In the current economic climate, sometimes you have to take a new approach to your problems. In that spirit, the latest offering from Nitrome is almost the opposite of a standard tower defense game. Instead of building structures along a path to repel a gang of marauders, you play as the characters on the path trying to destroy the fixed objects shooting at you. Your mission? To protect your shareholders. Welcome to a long long time ago, when economic recessions went medieval.
As the head of Castle Corp, you're clearly aware of the state of the global economy. In fact, it seems like all of your business making flags and capes has gone to Happy Family Shields and Accessories Incorporated over on yonder hill... So what does a failing business do to get itself back on its feet? (I should warn you that if you say "federal bailout", I will have no choice but to smite thee with my mace.)
Of course, you fight back. To do this, open the "Inventory" tab at the bottom of the screen to see the crew of knights you can employ. A knight can be placed at any of the starting pads on the map, and will start walking along the path until he reaches the end. If a knight meets an enemy, they will engage in a melee-style battle. However, a brawl takes a long time and can drain your knights' energy, so it may be helpful to take advantage of his rocket boosters. (Stay with me, it gets even better.) Aim your walking knight's trajectory with your cursor, and click to fire him through the air. He'll tackle airborne nemeses, collect coins for spending, and do other things that authentic knights did back in the day with their rocket packs. It's like reliving the Middle Ages!
Your goal is to knock away all enemy soldiers and weapons with your knights. As you plunder your way through HFSA Inc.'s headquarters, your enemies' supply of warriors and weapons become greater and stronger, with automated crossbows, fire-blowing mysical eyeballs, and cannons that shoot pigs. Some will even take more than one hit to destroy, but that's where your loot comes in. Between levels, you can purchase power-ups that let you boost your strength for battle, cast devastating spells, and carry chickens that lay eggs on your enemies. Seriously, it's by miracle alone that I haven't made a Monty Python reference yet.
Analysis: While Nitrome isn't known for taking stabs at current events, they do so here with great aplomb, balancing overused phrases from the cubicle world with an almost absurdist sense of humor, and taking it all back to the Middle Ages. You'll know when you get to take your first chicken-aided flight that this game was meant to be a ridiculous parody, and it's done quite well.
Those who have learned to equate "Nitromehard" with "Nintendohard" might be in for a bit of a surprise here, since the game helps the player along with a lot of handicaps, especially when it comes to power-ups. Did you buy a bunch of power-ups you realized you didn't need? You can sell them back for full price. Did you pick up a power-up you don't want? Sell it, and get something else for your money. Did you blow a whole ton of money and power-ups on a level, only to later lose that level? No worries, you get everything right back for your next go. You might almost think this game is being just a bit too forgiving.
There are a couple of known bugs still floating around (but being worked out), but none of them really hinder the gameplay much. If anything, they actually work on your side. For example, there have been instances where losing a level restarts you with an extra power-up or two in your stash. Oh, and remember playing peek-a-boo as a baby? Here's a hint: If you can't see a mounted weapon like a trebuchet or pig-shooter, it can't see you, so you can walk right by it without taking damage.
At the end of the day, Castle Corp boils down to a fun little anti-TD game with a great sense of topical humor. Maybe what every businessman needs nowadays is to throw on some armor and go medieval.
Cheers to Julian, Mark, Funlerz, Emil, Maqrkk, Saladgoat, Ben, and Aethelind.cullen for sending this one in! =)
I love this game! Did anyone else notice that some of the Sirs are named after real ones? Sir Gallahad from monty python, Sir Paul - Paul McCartney, And Sir Elton John
Great game! 5/5 Did Did anyone else notice that those boxes where you get items from are from mutiny?
Lol, Sir Galahad "the pure" predates Monty Python by quite a large whack. He was one of the 'actual' knights of Camelot used in Holy Grail - as opposed to the made up ones like Sir Not-Appearing-In-This-Film and Brave Sir Robin.
This is my favorite game nitrome has released since final ninja 0!!! I'm stuck on the level where you (first) see the eyes that shoot fireballs at you, any tips?
I finished it!
But i can't find one knight...
And I only used my sword cannons on the last level, and they worked perfect
:D
for eyeballs:@funerlz
for the one at the top of the path, I used a remote control steed to avoid the fire, then i launched when it was in view. Takes two hits! For the other one, you'll need to break down the barrier then ricochet off the top block down at it. Then I used an chicken to finish it.
As for the others, they shouldn't be much of a problem when the eyes are gone. But... to get the knight out of the cage, you'r going to have to aim just right to avoid a ricochet.
I can't beat the dragons. I'm not even sure how to get near them.
How do I beat level 20? The two steam-spewing pipes block my knights. I can use chickens to take out some enemies, but they aren't too reliable.
