• 360

by Marron Marvel on 10.22.11

Every once in a while, a new dungeon crawler will pop up in the XBox Live Arcade that just blows players away and sets a new precident for arcade-style dungeon gaming.

Unfortunately, Crimson Alliance isn't it.

Set in the ruins of the fictional empire of Byzan, everything about Crimson Alliance can be summed up with one word: apathetic. From the back story (of an evil sorceress returning from the dead to reclaim her throne), to half-hearted attempts at comedy, limited amounts of character customization, repetetive missions, the small number of types of enemies, and overly simple gameplay mechanics, the entire game feels like the producers put the minimum amount of effort into creating the game -- and considering that the cost is 800 Microsoft Points per character type (Assassin, Mage, and Mercenary) or 1200 for the bundle of three, it feels like a little more effort should have been presented to make the game worth the price.

I would go into details about the game mechanics, but it's pretty simple: mash buttons. Different buttons give different attacks and defenses, and you can use the left trigger to pick up and throw things like explosive barrels. Considering that there is little variation in the types of enemies you encounter, this can become old very fast. Instead of gaining experience points, you earn gold and buy new equipment to improve your character; as well, you collect hearts (a la Legend of Zelda) to increase your health.

One of my biggest issues with the game was the map layout. There is no camera control, and often times parts of the dungeons' walls or other edifices will obscure the path; it's also incredibly zoomed out, which sometimes makes things hard to see, and it gives the impression that your character is moving much slower than it is.

There were some things I enjoyed about the game, however. Even though the banter between the characters is lackluster, the voice acting was decent. I also liked the overall style of the graphics, even with the difficulties I mentioned above. The best part is probably the soundtrack, which has a somewhat dramatic quality to it -- in an action movie sort of way. You can also play with your friends, which I suppose would make it slightly more fun -- but with the repetetiveness of the game, I can't imagine it would last long.

And, unfotunately, decent graphics and an enjoyable soundtrack don't make up for everything else that the game is lacking.

Overall, I feel that this game is mediocre at best. Is it worth 800-1200 Microsoft Points? Definitely not. Crimson Alliance leaves you wanting more in every aspect of the game, but unfortunately, it never really delivers.

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