You must learn to crawl before you can walk
Crawl by Powerhoof is a sweet looking, fast paced and completely over the top Local Co-Op Dungeon Crawler. As chaotic as that might sound it really doesn't do it justice. You'll spend half your time battling the monsters that populate the dungeons and the other half battling your Co-Op counterparts. Can Crawls chaotic gameplay lift it above the many other Co-Op games out there?
The set up is simple. One player plays the part of an explorer who levels up during his time exploring so he can escape whatever hell hole of a dungeon he finds himself in. The other three players who are controlled by your mates or in times of desperation the game's AI will spawn as ghosts and various monsters who will be trying their best to kill you. If your guise as a ghost you can inhabit various items that are thoughtfully left lying around everywhere. You can possess all manner of furniture, vases and pots and hurl them towards the hero whilst doing your best poltergeist impression. Basically if it isn't nailed down you can use it to inflict damage and ultimately death but that's not all. 
There are traps scattered about that you can also possess and setting them off at the right moment can deal a great deal of damage. Need a monster or two to help you in your death to all explorers task. If you do then you can just summon up a portal pick the monster you want and boom you're controlling that bad boy. With sixty different monsters to control each one handles differently but they don't take long to get the hang of. While playing as a ghost you will pick up wrath which allows you to upgrade each monster as you see fit by making them more powerful, bigger and stronger.
Suddenly those smiling faces sat next to you aren't so friendly. When a player who is a ghost kills the explorer it's role reversal time. The ghost player becomes the hero and the hero becomes a ghost and there's nothing like a pissed off ex hero chasing you down to get your arse in gear. This cycle of death and reincarnation continues afoot until one player is eventually crowned the victor. The bloodshed is plentiful and this continues from one dungeon/room to another.
As the hero it's your goal to level up as quickly as possible to level ten. When you reach that magic number a gigantic portal appears enabling you to exit the dungeon. But it wouldn't be much of a Dungeon Crawler if it was that easy would it. If all my years gaming have taught me anything it's that magic portals are never, ever unguarded and unfortunately that is true here. Standing in your way there will be a humongous boss who's not the best looking of chaps it has to be said.
The fact that there is a hideous boss standing between you and your escape might not seem out of the ordinary but this boss is controlled by all three of your mates simultaneously or ex mates as the case may be by now. Each boss has a set of limbs and attacks that all three of the ghost must now try and coordinate to stop you from escaping. As with all boss fights there will always be a rhythm to the attacks but the unpredictability of having three of your real life mates in control soon means things can get real tricky really quickly. Boss fights in most games are pretty well coordinated and it's just a matter of timing and patience before you eventually take them down. That's true to an extent but us humans are truly unpredictable and that also goes for the boss fights. As much as you think you know about how a certain boss can and will attack just forget it. Humans will always do the most unpredictable attacks they can and you only have three tries at it and in this game it's three strikes and your out.
On each floor there is a vendor which allows you to gain access to shops and shops in Crawl equal all kinds of goodies. Here you can buy new weapons, trinkets and spells that can go a long way in helping you survive the many perils you face on your journey for freedom. A sneaky twist that the game presents you with is that when an item has been purchased by another player it will never be purchasable again even if the player that bought it gets killed so you'll just have to make do with what's left, truly diabolical. Different types of shops spawn each time and each shop differs greatly from the one before it.
Finishing Crawl not only gives you bragging rights among your now very pissed of friends but it's also unlocks content for the game. Each time you're victorious you will unlock brand new sets of monsters, new abilities for your monster's, new ghosts, new weaponry, Items and spells. There's a lot going on here and Crawl just seems to keep on giving. I've yet to complete a game and not see or unlock something new and I'm sure that it will be a long time before I run out of new items and ghosts to purchase.
Sadly and this seems to be the case with most ID@Xbox titles that feature Co-Op play there is no online multiplayer and that's criminal for a game like Crawl that is perfect for it. I don't have the luxury or the time to have three friends just up and leave everything they are doing just so I can indulge in some Dungeon Crawling. The AI does an adequate job of filling in but most of the fun is talking crap to your mates.
Crawl is a game best played with a three mates and a crate of beer in the fridge. Unfortunately the game loses a lot of momentum the minute you start playing solo against the AI. There is a lot to unlock and the incentive to do so depends on how happy you are to slog through the game on your own if you don't have three other mates living in a cupboard that you can just drag out when needed.
Developer: Powerhoof
Publisher: Powerhoof
Website: Crawl
Twitter: @Powerhoof
Price: £11.99
Review code supplied by XCN.