies, different paths to take, etc.). Though even just based on the video alone, it looks to be a fun game.
If the game plays as well as it looks, I wouldn't mind paying 800-1500 points for it (or around $20).
Also, if the music I'm hearing from the video is the actual soundtrack for the game, it sounds rather good. Epic-style music. I like that.
Figment @ Sep 10th 2006 5:17PM
I put so much time into playing Alien Hominid co-op with my friends, I cannot WAIT for castle crashers.
Plus, the shirt just looks cool :)
Bryan Chojnowski @ Sep 10th 2006 4:21PM
I got to play this game at Comic Con, and it is a truly fabulous game. One of the best games I've played in years. It has great gameplay elements, and extremely entertaining cutscenes. Synj's graphics are top notch and just add to the element of fun in this title. I personally hate forking over $15 or so for games on Xbox Live Arcade that I don't have a physical copy of, but I'd gladly pay it for a game of this quality and ingenuity.
jmm4648 @ Sep 10th 2006 6:07PM
The game looks like it is a lot of fun. However, I am wondering if the computer will control characters for you if you only have two people and not four. I don't own a 360 at the moment, but when I get one, I would pick up this game for around $10; I may change my thoughts on the price once I learn how long the game is and if I will be able to play it on Live. Keep up the great work, AH was a fun game and expect CC will be one as well.
Zaius @ Sep 10th 2006 6:50PM
Alien Hominid kicked my ass. The secret to this game in my opinion is great art style and appealing and smooth animation. I love it already.
Nick Simpson @ Sep 10th 2006 4:42PM
I love the graphic style and simplicity. That said, I'm not really a fan. I played the bully game in flash for a bit, but found it pretty repetive. I'm kind of interested in how these games have been expanded upon though, and what they are like further into the game. Like leveling up, seems interesting.
FiveElementNinja @ Sep 10th 2006 4:47PM
This is the only XBLA game I'm excited about and waiting for. It takes me back to better days when I'd spent countless quarters on the old TMNT arcade game, Golden Axe, and that X-Men game.
I wouldn't mind paying 800 marketplace points for the game, although 400 would be nice since that's how much I have in my account right now. :) However, anything beyond 800 might make me reconsider purchasing.
One thing that worries me about online multiplayer is that some jerk could just stand still and prevent the rest of the players from advancing forward. I'm sure there is already a system in place to prevent that though.
Also, I think all these comments are indication that we'd all pay for one of those shirts.. *wink*
rocko @ Sep 10th 2006 4:43PM
sounds pretty neat. The characters remind me of that game for the Genesis where you could choose either the Blue warrior or the Red warrior, and it had a really catchy song throughout the game. Damn, can't believe I don't remember what it was called.
Anyways (for total suckup points which are actually true) the gaming universe needs people who "gets" the idea of gaming, same thing with movies. If people like Nick Nunziata of Chud.com, or Joe from Joeblow.com made movies, they'd be amazing because they "get" movies. The same would probably go for gaming as well. It's a pretty neat world we live in, in my humble-yet-honest opinion.
Cameron @ Sep 10th 2006 4:47PM
I would probaly pay no more than $10 dollars. The game looks great graphically.
Yadneb @ Sep 10th 2006 4:52PM
I am really excited about this game. I think it looks like a lot of fun and I really dig the art style. I guess I will withold full judgement on the pricing structure to figure out exactly how long the game is, all the features etc. Generally these type of games have been around 800ms pts. I feel that 800 would be a fair price, if the game was 400 I would no doubt pick it up in a second!
entro @ Sep 10th 2006 4:57PM
looks great though I'm not a huge fan of beat em ups. I see alot of people talking about the 20$ mark for the game. One of the biggest problems I foresee with XBLA and my own self is that 20$ enters in the realm of a 'non-impulse buy.' Geometry Wars was a no brainer as was Uno. Again those games are fairly simply and require less art direction than this. The make or break on that may be multiplayer and headset support... but I definately think the goal of XBLA and where its headed may defined by games like this if they hit the 20$ mark. The only beat em up that really got more than casual love from me was the DND series and that was because there seemed to be more depth to it. I could be wrong after playing the demo version... and with lumines headed around that price scheme my attitude may change significantly when the climate does. For now, I'm watching this with interest.
agreed on the pay for shirt comment tho :)
Brad Lee @ Sep 10th 2006 4:53PM
Looks fantastic! I'd gladly plunk down 800-1200 MS points for that, but any more than that might be pushing it, depending on the features of course.
