In a gaming world dominated by FPS giants and sporting franchises that are churned out year after year, it’s refreshing to play a title like CastleStorm: Definitive Edition which attempts to do something new and fun. CastleStorm, produced by Zen Studios (those of pinball fame) employs a combination of resource management, tower defense strategy and Angry Bird-type physics to create a truly addictive game. The story is simple enough. Players are faced with a tale of two kingdoms, both vying for control of two precious crystals that will give them ultimate power.
You are cast in the role of the dashing Sir Gareth, a “Protector of the Realm,” who also happens to be a hardened knight equipped with both a sword and a bow. After years of war, peace between the two kingdoms was restored after a goddess cried two tears that turned into protective crystals. Then the enemy (referred to as barbarians) attacked, stole your crystal, and threaten to take over the world. Ok, it’s not War and Peace. But, believe me, its fun.
Your job is to use your ballista to destroy the enemy’s castle while protecting your own. For this you can use a multitude of projectiles ranging from spears, boulders, magic potions, and, yes, even sheep.
If, like us, you played CastleStorm on the Xbox 360, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find that this new definitive edition is still worth investing your time and hard on coins on. Offering the original campaign mode, CastleStorm: Definitive Edition also includes 2 DLC packs, 20 new single player battles, new spells and luscious 1080p graphics. Almost every aspect of the game can be upgraded (with coins collected in-game) and Zen Studios have also thrown in the option to create your own castle from scratch. Excellent.
We also have to give Zen a huge pat on the back for the simply incredible graphics in CastleStorm Defintive Edition. Honestly, this has to be one of the best looking games on the Xbox One. The backgrounds radiate a vibrancy we haven’t seen since first playing Drakes Fortune on the PS3. It really is that good. The cartoony character models are also spot on and instantly memorable. In a game that simply oozes high production values, the audio backs this up with brilliant battle and weapon sounds and music from Waterflame. Yes, Waterflame from Castle Crashers. Need we say more?
With all the additional content thrown in, CastleStorm Definitive Edition will offer you some 18 – 20 hours of gameplay. With the multi-player option taken into account, you could be missing work for at least a month. We loved this game and can’t wait for a sequel. Go buy.
8 out of 10