CastleStorm (XBLA)

Zen Studios is a gaming company that is mainly known for their amazing arcade style pinball releases. I for one have spent many hours enjoying the various tables that they have created on both the Xbox 360, and PS3 consoles. I have even spread the word on the latest table releases here on this blog. While most of Zen Studio's early focus was on the previously mentioned pinball consoles releases it was nice to see Zen Studios branch out recently, and bring their award worthy games to different platforms (Mobile & PC). What surprised, and intrigued me the most about this developer though was their decision to make a type of game that gamers usually don't associate with the Zen Studios brand of gaming. This newly released game I speak of is none other than "CastleStorm". It's a unique medieval arcade style experience that seems to borrow the quirkiness of Zen Studio's "Epic Quest" Zen Pinball/Pinball FX2 table. It even takes the inspiration leaps and bounds further. The game definitely offers a lot more than it's pinball based predecessors, and does so in an entirely new way. Whether, or not the gaming community will welcome it with open arms remains to be seen though.

CastleStorm is an action-strategy based game that is based on it's own Monty Python-like mythology. At the heart of the game (Campiagn Mode) you'll find that there are two warring kingdoms who have always been at odds with each other. On one side you have the loyal Knights, and on the other the savage and somewhat brutal Vikings. During one of their epic war campaigns the Knights, and the Vikings found some peace once an onlooking Goddess shed her tears on the battlefield. The two tears which ultimately became mystical gemstones were gathered up by each of the kingdom's rulers. The two kingdoms went there separate ways, and enjoyed both peace and longevity for quite some time. It wasn't until the Vikings grew tired of the age old peace that they decided to start yet another epic conflict. With the aid of an unsuspecting ally (who could easily pass as a Disney villain) the Vikings set out to steal their opposition's gemstone for themselves. This act of course would give the Vikings the upper hand, and would allow them to conquer any kingdom they went up against. Luckily though there was a valiant, and somewhat arrogant knight named Sir Gareth who would right the wrongs, and lead his kingdom to victory ... or would he???

Now Onto the gameplay ...

In "CastleStorm" you'll find that gameplay is managed in multiple ways. In the core "Campaign" mode you'll learn through tutorials that managing your kingdom can be done in four basic ways. These methods include the use of a ballista that fires various projectiles (sheep, rocks, potions, arrows ..), an odd assortment of unlockable troops (Knights, Archers, Griffins ...) that can be summoned to the battlefield, magic spells, and the use of Sir Gareth himself. Sir Gareth, and the ballista being the main powerhouses that they are are manually controlled features on the battlefield. The troops, and spells on the other hand are more of an RTS (Real Time Strategy) type of feature. Managing both types of combat mechanics (RTS & Hands-On) within the various skirmish based situations will become easier as you play through the tutorial levels as well as through in-game experience. One thing you definitely need to keep in mind is that each button on your controller (X, Y, A, B) controls a different function in the game. The "A" button for example allows you to fire your ballista weapon at the advancing enemy troops, or at the enemy's castle. The "X" button is used to bring up the troop summoning menu, and to summon troops as well. The "Y" button also has a duel function in that it can be used to summon Sir Gareth to the battlefield, or to use one of the several earned spells found within the game.

In order to successfully manage your kingdom in any given skirmish you must earn gold to fund your war efforts. This can be accomplished through enemy troop annihilation, and enemy castle destruction. There are of course other ways to earn gold as well though. These ways mainly include completing quests, and side quests in the best possible way. Both the quests, and side quest completions are judged on a five star basis (Angry Birds) in CastleStorm. This means that certain objectives must be completed, and must be done in specific manners in order to score the most loot out of the situation. Killing enemy troops in sequence without missing will also score you some extra cash for the kingdom assuming you rack up a good combo in the process. Zen Studios has actually applied a combo system to the wacky combat of CastleStorm as well as a percentage based skill assessment (Total Hits, Total Misses, Troop of the Day, Total Kills ...) that is displayed after you have completed a quest/sidequest. This gives the game a very high level of replay value, as well as gives those achievement hounds out there a goal of perfection to reach for.

Aside from the gold income, your troops must also be managed with a proper supply of food/rations. Food constantly refills as time passes within a skirmish, but you will only be able to supply enough food for a limited amount of troops. This means that you can only summon a troop if you have enough food/rations to feed them. The amount of food is displayed on the bottom of the screen within the troop menu along with the other menu systems. Keep in mind that the more powerful the troops are the more food/rations they will ultimately require. You should also note that your troops are housed within castle rooms. If a room with a certain troop in it should fall that troop will no longer be available for use. This brings me to my next topic. CastleStorm features an in-depth upgrade, and management system that not only allows you to build your own castle from the ground up, but also allows you to upgrade every other feature associated with the castle infrastructure (troop capacity, food/ration output, Gold Intake ...). In other words you can use the gold that you earn from each quest/side quest to upgrade your troops, and castle features in an RPG-like manner. The higher the upgrade, the better the performance.

About the skirmishes ...

Skirmishes in CastleStorm can be won in two different ways. You can either outright destroy an opponent's castle with your various ballista weapons, or you can summon troops to invade the opponent's castle. The latter method will require that you steal their flag. Stealing an opponent's flag will require that you successfully bring it back to your own castle though. The problem with this method of conquering is that your opponent will also be sending out troops who will be intent on taking down your own army. The best way to remedy said situation is to use your Ballista to keep enemy troops from your flag carrier, cast a protection spell on your flag carrying troop, or send Sir Gareth to the battlefield to fend off the attackers.

