Microsoft for 360 $15

video games

Every once in a while, a game comes completely out of left field, catching everyone off guard and knocking them right off their feet. Today, that game is Castle Crashers.

It begins with selection of one of four knights, each with his own set of magic. The Blue Knight controls ice, the Orange Knight has fire, Red is the zap master and Green just seems gassy. A gray knight tumbles down stairs with an arrow in his back, and the knight (or knights as the matter may be) rushes to the rescue. A dark wizard uses a spell to steal the kingdom's giant crystal. To make matters worse, an Evil King has abducted the four princesses.

Your mission is fairly straightforward: Recover the crystal, save the princesses and pound on anyone who steps in your path. After the first stage, you may have enough experience to level up. At this point the game reveals its RPG elements, giving you two skill points to distribute among four skills: Strength, giving you more bite for your buck; Defense, so you can last through those long battles; Agility, which turns you into a speedy little runt who can fire arrows with the best of them; and the Magic stat.

The game spans almost 40 stages and keeps throwing enough new stuff at you that it doesn't get stale. Animal companions join the scene to grant you special abilities or assist you in battle. On top of all this content, you've been given the ability to unlock new characters with hints of future downloadable content options.

It's quite clear that the guys at Behemoth, designers of this game, have way too much time on their hands, and for that, we're grateful.

For 15 bucks, this may be the deal of the year.

Tribune Media Services