CastleStorm (Wii U) Review

The kingdom of knights is attacked by the Vikings and it's up to the hero Sir Gareth and his troops to repel them. Without giving anything away, the story is presented well and in a very humorous way. Plenty of little cut-scenes between missions show some silly moments and lines by all the characters involved, adding a little extra incentive to keep playing just one more level as they are very amusing to watch.

The main gameplay consists of destroying the opposing castle by attacking it with various projectiles shot with a ballista, all while sending troops out to fend off the opposition and prevent them from taking the player's flag and ending the level. While there are also several spells to cast, the hero can take a more active role, too, and jump into the battlefield to help out in a pinch. The latter style of 2D hack and slash gameplay wouldn't hold up on its own but in this case it's a nice change of pace compared to managing troops and attacking from afar with a ballista.

The game can be controlled with either the Wii U GamePad or a Wii U Pro controller. The traditional set-up using the analogue sticks and buttons takes a while to get used to but it works quite well. Those longing for a bit more precision should opt for the GamePad Touch Screen controls to aim instead. Both methods are well implemented and the control choice is up to the preference of the player. Additionally, local multiplayer supports one person using the GamePad screen while the other one uses the TV and a Wii U Pro controller.

Each level has up to five stars that can be earned, split into two for accuracy of long-range attacks, another two for the chosen difficulty setting and the last one for a bonus objective such as clearing the level in a certain amount of time or having no more than a certain number of rooms of one's own castle destroyed. Playing some levels again to earn the best possible rank can be quite addictive and extra gold earned from playing well will also come in handy for affording additional upgrades.

While new projectiles, spells, troops and castle rooms are unlocked throughout the game, their usefulness is limited if they aren't upgraded. Everything can eventually be maxed out but the amount of available gold without playing stages again means it's necessary to make wise choices on how to shape one's arsenal.

That said, the campaign isn't overly challenging with the exception of a few levels. Playing well is rewarded, however, with a special frenzy mode that activates if a kill streak of five enemies is reached by using only the ballista. This shooting frenzy allows projectiles to be fired with no cool-downs for a short period of time, allowing the player to cause major damage to the enemy.