About the game modes ...

CastleStorm offers a nice selection of game modes for both solo, and multiplayer enthusiasts. As I mentioned in the paragraphs above there is a massive campaign mode filled with quests, and sidequests that are waiting to be completed. The "Campaign" mode is definitely the heart of the game, and playing through it to the end will reward the player with unlocked features (troops, spells, upgrades ...) that can be used in the multiplayer parts of the game as well as in the offline portion of it. Aside from the campaign you'll find some interesting "Solo vs AI" modes, and muliplayer modes that also borrow from the core campaign experience. These modes include Skirmish, Survival, and Hero Survival. Skirmish is just as it sounds. It requires that you defeat the opposing kingdom using any means necessary (troops, spells, ballista, Sir Gareth ...). As I mentioned earlier you can conquer your enemy in "Skirmish" using either the capture the flag method, or the castle destruction method. Either way it will put you up against an AI opponent, or an online player (according to your choice of offline/online gameplay).

Survival mode is a different type of game mode that only allows you to use the ballista projectiles against wave after wave of attackers. In this mode it is your goal to survive as many waves of attackers as possible without allowing them to breach your castle gates. In a way it's sort of like a shmup (Shoot 'em up) based mode. Last, but certainly not least is the "Hero Survival" mode. In this game type you must use either Sir Gareth, or one of the other unlockable characters (via Campaign) to fend off waves of enemy troops who are trying to steal your flag. If the enemy troops succeed in taking your flag offscreen you will lose. I forgot to mention earlier that controlling Sir Gareth in the game is a manual experience. He can jump (A), and attack (Sword = X, Bow = RB + Y) (sword & bow) as well as defend (Shield = LB) like any platforming character. The catch is that Sir Gareth has a given amount of life meter (health) just like his troop counterparts.

About graphic & in-game features ...

CastleStorm is a game that definitely takes inspiration from the graphic design of Zen Studio's "Epic Quest" Zen Pinball/Pinball FX2 table. The characters within the game move stiffly, but feature wacky facial expressions, and movements similar to those of the Zen Studios pinball table features. Each character in essence is an exaggerated version of a human, or creature that was lightheartedly designed, and that could easily be passed off as child-like fairytale material. Keep in mind though that as this game is childish looking in nature it does seem to borrow some adult based humor themes similar to that of the Monty Python films of old. Even the dialogue can become quite "adult" in nature at times. Overall though the game is a visual delight that continues Zen Studio's trend of excellence. You'll find that everything from the sound effects, castle design, and land layouts all have that signature Zen Studios style about them. Even the various menu system items look as if they were all designed by the Zen Studios company we have all grown to love.

Now Onto the verdict ...

When I first began my playthrough of this fantasy based strategy hybrid I found the game mechanics, and presentation to be quite overwhelming. I thought to myself that there was an awful lot of things to keep in mind. With that being said though Zen Studios did a decent job of easing me into the game. The tutorial levels helped to explain a lot of things, and through consistent in-game experience I was able to apply all that I learned, and make it feel like a second nature sort of thing. It goes without saying though that the more you play CastleStorm the better you will be at it. There's definitely an involved learning curve to overcome, but once you get past it you should be good to go.

As far as the graphics are concerned I found the game to possess the same excellent quality as any other Zen Studios creation. The visual story itself was engaging, and as inanimate as some characters seemed at times I felt like the dialogue fleshed them out well enough to overcome their lack of visual appeal. Things like the added grunts, moans, and wacky sayings that the characters made throughout the various cutscenes added just the right amount of humor to make me chuckle from time to time. It's not exactly "LOL!" humor, but it's at least good enough to get a proper smile from the gamer.

The fact that Zen Studios incorporated such in-depth gameplay, and features also speaks well for this unique title. You'll not only find a solid story mode filled with interesting quests/sidequests, and wacky characters, but you'll also find a vast upgrade system awaiting your management. The fact that Zen Studios included extra modes of offline, and online play is icing on the cake. I know you're likely wondering if all the extra content seemed like last second add-ons with me saying "icing on the cake", but I'm glad to tell you that the extra modes definitely feel like they belong. Think of them as an extension of the core experience.

Even with all the good that I found in CastleStorm I did manage to find one small bad point to the game. The ballista aiming system that requires the use of the (Left Thumbstick) for aiming can produce some very inaccurate situations within the game. In particular you'll often times find hitting a moving troop dead-on to be a near impossibility, unless that troop is stationary/near stationary. To me the whole aiming mechanism seemed a little to loose, and as such made it hard for me to hit my intended target/s at least 50% of the time. It would have been nice if the ballista's movement had not been so sensitive since it plays a huge role in in-game combat. Things like getting headshots, and racking up combos on your multiplier can be hard to do with the ballista weapon.

In the end CastleStorm definitely delivers a noteworthy experience despite my complaint about the ballista weapon. The staff at Zen Studios did well to successfully integrate various genres into one game. It seems like game hybrids are becoming the rage these days, and Zen Studios has definitely delivered a proper hybrid gaming experience. If you are looking for something fun, new, and engaging then I strongly suggest that you at least give this game's demo a try. I was not disappointed, and don't think that you will be either. Don't get lost in the COD (Call of Duty) mindset folks. Give these XBLA & XBLIG devs a proper chance. You may be surprised at what you find!