While at this year’s E3 expo, I was fortunate enough to take an appointment to checkout Certain Affinity’s upcoming XBLA hack and slash title, Crimson Alliance. Crimson Alliance allows up to four players to fight hordes of evil creatures across various fantasy environments. Players choose from three character classes: Mercenary, Assassin, and Wizard – each with their own special attacks and abilities. Additional character classes are a possibility after launch.
In the level I was able to play with the developers, I chose the warrior-like Mercenary class while the developer played as a Wizard. We began moving throughout the beautifully-detailed environments, smashing just about everything we saw for gold and loot. The creatures look equally well-detailed, especially for an XBLA title, and getting the hang of controlling my character took just a couple minutes.
On the same console, each player shares the same screen, so you don’t miss out on any screen real estate by splitting it up. The combat is quick and intense, with simple controls for jump and attack. As you kill enemy units, you will eventually be able to pull off a mega-attack which, depending on your class, has various effects. For example, the warrior goes into this whirlwind attack slicing through enemies in 360 degrees. The levels were made up of various monsters – some ranged, some magical, and some melee based. There were also mini-boss and boss battles to be had to change things up and keep it interesting.
While parallels are bound to be drawn between Crimson Alliance and the Diablo series, they are not really comparable. Crimson Alliance is meant for quick game sessions of pick-up and play with players ranging from childhood to adult. The Diablo series is far more mature.
Overall, my playtime with Crimson Alliance was enjoyable and easy to figure out. Look for this title to come out a little later this Summer.
