Crimson Alliance Reviews

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Written by WorstUsernameEver on September 10th, 2011

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Crimson Alliance is the game Gauntlet fans have been waiting years for! Taking everything that makes top down action games a total blast to play and wrapping it all up in one fun filled package. While the story is of course generic with its characters reluctantly uniting to take down a great evil it simply doesn't matter as the gameplay itself more than makes up for any faults the story may have. The game provides a great venue for you and friends to get together and play for hours on end and shines as one of the best XBLA titles available!

So is Crimson Alliance worth your time? If you're looking for a multi-player action-RPG, this might be worth a peek at the trial. All the pieces are here for hours of enjoyment, but truthfully, once I finished the game, I didn't feel the urge to play through again as a different class. Completionists and leaderboard lovers will enjoy the scoring mechanics that encourage repetitive play, and this game is toned down enough to be approachable for more casual fans (though these same people may get frustrated later, when spamming attacks no longer works). Those in the middle might feel the lack of customization and randomization is a detriment to the game. This is a solid game that starts off strong, and stumbles across the finish line.

All said Crimson Alliance is a pretty good if not unexceptional action-RPG where an arcade-oriented simplicity and an experiment with pricing structures are the orders of the day. That's not an entirely bad thing and it's good to see Microsoft willing to forgo these experiments, but it's not quite enough to save the experience from its own foreboding sense of plainness.

Despite a bit of glitching, I think Crimson Alliance is a welcome addition in my household. Sure, it's not the prettiest girl in town, but she's charming, easy to get along with and still violent enough that your mother would not approve. What more could you want from a Sunday morning date? The game is available for purchase on September 7 via XBLA for 1200 Microsoft points (all three character classes) or just 800 Microsoft points (just one).

While those approaching this from a solo play point of view might find their attention more suited to the rather sublime Torchlight to scratch their dungeon crawling itch, Crimson Alliance is a undoubtedly a fun diversion while it lasts.

There's nothing inherently new about Crimson Alliance. Instead, it's a delicious blend of different action RPGs, fresh for Xbox 360 owners to sink their teeth into. The 800 point starting price feels a bit steep (making the 1200 point full purchase even harder to stomach), especially considering the lack of difficulty and leveling, there's little incentive to want to play more, to want to explore levels more than once. It's fun while it lasts, and fun again when playing with a friend or two, but eventually the grind is done and we have time well wasted.

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