The 2D beat-‘em-up has been arguably dead for quite some time now. It harkens back to a time where games were much simpler, and reliance on complex conventions or 3D graphics were not exactly the norm. Castle Crashers is developer The Behemoth's entry into the genre, and it's surprising how much fun this classic style of action can still be. With a great art style, RPG leveling system, and tons of hidden content, you'll likely find yourself burning hour after hour hacking enemies to pieces. That is, of course, if you aren't hit with one of several show-stopping bugs that plague an otherwise excellent experience.

As mentioned previously, Castle Crashers is a beat-‘em-up, similar to that of Golden Axe. The objective is to go around hacking and slashing enemies to bits while using a variety of stat-altering weaponry and magic spells. There isn't much complexity to the controls; you have a single button assigned to quick attacks, heavy attacks, jumping, and magic. As you progress through the game, you'll eventually acquire additional combos, which while not entirely useful, add a bit of variety to the button-mashing. It's definitely a simple formula, but it works due to its impressive array of unlockables and RPG elements.

When Castle Crashers works as intended, there's a lot of fun to be had.

You gain experience points by striking foes, and with enough of it, you'll eventually increase in level. When this happens, you are given the option to pour experience points into one of four different skill trees. Strength increases your melee damage, magic makes spells more effective, defense grants you additional health, and agility provides you with a faster moving speed and the ability to fire arrows at a quicker rate. Since leveling up in the early game grants you more skill points than usual, it becomes important to choose a specific line and mix it with defense for best results. Spreading your abilities equally may result in difficulty later on, as you'll lack the proficiency in any one area to defeat some of the game's harder enemies and bosses.

In addition to the leveling elements, there are also a slew of unlockable weapons, animal orbs, and hidden characters to obtain. Weapons not only differ in appearance, but they also offer small stat modifications. Depending on your chosen profession, some will be more useful than others. However, it's a little annoying that you have to visit the blacksmith every time you acquire a new weapon. Since there's no other way to view its stats outside of returning to the main menu, this forces you to guess as to whether or not a weapon change is viable. It's a minor issue for sure, but it's one that's already been rectified in virtually every game that allows for stat manipulation.

Animal orbs are an interesting addition in that they supply your character with both passive and offensive abilities. Some animals will provide you with stat boosts while others will assist you in finding secret items, knocking down enemies, increasing your chance of rare drops, and more. There are few that serve little purpose outside of specific circumstances, but overall, the orb system is just another reason to keep you playing - as you're bound to unlock more as you proceed. The same can be said about the hidden characters. A few can be unlocked via the arena matches scattered throughout the overworld map, but most are obtained after you finish the game. Each successive completion with a character is bound to add a new one to the roster, and this cycle often repeats itself with the unlockables themselves. The addictive nature of this hidden content cannot be understated - it's a large part of the draw and what helps justify the slightly higher than average asking price.

If you've read this far, you've probably noticed that there hasn't been much criticism levied toward the game. That's because Castle Crashers is an extremely addictive and fun downloadable title. The problem is that it's also a bug-ridden mess. Many of the issues are confined to the barely-operable online component, which is supposed to allow for up to 4 player cooperative gameplay, versus matches, and competition in the forgettable All You Can Quaff mini-game. Unfortunately, online play may as well be non-existent, as both the quick and custom match options rarely, if ever, connect to games. In the event you're lucky enough to make it into a lobby (usually by creating one), there's a high likelihood that you will either be immediately dropped after the launch countdown or have the game outright lock up your 360. During our testing, we were unable to participate in any games that exceeded more than two players, and even those that did successfully launch eventually succumbed to random disconnection. This is a shame, because playing Castle Crashers with friends is quite an enjoyable experience. On the bright side, local play does work, so there's an avenue for multiplayer outside of the online option.

As good as they look, the graphics can sometimes obscure the playing field.

What's more, it is also possible to lose much of your saved game information due to glitches. The most common (and reproducible) method is to take your hard drive and plug it into another 360. After attempting to start a game, all of your previously saved data will be lost. Loss of information can also come from online play, as progress through the game doesn't always appear to save. If you've been playing through an extended session and it disconnects, your progress will not always be recorded. When you combine these issues with a slew of smaller bugs, you're left with a product that ultimately feels unfinished.

The good news is that the charm of Dan Paladin's artwork manages to shine through the technical blemishes. Castle Crashers features high resolution sprites that feature the unique art style in every way that matters, and offer a significant improvement over the visuals found in The Behemoth's last title, Alien Hominid. If there's any complaint to be had about the graphics, it's that they tend to overlap the playing field a little too often. This can lead to instances where both your character and the enemies you're fighting are completely hidden by the environment, which is never good. On the sound front, the music has been taken entirely from the Newgrounds audio portal, which is not surprising given The Behemoth's roots in that community. It works well, and despite a few noticeable looping issues, the music fits in nicely with the quirky style of the game.

The truth is, the current state of Castle Crashers is a disappointment. The game's structure, RPG elements, presentational style, and lasting value are all top notch - and this is without question one of the most entertaining brawlers you'll ever play. If it weren't for the broken online component, persistent data loss, and an all-around lack of polish, Castle Crashers could have been one of the best titles on Xbox Live Arcade. If you have the capacity to overlook its technical issues and have a group of friends who like the genre, this could be worth a download. However, until a patch arrives, the game cannot be wholeheartedly recommended.