Charlie Murder Xbox 360 Review: This summer's loudest and proudest XBLA game

Charlie Murder XBLA

Dorsum in the happier times when Microsoft actively supported Xbox games on Windows Phone, I had the pleasure of interviewing Ska Studios, the ii person squad behind Zombies on the Phone. While Ska worked on Zombies (which came out at the outset of 2022), they besides plugged away at an Xbox Alive Arcade game called Charlie Murder. It would be their most expansive game to date.

In fact, Charlie Murder just recently arrived on Xbox 360 as part of the almanac Summer of Arcade promotion. On the surface, Charlie Murder is a cooperative beat-em-upwardly in which ane rock band is forced to save the world from a demonic invasion. But information technology's also an evolution of the brawler genre that manages to outdo fifty-fifty the dear Castle Crashers in sheer personality and scope. Caput by the interruption for our full review!

Et tu, Charlie?

Charlie Murder XBLA

The game starts with the members of the ring Charlie Murder being forced to fight their way out of hell and into the real globe. There they find zombies, demons, and other monstrosities running rampant in their metropolis.

The reason Charlie Murder has found themselves in this predicament slowly becomes clear through cinematic sequences that play out between every few levels. I won't spoil it, but suffice it to say that the protagonists aren't really the nicest people and their actions have grave consequences for the world at big.

The beat out-em-up genre is not traditionally known for its gripping narratives (with perhaps the exception of SEGA's Guardian Heroes). And even so Charlie Murder tells a sparse but emotional story with 2 possible endings, one of which might actually make players feel genuinely sad.

You got your smartphone in my console

Charlie Murder XBLA Windows Phone

To best understand Charlie Murder'due south gameplay, call up of it as a cross between Castle Crashers and Scott Pilgrim vs. the Earth. Similar both of those games, yous can play every bit multiple characters with unique abilities and level them up over time. Only here your experience is measured in fans, represented as followers on a very Twitter-like social network.

Equally your character levels upwardly, you can select new abilities for him or her to acquire and allocate stat points, providing an increased level of ownership over the grapheme. To distribute those stats, check your followers, or read tutorial messages, y'all'll activate your telephone via the d-pad. And because the duo at Ska Studios are fans, the in-game telephone is a Windows Telephone!

Collect them all

Charlie Murder XBLA

Charlie Murder's many levels often branch off into little side paths for players to explore. Taking the route less traveled and defeating a gruesome dominate normally nets y'all a unique relic to equip for stat bonuses. Not only are there 5 'Smockula' parts to find and equip in order to get the good ending, but the game has a total of 55 unique relics to discover. There are also six tattoos to collect across your journey, each of which tin can be equipped to perform offensive or defensive magic attacks.

Speaking of equipping things, Charlie Murder boasts a staggering quantity of head, body, and paw habiliment for players to wear. You'll get them every bit drops from enemies or purchase them in shops. These habiliment goods don't only provide stat bonuses; they also change your character'south appearance. Players who want to look a certain way but become the best stat bonuses tin alter an item's appearance via dye items, but the process is more cumbersome than necessary.

The Scott Pilgrim/River Metropolis Ransom feeling I allude to earlier comes in role from those shops yous'll visit. Many sell either swallow-in or carry-out foodstuffs. Scarf some grub and it volition replenish HP and maybe provide permanent stat boosts. Earlier long you'll have more than enough money to afford limitless quantities of snacks and vesture, only for improve or worse the developers accept express how much you can boost your stats at any given time.

Fight for your life

Charlie Murder XBLA

Fans of the genre should enjoy the actual combat in Charlie Murder. Players have a fast attack and a strong 1 with which they can philharmonic enemies at length. Get a xx-hit combo and your team can perform a rampaging two-person co-op attack (pictured above). The grab button allows y'all to pummel or throw stunned enemies, oftentimes into spikes, blades, or acid that will bargain extra harm. There is too a block button, though I never once used it.

Like Scott Pilgrim and River City Ransom, levels are scattered with an assortment of weapons for players or enemies to utilize. These range from melee weapons like axes and swords to guns, flame throwers, and grenades. They're all a ton of fun to use just clothing out apace, equally you'd expect.

In-fighting

Charlie Murder XBLA

The one major weakness of the combat is friendly fire. Charlie Murder is a 4-player cooperative game, but players tin can always hit each other – friendly fire can't be turned off. Y'all tin adjust to this danger and go along articulate of other players, but why should nosotros have to?

And worse, forced friendly fire makes information technology piece of cake for players to grief each other in online games. A high level player tin join a game and pound away at other players, spoiling their time. The developers could easily have added an pick to toggle friendly fire and the game would be and so much the amend for information technology.

Not your grandma'south beat-em-up

Charlie Murder XBLA

Beat-em-ups ofttimes lack variety of gameplay, but you tin can scarcely say that about Charlie Murder. The brawling levels often feature platforming challenges or puzzles. The construction area puzzle threatens to end players common cold though. It requires players to throw explosive barrels at switches in the background, a mechanic the game never teaches you beforehand. I had to look up the solution online, which COME ON, this is a beat-em-upward.

Excursions into other game styles, on the other paw, definitely bring the game to life. The band oftentimes ends up riding brooms in shoot-em-stages, doing tricks on a skateboard, climbing ropes upwards a cathedral tower, and lots more than. How many other brawlers involve aerial battles with a gigantic sasquatch? Non enough, I say!

Musical stares

Charlie Murder XBLA

Charlie Murder has no shortage of personality. The bodily art style is very singled-out and perfectly evokes the musical culture influences seen in other Ska games like Zombies on the Phone. I could practice without the drab color palette that e'er drowns the studio's visuals, but at least it's appropriate for the game'due south subject matter. The abundance of jokes and references to other games like Castlevania, Silent Hill, and Grit: an Elysian Tale largely makes upwards for the mopey colors anyhow.

Anyone who's played Zombies on the Phone should remember that game's crazy lyrical stone ballad. Well, that song and new ones return in Charlie Murder. The tattoo shops yous'll visit even accept a humorous Grand Theft Auto-like in-game radio station playing in the background. Ska Studios sells the soundtrack at Bandcamp and on vinyl.

Players will actually "perform" some of these songs in a minigame meant to simulate playing in a band. Music rhythm games played on a controller CAN be fun, but unfortunately this one is terrible. Each thespian must endeavour to striking a series of buttons that scroll by non-stop and ridiculously fast. Performance on the music minigame doesn't even affect progress in the game, so I somewhen stopped trying.

Achievements

Charlie Murder XBLA

Charlie Murder is a long game, and its Achievements add together a lot of replay value as well. Each character has a specific Achievement associated with his or her abilities, though the Accomplishment descriptions annoyingly don't proper noun the grapheme. You'll need to become both the good and bad ending of the game as well as playing through the unlockable harder difficulties. They get really tough, so make certain to bring a co-op partner or three.

At present, the Achievement for finding all 55 relics is glitched. The developers have already promised to fix it with a patch though.

Overall Impression

Xbox Live Arcade already has tons of great shell-em-ups like Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara, Double Dragon Neon, Scott Pilgrim, and Castle Crashers. Somehow, a tiny studio of ii has produced a game that meets or beats those titles in quality.

Friendly fire and music minigame aside, Charlie Murder has everything you lot could always want in a brawler: varied gameplay, lots of weapons, tons of levels, and countless personality. Fans of busting heads, rocking out to loud music, and gaming with friends should pick it upwards.