BattleBlock Theater (XBLA)

Recently I was blessed enough to have a friend give me a code for The Behemoth's "BattleBlock Theater". I had tried my hardest to get a code from the source, but it turned out to be another failed attempt. Thankfully though @WOLFZKRIEGER did have a code to spare, and because he was so kind I'm able to deliver this review to you (my readers). My thanks goes out to him for his generosity. I will definitely try my best to not let anyone down with this review, and believe me I've already somewhat preplanned what I'm going to say. I'm hoping that by some chance in hell I'll be able at least add a minute hint of humor to my review since this game is overflowing with many "LOL!" moments. It only seems right to me.

BattleBlock Theater is an odd little game that is set in it's own odd little world. At the heart of the story we find a group of friends led by Hatty McHattington (I do hope I got that right) who have set out on a sea traveling adventure. The tale itself is narrated by a gentleman who is easily comparable to Dr. Seuss's "The Cat in the Hat", and the Willy Wonka from the movie "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory". He is constantly spouting nonsensical, but well spoken jibberish about the peril facing the ship's crew, and even accents the heightened moments with his own special (and often time hilarious) sound effects. The 2D layered spectacle is definitely not to be missed.

During the child-like theatrical performance, otherwise known as the game's intro we find that Hatty's crew have found themselves in the midst of a terrible sea storm. Their ship is tossed about in the violent event, and friend after friend is dumped out into the unforgiving ocean. Eventually only two remaining crew members/friends manage to crash upon a shore of a mysterious island with a lonely, and seemingly abandoned theater at the center of it. Upon further inspection the curious twosome find that they are in the company of some rather sadistic feline hosts. The cats who run the prison-like theater that Hatty, and his comrade (you) have happened upon ultimately take control of Hatty via a mind control device (Top Hat), and imprison you in the process. It is up to you to not only free Hatty from his predicament via a televised gauntlet, but you must also free all of your other friends who were captured as well. In order to do this you must participate in the cat's various theatrical entertainment based obstacle courses.

In the actual game part of the game you will find that there are levels/stages (acts) that are divided up in sections of three. Your goal, or aim is to enter each room/stage, complete the hazard filled obstacle courses, and collect enough gems to exit the scene via an exit teleporter. There of course is a grading system associated with these tasks/performance, and by collecting all of the gems along with a bonus yarn ball you will get the highest scoring of "A++". As you can likely tell you are graded with an alphabetical system, and the higher up your letter grade is, the poorer you have preformed. Each level contains a total of 9 standard obstacle filled rooms, a time based final area with multiple acts (Huge Cat Door), and 3 encore rooms in which your progress is also timed by a counter. There are multiple areas to explore, and "perform" in, and each given area completes another portion of this wacky otherworldy tale of devoted friendship.

Aside from standard story play you'll find that "BattleBlock Theater" offers other interesting features that are also worth your time, and money. Not only will you find that the game can be played in co-op, but that you can even design your own levels for others to play through via the game's level editor. In fact there's a feature that showcases these fan made levels, and allows players to play through them as well as give the creator a rating upon departure. I think the biggest, and most interesting features of all though lie with the "Gift Shop" offerings, and the extras you can earn through online/offline gameplay. As you can likely imagine (if you have played 'Castle Crashers') 'The Behemoth' has returned with their own signature style of character designs. These simplistic, yet humorously designed citizens of 'The Behemoth' universe return with a vengeance in "BattleBlock Theater".

Before starting each game you will be prompted to select four different features for your character. This includes a head shape, the type of head, a weapon, and a color. The awesome thing about doing this is that you can actually purchase a wide variety of heads, and wacky weapons via the Japanese-like vending machines located in the "Gift Shop" area of each main area. It will cost you 10 gems a pop, but like I mentioned before you can play through the game's offline/online stages to earn the gems required to make a purchase. Paying for the weapons is a similar ordeal, and will require a trade of 5 yarns to one of the local feline security guards. Among the many "Gift Shop" offerings you will find things like a gentleman head with complimentary mustache, movie monster heads (werewolf, mummy, vampire ...), and even a weapon that looks suspiciously similar to WB's dancing frog. Each, and every character add-on can be used in-game, and often times have their own beneficial uses.

Now Onto The Verdict ...

If you are looking for a fun game filled with genuine "LOL!!!" moments then 'BattleBlock Theater' will no doubt suit your fancy. The hilarious narration is definitely this games strong point, and the gameplay itself is filled with The Behemoth's own signature style of humor. I absolutely loved the games intro. I laughed nearly the whole way through it. It is actually that funny. Certain moments during my deaths in the game when the narrator chimed in to say "OH MY GOOD GOLLY GOSH!!!", or something about poop I laughed hysterically as well. It's the type of humor that does not grow old even after hearing it 100 times over.

As far as the gameplay is concerned it is brilliantly done in "BattleBlock Theater". The game definitely offers a proper challenge for all those hardcore gamers out there, and is even accessible to casual gamers as well. You'll find that even with the strong level of difficulty found later on in "BattleBlock Theater" that the humorous additions will ease your anger, and give you a proper laugh in the process. In other words your repetitive, and cheap deaths will mean diddly squat, because of the humorous nature of it all. I for one tip my hat to the crew at "The Behemoth" for delivering the game in this way. When it's all said, and done "BattleBlock Theater is a thoroughly solid experience that is well worth your time, and money. It's not often in the XBLA marketplace that you'll find such a gaming gem as this one. I highly suggest you adding this to your collection if you have not done so already!