This is part two of four part series in which I will be reviewing all the games available in this years Xbox Live Summer of Arcade Promotion. The second of these games is the side scrolling beat-em-up Charlie Murder, developed by Ska Studios.

Many of you may be wondering, as I was when I first saw the promotional material, where you have seen this game before? The answer is, you have not seen this game before, but anyone familiar with the developers other work, namely The Dishwasher series, will instantly recognise the graphical style. Starring you as title character Charlie, or any of the other members of his band, it is up to you to save the world from an invading undead army unleashed by a former band member who now refers to himself as Lord Mortimer.

The game plays much like traditional sidescrolling beat–em-ups such as Streets of Rage or Golden Axe, but what makes the game stand out is the depth that the game has. Traditionally these types of games are very shallow, you run through a level punch a few people and move onto the next and before you know it the game is already over. Charlie Murder on the other hand has a multitude of little features that make the game one of the deepest in its genre.

First there are the characters, five in total to choose from each with there own attack patterns and special moves. Each character is based on a traditional class archetype, the mage, the tank, healer etc… and all the characters work in harmony with each other making the, up to, 4 player co-op a blast to play. The characters each level up individually as well, meaning there is extra incentive to go back and play around with the various options available. Levelling up any character allows them access to more special moves, a buff to their base stats and the ability to equip higher level gear. Clothing comes in all shapes and sizes and can be equipped to provide stat increases and special effects, flaming bullets being a personal favourite, and adds a small amount of customisation to the way your character looks, making them a but more unique to yourself.

The games mechanics are very accessible to pick up with a light attack, strong attack and block button to ease newcomers into the basics but the more you play that more you pick up on the subtle nuances in the combat and begin to experiment with air juggles, environmental finishing moves and so on. On top of this each area is littered with a wide variety of weapons from guns to grenades to more melee oriented options such as katanas and the severed arms of slain foes.

Speaking of the areas in the game, they are impressively varied. Despite the games low budget, Ska Studios has done a stellar job in making every area feel distinct along with the enemies you face within those. From sunset strewn cliff faces to underground punk clubs to hell itself you will traverse far and wide and faces enemies ranging from basic zombies to ninjas and witches. It is all very impressive stuff. The only slight gripe on this front is with the boss battles. As opposed to some of the truly distinct boss battles we have seen in previous Xbox Live Arcade games, the bosses in Charlie Murder effectively boil down to just a bigger version of a regular enemy with more health and few require you actually change up your tactics to defeat them, you just have to hit them more.

The game is great fun playing solo, but to truly experience the games full potential, it must be played with friends in tow. As previously mentioned, the characters work in harmony with each other, making for some spectacular combo attacks and the game dos not go easy on you, it will scale the number of enemies to the amount of people playing, turning a four player session into cacophony of dead bodies and heavy metal. It is very easy for a quick session to become a marathon as you find yourself becoming addicted to the destruction on offer.

Charlie Murder then is a game that anyone with even a passing interest in side scrolling beat-em-ups should own. It is right at the top of the pile in terms of quality alongside Castle Crashers and Alien Hominid. Great fun solo and brilliant in co-op, there is something to be enjoyed for everyone and at only £6.99 it is great value to boot. Let the Streets of (Undead) Rage flow with bloody bodies and heavy metal.

Charlie Murder is available now on the Xbox Live Marketplace for £6.99. The next games to be reviewed in the Summer of Arcade Series will be Ubisoft’s reboot of the 1992 classic, Flashback. You can check out the Launch Trailer for Charlie Murder below.

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