What’s so wonderful about Castle Crashers is the richness of its graphics and sound. The characters and backgrounds are all hand-drawn, giving it the look of a Saturday-morning cartoon. The colors are vibrant, rich and simple, so they stand out amidst the action on the screen. The locales are unique; you find yourself inside buildings, parading across barren fields, trudging through snow, climbing up a volcano and even riding a stagecoach. I loved the design of the characters and how they each have great expression. I especially enjoyed the recurring enemy of a giant cat, with bulging neurotic eyes that shoot laser beams. It was silly but so creatively executed that I couldn’t help but laugh every time it was on the screen. I don’t know that I could sing the theme song off the top of my head, but it was definitely catchy and never annoying, setting a fun tempo as you moved through the game.

Castle Crashers does have its faults. Because the game is an old-school two-dimensional affair, the same issues that plagued those games are present. When large numbers of enemies are on the screen, it’s quite easy to lose your character behind someone else, which gives you the feeling of a lack of control. Gamers could also get frustrated because they have to be careful to line up perfectly when striking down enemies, lest they hit nothing but air when unleashing fury.

There are no lives in the game, which is a good thing. There are items such as potions to restore health, which is also a good thing, and you can revive your downed companions, which would be a good thing if it didn’t take forever to accomplish. Once your comrade has been knocked upside the head one time too many, he falls, and you can bring him back by performing a type of CPR by pressing a button a couple of times while standing over him, but this process takes a long time to achieve, and you are vulnerable while doing it. Should you get hit while reviving a teammate, you have to start the whole process over again. This makes it nearly impossible to bring your buddies back when you are overrun by baddies or fighting a boss, which is probably when you’d need the help the most. So this feature, while good in theory, can become very frustrating.

There’s no question that the best thing about Castle Crashers is the ability to play with multiple people locally or online in glorious widescreen format. You can probably beat the game in solo mode in a few hours, but that’s not nearly as much fun as teaming up with a buddy or two to enjoy the adventure together. It’s like watching a good comedy—it’s always funnier and more entertaining when you share it with someone. If you do eventually save all of the princesses, you can always battle it out in the arena, or try the mini-game for a few extra hours of fun. I did have a problem finding people to play with, and when I did, the game sometimes crashed, however, I believe fixes are coming to rectify these issues, so don’t let them discourage you from checking out this really great rainy-day game.