I beat today. It was really easy, other than the last level. I still have three Nitrome games to beat though. If anyone has any tips for the three games I haven't beaten, can you help on the right pages? Hydra, you have beaten Nanobots, Pest Control, and Hot Air, can you help me? In return, I'll help you guys with some games.
Has anyone picked up on the Triple Crossbow joke? Look at the description: Does your regular crossbow miss the mark? Now with a revolutionary three arrow system and greater comfort you'll shave closer to your targets. Triple Crossbow - the best a man can get!
Have you figured it out?
A shaving company. Now with revolutionary three blades to give you geater comfort and a closer shave. Gillette - the best a man can get!
I liked it well enough, but not enough to deal with the bugs. A few times it simply didn't register that I'd put someone in motion. Off-screen motion is inconsistent as well; it's all a bunch of minor annoyances that detract too much for me.
Not a bad game if these get fixed.
Whenever you click on a menu when you have a knight out, it launches him. :(
Come on Nitro, hire some bug testers. Their games are almost always released with glaringly obvious bugs (and they don't seem to fix them either). :(
Defeated it!
Unfortunately one knight missing.
(Can someone help?)
I like the reference to Lord of the Rings in this game. Anyone notice it?
The towers that shoot fires at you look similar to the eye of sauron.
@MH
To beat level twenty, you will need to buy a LOT of chickens. send them right over the pipes, and they will kill those enemies. Timing for the side with the bats is the hardest, but it is still possible to beat the level with one free-range and two battery chickens. (Use the battery chickens for the bat side.)
This spoiler's a tip
You probably know this already, but you can offset some of the cost by grabbing the chicken and the remote control steed under your starting place in the treasure boxes and selling them later
This one's an easter egg (sort of)
Your boss says at the start of this level, that you have to "hatch" a plan and that you don't want to end up with "yolk" on your face.
Where is the last knight?
Does anyone know how to beat level 21? The pipes to the left of the spawn point block every enemy in there.
I'm on level 25, but I can't beat it because there are too many guys. Any cheats or hints to help me out?
Completed but also missing that final knight. I'm guessing it just hasn't been built into the game, as there's no caged knight on level 24.
I only used power-ups from levels 20 onwards. [And not all were completely needed] The last level was a close scrap for me as well, with me sniping the last three enemies with three knights.
All in all I think it's a good game, but with a few bugs that could be fixed. I also would have liked a reset button for when you make an annoying error and don't want to go through the whole menu again.
This is probably one of my favourite Nitrome games, although I too think there are a few bugs that should be addressed.
For example, in one level, I rocketed into one of my caged knights. No message came up telling me I'd freed him, he didn't appear to parachute out, and sure enough, he wasn't available to select in the next level.
In the level I'm playing now (16) I used the strength-potion-thingy, walked along the platform and destroyed three men. He had plenty of health, and was about to take on another two, when he jumped off for no apparent reason.
Glitches aside, this is definitely one of Nitrome's better efforts.
How do you beat level 22? How do you get at the knights in the pipes?
For lvl 22 you will need bombs to get at the knights. It takes two bombs to kill one knight.
The powerbomb promotion lied. I bought 1, and never got 2 more. It said, buy one, get 2 free! :D But it lied.
In game powerbombs get three uses before your guy parachutes
How can you get the knight on level 13? I tried to get him with an egg, but apparently, that doesn't count.
@Learner: It means that, when you equip one of your knights, you can drop three.
I just found out how to get Sir Sean.
Placing a Knight on the right pad will not allow you to launch him in time. So place a knight on the left pap (after killing those goop drppers of course), and wait for the knight to walk ONTO the right pad. The moment he is just on the right pad, launch him to the left corner of the left top pipe. He should JUST get him.
This also is interesting.
I rescued a knight from a past level and I still got an extra hand. Apparently, you can do the same level over and over to get more knights and gold.
Heh heh.
Great parody on the recession. VERY original. If this isn't a great game, I don't know what is. I like the Gillete reference for the 3-way crossbow.
I don't think you are able to 25 knights. I've searched every level 10 times but only got 24. Annoying.
Sheilds? ...
Either way, pretty fun game. :)
For level 21:
try a horse
how do u beat level 23 i can't get into the pipe chimney thing on the right of the spawns??
how do you beat level 24.. i just don't know what to do about those things on the left?! its blockaded too much.
Ok so how do I beat leevel 24? I can't get past it because for the villains on the left everythign is blockaded and I can't get past it? help?
For the pipes on 23:
It takes a little practice: wait until your almost at the end of the path and aim a little below the center of the opening. With a little luck I was even able to free that knight
Nothing on 24 is blocked on the left, I assume you mean 25
For the left of 25:
the pipes on the bottom of the tall column can be broken.
