CastleStorm - Xbox 360

See CastleStorm In Action

2012-12-03T20:00:00Z

In the next issue of Game Informer, we break down the fun action and strategy elements that CastleStorm mixes. To get a sense of how these elements come together, check out this exclusive gameplay video.

The video below demonstrates many of the elements that make Zen Studios' castle smashing so interesting, including the projectile launching, troop spawning, and magic casting that players switch between on the fly. What isn't shown is the in-depth castle editor that allows you to make your own fortress to pit against your friends' creations. The physics-based destruction might be reminiscent of Angry Birds, but Zen Studios has built a game with a lot more depth than Rovio's hit mobile offering.

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CastleStorm comes out on XBLA this spring, but Zen Studios plans to bring it to many other platforms including Wii U, PlayStation 3, and PC at a later time. For more on the game, check out our preview in issue 237, which should be arriving at subscribers' doorsteps soon.

When Angry Birds And Tower Defense Collide

2012-06-07T19:00:00Z

Zen Studios is best known for its excellent pinball series such as Pinball FX and Zen Pinball, but the studio is expanding into other genres in the digital space. At this E3 we got a chance to play its creative twist on tower defense, and walked away impressed.

Unlike most tower defense games, CastleStorm puts you on offense as well as defense. Your main form of attack is a ballista mounted on front of your castle, which can shoot a variety of projectiles that work on cooldown timers. You can also deploy soldiers from the front of your castle, who will slowly charge into battle (Zen tells us that you will have the ability to directly control a knight, but it wasn't implemented yet in the E3 build). You will constantly shift your attacks between incoming enemies and the opposing castle. The physics-based destruction is reminiscent of Angry Birds; if you've ever collapsed a fortress with agitated fowl before, you'll know how satisfying the gameplay is.

But bringing down your enemy's fortress also has an element of strategy. Each castle section has an ability tied to it, so if you knock down your enemy's catapult room, he or she will no longer be able to attack you with it.

Zen Studios has imbued CastleStorm with a playful, cartoony art style, and you can expect to hear some Monty Python quotes during combat. Don't let the tone fool you, though: there's plenty of strategy involved in CastleStorm, and it didn't take long for the CPU to reduce my castle to rubble. Zen says CastleStorm will contain 12 environments and 60 levels, and feature multiplayer and co-op as well.

CastleStorm will be released on XBLA first, and come to PSN and PC later on as well. For more on CastleStorm, check out the announcement trailer.

Build Castles And Knock 'Em Down

2012-05-30T14:27:07Z

“Building castles and then knocking them down was fun as a kid, and it’s still fun now," says Neil Sorens, Zen Studios' creative director. He's talking about the Pinball FX developer's latest downloadable game, CastleStorm, which looks like a hybrid of tower defense, real-time strategy, and Angry Birds.

Players choose between viking and knight factions, and then build their castle while defending against and attacking their foes. Catapults fire a variety of projectiles, including arrows and spiked balls, which are needed to battle approaching foes and batter down rival castles. Check out the trailer below to see it in action.

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CastleStorm is "coming soon to a digital store near you," according to the trailer. If past Zen games are any indication, you can safely assume that means XBLA, PSN, and PC.