Speaking of which, I think online co-op play is a must, and would seem like a terrible oversight not to include. But also, I would like to see an online system similar to Halo 2 where you could take a friend and play online without having two seperate accounts. That way, you could play with a friend locally and connect to a couple more online.
To keep the game from getting boring, extra combos or special attacks should be learned from leveling. Adding an option to grab and throw enemies is also a good way to keep the brawler genre from getting too repetitive. 'Team Attacks' are fun too, but adding them may put single players at a severe disadvantage.
Another interesting option would be to add an 'infinity mode,' where the object is to keep beating the game over and over again (with the difficulty getting higher and higher of course) to achieve the highest character level possible, and then the levels would be posted on leaderboards.
I saved the praise for last because thats the best part. I love the visual style and the comedy. The game looks even better than Alien Hominid, which is definitely a complement. And finally, I love that The Behemoth is resurecting the Brawler genre. The genre as a whole might be a bit shallow, but multiplayer is always a chaotic good time.
Damage @ Mar 23rd 2007 12:59PM
Love the look of the game, looks like it could be mad fun over Live.
I would probably not pay more than $10 ( still don't know those $ -> M$ points conversions)
on a Feedback note, when a player tried to switch weapons, it appeared it covered a lot of on screen action, Could be real annoying with those "can't make up their mind" type of players.
Fireblend @ Sep 10th 2006 4:55PM
The game looks really fun. I specially like the look they're going for, I think it really shows the theme they're giving to the game. I bet it'll be an enjoyable game, I'd be really disappointed if this ends up badly.
Rod Chester @ Sep 10th 2006 4:57PM
Man I can't wait for this game. Co-op is gonna be of the hook. Now gimmie that killer shirt or else I'm going to have to crash your stinkin castle with my Fists of Doom!
Ash the Groovy @ Sep 10th 2006 4:58PM
If this costed $15, I'd buy it. No way I'd shell out so much for any other arcade game. (That means you, Lumines Live.)
But this looks just so friggin' sweet. I can't wait!
JTHomeslice @ Sep 10th 2006 4:58PM
I love the art style. Dan is such a great artist.
melloncollie @ Sep 10th 2006 4:58PM
The graphics suit the game well. I'd pay around $10-ish for it. Also, could your mount do anything else? I saw it look like a dragon, maybe it could shoot projectile fireballs at enemies as well.
Mars10 @ Sep 10th 2006 4:58PM
This game looks great. It reminds me of the days of alien vs. predator and Cadillac’s and Dinosaurs in the arcade. The moment i saw what the game play was like i felt like calling over friends to battle it out together.
The game play looks very classic, but also has a more stylized feel. Even though the game play is classic I believe it to be a powerful formula. Fight smaller baddies to get to the bigger baddies and even throw in random fun stuff to make the players laugh (like the guy moving in the bush).
I cant wait for this game to be released as i am sure it will get played just as much as geometry wars.
As for price, I would pay up to 20 bucks for an arcade title if it truly was quality. Again, from what I have seen in the video it looks to be a title that the Xbox 360 owner cannot pass up, a title of quality.
trav @ Sep 10th 2006 5:06PM
The graphics look astounding, I'm really liking the style. So does the gameplay as well, really brings back memories as many people say. That said, this would be one of the reasons that I'd buy a 360. I'd also enjoy if you brought this to the Wii's Virtual Console so I can play it sooner rather than later when I buy the 360. But great work, and continue making games. It looks like you have a real passion for the game and for the gamers themselves.
I can't really name a price, it all matters on how long it is, and whether it has online co-op. If you have both a long game, and the co-op I'd pay up to $30 for it I'd imagine.
rockintom99 @ Sep 10th 2006 5:09PM
There is so much to look forward to in this.
The graphics are *amazing*. Not only the high res, and widescreen, but the animation, and effects. Synj really outdid himself on this.
The gameplay looks top-notch. 4 player co-op looks to be loads of fun.
The only thing I would really want is a Wii version, though i *do* plan on getting a 360... sometime.