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       Castellum is currently in it's alpha stages and I hope to be along during the Beta and full release of Castellum. I was one of the lucky ones to get invited into trying the alpha version and was asked to do a mini review. Remember this is an alpha which means it is subject to change at any time.

       Castellum is an arena based RPG where you pick your type of warrior and enter them into battle. Each battle is automated almost like Punch Club. After each fight you earn resources to use to improve your fighter with better equipment and new skills. During the alpha test a lot of the game was limited to what I was able to do. For the most part I was able to experience the core of the game. After a few attempts at playing Castellum I got a good feel at what the game was trying to accomplish. The gameplay offered is a smart decision because it keeps the player entertained for hours depending how much content gets added into the full game. After awhile the battles can get a little stale as you watch the same animation over and over with the odd time use of a skill.

       Some other features that Castellum has is an Arena where you can fight against other opponents including your friends or the best of the best. Each fight will cost you a ticket. Other players are able to challenge you while you're away as well. There is also a mini game building. This feature is not implemented in the Alpha version. There is a bar where you can join clans and gain followers. Not available in the Alpha version as well. There is a shop where you can buy various armors, weapons, runes, and potions to help out on the battlefield! Lastly there is your character screen where you can change your equipment, improve your traits, earn new skills, and check your stats and inventory.

       In conclusion I recommend keeping an eye opened for this lovely game when it becomes available. Lots of options, customization and really interesting art style. The audio is something I noticed right away as well. It is so cheery and suits this type of game immensely. You can tell the developer has put a lot of time and thought into this game. Really the only other criticism I can give is to make the battling animations a bit more entertaining or provide the player with something to do as you are fighting in combat. I also hope to see hundreds of different armors and weapons to give the player more customization options.

8/10 

Date Reviewed: February 4th, 2016

Sacred Citadel came out on the Xbox Live Arcade a few years ago. It was the most recent Games for Gold game on the Xbox 360. So I decided to do a mini review on it.

Sacred Citadel is a side scrolling hack and slash RPG. You have your choice in choosing which class you want to play as. These vary from a Warrior, Ranger, Wizard, or a Shaman. Each class has their own unique skills and abilities to use. Sacred Citadel is a short game with 4 different acts, co-op play, and challenges to increase the difficulty of each level. As you progress through the story you gain levels, new skills, new armor, weapons, and meet several new enemies which all increase in difficulty as your progress further through the story.

If you were to compare Sacred Citadel to another game it would be a more serious version of Castle Crashers. Just like Castle Crashers this game is enjoyed more with a friend. Sacred is a fairly challenging game but can be beaten in roughly two hours. Each class is unique so beating the game with all classes is recommended totaling up between 8-10 hours of gameplay, solo.

If you enjoy 2D side scrolling RPG's then I recommend you try this game out for yourself. It isn't a fantastic game but definitely a good game to kill some time with. Soundtrack is good, combat is fun but does get repetitive. The enemies are fun to kill except for the few really annoying ones. It would been great to have some sort of crafting system in place.

Okay

7.0/10

            Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam is another entry in the Mario & Luigi RPG series this time releasing for the Nintendo 3DS. Paper Jam is another Mario & Luigi game which combines the Paper Mario universe as well. You control Mario, Luigi and Paper Mario using A, B, and Y for each individual character. This also introduces a new bros. style which is called Trio Attack. This allows all three characters to perform a special attack similar to the Bros. Attack. Paper Jam also adds in one more additional block during combat. This is called the "Copy Block". When hitting this block you create up to 6 additional paper Mario's to stack up beside each other to perform stronger attacks. Instead of the normal two jumps you can now jump 6 times on each enemy. It is weaker but overall a bit better than Mario or Luigi's jumps.


Two Bowsers!?

               The main villain of Paper Jam is once again, Bowser. This time you need to rescue both Peach and Paper Peach as Bowser and Paper Bowser have captured them vowing to destroy the Mushroom Kingdom once again. Paper Jam starts off like it normal does in the series previous to this one. Give's you a quick tutorial on how to play, control each bro, and combat tips. As you progress through the game you retrieve new specials, and Paper Mario. Each time you receive something new the game does a good job explaining the purpose of each new mechanic. The special system is also amped up a bit where you can practice or demo each special move while you are in combat and you can practice as long as you'd like. Really great for newer players to the series.


                 In Paper Jam you explore big open areas, battle lots of enemies, and gain levels to make your characters stronger. The ranking system has made a return and is based on your levels. Unlike the previous entry the ranks in Paper Jam do not allow you to visit different stores based off your rank. There are ranks and each rank allows you to unlock a stat boost, or an effect to make your characters stronger. The story overall is average to say the least, the humour is still there with a lot of little hidden pieces that make a good laugh. Combat is good as always just would've been nice to have more "gear" options like a traditional RPG. Unless you are a dodging maniac you need to fight every enemy you come across in order to take down the bosses reasonably.


The Power of the Copy Block

                Paper Craft battles is another new mechanic to Paper Jam which feels it doesn't fit at all. They are boring, time consuming and offer next to no challenge. There are about 5 paper craft battles which you need to do. Whenever I came across one I was tempted to turn it off a couple of times. It's always great to try new things but this one was not cut out for Paper Jam. Paper Craft battles are basically giant paper statues of Mario Characters. Each battle you enter you receive a different character with different abilities. Most of the time it simply involves stunning an enemy and jumping on top of it to do damage.


                  Overall, Paper Jam is another welcomed Mario & Luigi game for the 3DS. Not the best in the series but not the worst either. Combat is smooth controlling three characters at once, a lot of the specials are reused from previous games. Trio attacks are really fun and do huge amounts of damage. Challenges make a return with thee different modes. Paper Craft battles, Boss Battles, and Specials Challenge. Paper Craft does fill the itch like all previous entries have done. I recommend you pick this game up. It roughly has 30 hours of gameplay in order to beat it, not including challenges, and achievements.




Good!
8.5/10


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Date Reviewed: September 18, 2015    

   

       Plague of Shadows is free DLC content for the game Shovel Knight where you get to play as the character Plague Knight. This free DLC pack comes with the ability to do a challenge mode where you can complete many different challenges for each knight. This will be unlockable when you beat the game once with Shovel Knight and Plague Knight. That isn't everything that came with this great DLC content. If you've beaten the normal game with Shovel Knight you will unlock the ability to play as Plague Knight. The levels and map layout are all still the same but it is very much a different game. You step in the shoes of Plague Knight where you have abilities such as throwing bombs. Just like with Shovel Knight, Plague Knight can also gather special items and customize his attacks. Each bomb has a certain fuse and certain explosive style that you can choose from which is needed to overcome certain obstacles.

       Plague Knight in a nutshell is very different from Shovel Knight. You can gather potions in order to increase your health, you need to gather coins in order to upgrade the shop and buy new attack items and Plague Knight has to move throw each level very different heavily relying on his exploding jumps. Plague Knight has no shovel to bounce off certain obstacles. Instead if you hold down the jump button and let go he will launch himself straight up or side ways. Plague Knight also has a double jump but doesn't jump as high as Shovel Knight does. Plague Knight even has his own armor sets as well which each have their own unique effects.

       The level design is of coarse flawless as ever. There is a bunch of new music scrolls you are able to collect and unlock. Playing as Plague Knight feels completely different and more of a challenge than Shovel Knight. Plague Knight is also as long if not longer than the original game and it is FREE. Plague Knight's story is very unique from Shovel Knight's but both have to do with love overall. Overall Plague Knight is a fantastic addon and is something that most developers need to do with their games. I look forward to the next piece of DLC they release.

Fantastic DLC!

9.5/10