With a little luck and timing the rest can be done by ricocheting off the pipes
Someone please explain how to beat level 25. What items do you need? Which way first?
How do you get the fire eye thing on level 21?
The pipe on the right is in the way.
I can't get through lvl 14. Got 10 knights, and don't know how to use them well.
25:
What to Buy:
The following should, at the least, be adequate:
2 sword cannons
5 crossbows
4 bombs
4 free-range chickens
Order / Strategy:
The only major thing as far as order goes that helps is starting on the far left side. You can get all 5 enemies on the left of the pipes without using any weapons. This lets you start over, ifyou've used too many knights, without losing any weapons.
Left side: from left to right
Break the pipes at the bottom left and ricochet your knights off the lowest pipe on the left at different angles to get those 5 enemies.
Take out the 4 above and to the right of the Pad.
Use chickens to take out the fire tower and surrounding enemies
(it helps if you wait 'til the fireball almost hits you to launch your 1st chicken)
Use bombs at the top of the bump to take out the 2 pink things
Launch a knight through the crossbow to the enemy guard
Right side: from right to left
Use the crossbows to take out the 3 things above
Use a bomb to take out the shield
Take out the remaining guard with another knight
Use the sword cannons on the boss (up to 6 shots)
2 hints for 14
hint #1:
get some bombs
hint #2:
some pipes can be broken
I use the horse on level 21 for the eye on the right, but how do i get to the eye on the left????
Does anyone know how to save the knight in level 5?
I can't seem to get him.. I've tried bouncing of the first pipe but it goes in the middle of the two instead of the next pipe. Maybe I need to be more accurate with my aim?
Does anyone know how to save the knight on level 5?
sir gallahad is from king arthur and the knights of the round table, as well as lancelot
I can't beat level 8. Please help.
I think I got the secret to the eye on the left for level 21.
Get several horses. Scroll the screen until the left eye can't be seen. Somehow this makes it so it can't see YOU!! Then let your horse gallop along for a bit and then quickly scroll left till you can see the left "eye" and it will start shooting. Let the horse go nearly to the end until you can get a shot at the eye- it might take a couple of hits. WHEW.
Helpful tip for the sauron towers:
If you move the screen just outside the sights of the tower, it won't shoot at your knight. So you can get normal knights get well-within range of the tower without dying if you keep the tower off-screen.
Knight at level 5:
You can do this with a dragon breath item, but it is possible to hit it with a knight, you just have to try it over and over again.
someone help with level 24 - can't get the ghost thing on the far right
help with level 24 - can't get the ghost thing on the far right behind the vertical pipe.
For Level 21
you use a horse for the left fire thing and a chicken (and a lot of luck) for the right
@learner:
You can simply use a couple of chickens: fly above him, dropping an egg or two to finish him off. Or you can use a knight, and make it so that he JUST misses the pipe. You can get him that way: I did.
In level 25 how should I get to the saurontower? I have tried to beat it for hours.
If you think it's too easy, try completing the last level with no powerups. Hard but possible. =D
I beat it easily enough but I am still missing two knights - does anyone have a list of their locations?
For level 21, the "hard to reach fire eye" -
i used one magic for dummies after sending two buffed up knights. Then activated the spellbook when the eye was playing with the Knights.
[edit: spoiler added. -eileen]
I can add another Nitrome game to my list of favorite games. This was so much fun. I thought it was a bit easy at first, but true to form, Nitrome cranked it up in later levels.
What makes this one a departure I think, is that beyond the minimum "ground-floor" difficulty, you have control over setting the skill level yourself. If you want to replay earlier levels for gold to buy powerups for later ones, you can. This certainly is not possible in say, Rustyard or Parasite. On the other hand, if you want to make it hard on yourself, you can do that too. This greatly increases replay value, in my opinion.
The "cute-yet-cool" factor in Nitrome games really appeals to me. I don't like them all. But like certain others, this has intriguing and inventive elements. One of their best.
And I WILL find that last knight! Or... maybe not. LOL!
Guys, you dont have to buy ANYthing to complete lvl25, you only have to get enough knights. I made it without buying anything but had to use 23 knights.
You can get the last knight by collecting ALL the money in EVERY level.
@PCvO@ Can you share any tips for getting all the moneybags on the above right side of level 25? I end up leaving the top & bottom at the farthest right.
Umm theres a big bug man... Im saving knights and they dont appear in the inventory -.- always stay with the first 4 i dont know why...and guys how do you buy from the shop where is the shop?
lol
ok guess what? i found a glitch!
you need to equip all of your stuff to your dudes and then pause and quit.
when you come back the guy will be holding it, and it will be in your inventory!
have fun!!
Someone have a list of where the knights are?
I need help on level 9!
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