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[Gowans]

Explore the mystical world of the Crimson Empire in this action-RPG adventure. Choose to play as the powerful wizard, Direwolf; the battle-hardened mercenary, Gnox; or the mysterious assassin, Moonshade. Play Crimson Alliance co-operatively with up to 4 players on the same console or over Xbox LIVE. Work together combining your unique abilities against the nefarious Cult of the Soul Siren and the fearsome beasts they control. Can you stop them before their dark plans are complete?

RELEASE DATE: 7th September 2011 (or right now with Summer of Arcade Code)
PRICE: It's Complicated

1200msp (all three characters)
800smp (one character)
Free with 5 Summer of Arcade Purchases.
+ Microtransation Gold (40,000 Gold for 80msp)​

DEVELOPER: Certain Affinity
PUBLISHER: Xbox LIVE Arcade
GENRE: Action & Adventure, Role Playing

FEATURES
Offline co-op 1 - 4

ONLINE FEATURES
Online co-op 2 - 4
Content downloads
Leaderboards
Voice chat

Screens:

Video:
Trailer
Gnox Trailer
Direwolf Trailer
Moonshade Trailer

Reviews:
MetaCritic

Marketplace Download Page

 

[Ricker]

This will be interesting to see how it works out,microtransaction wise, but I will probably get it this week for the gameplay,hopefully single player will be fun also...the demo will be a determinating factor for me....this playthrough of the game got me interested for sure:

http://www.gameinformer.com/games/c...1/08/12/preview-theater-crimson-alliance.aspx

 

[Persona7]

This game reminds me of Arcadian warriors.

I will buy this.

 

[bubnbob]

so... do you have to buy the whole package to get all achievements?

 

[angelfly]

So it's a F2P game that's not F2P?

 

[Fl1pp13]

Hmm, interested in trying this game.. I think I should wait for some more reviews to surface though..

 

[The_Monk]

I may try it and if I liked the 800msp seems ok. 1200msp not so much, for me at least.

 

[Persona7]

So it's a F2P game that's not F2P?

How is it free to play?

It is a free bonus for buying all 5 Summer of Arcade games.

Either that or you buy it.

 

[Phonomezer]

It is a free bonus for buying all 5 Summer of Arcade games.

I didn't get a code

 

[dragonelite]

UUGH i kinda hate rpg with gender fixed classes.

 

[Raide]

So, if you buy the 800 version, how much to upgrade to the 2 extra characters?

 

[MrDaravon]

Wait, so if you buy the 800 point version then decide you want the other 2 characters can you upgrade for 400, or how does that work?

 

[Benjamin1981]

One character really should be 400 MS points. Buying all there characters separately costs double than buying the whole game. That's fucked up.

 

[Gowans]

I didn't get a code

Me too. They must be doing phases yeah? Or has everyone else got them?

 

[Syphon Filter]

diablo alliance

 

[MattKeil]

diablo alliance

Not really. It's much more reminiscent of Gauntlet than Diablo.

 

[The Mana Legend]

I hate how this is pretending to be an RPG. Seriously. This looks boring as all hell.

 

[angelfly]

How is it free to play?

It is a free bonus for buying all 5 Summer of Arcade games.

Either that or you buy it.

I was commenting that the game is structured like a F2P game (microtransactions, purchasing characters, ingame currency from real money, etc) yet it'll cost you $10-$70 depending on which method you take to purchase it.

 

[Gowans]

I was commenting that the game is structured like a F2P game (microtransactions, purchasing characters, ingame currency from real money, etc) yet it'll cost you $10-$70 depending on which method you take to purchase it.

Yeah it's like they want the revenue that type of game brings without the risk & hit on the upfront price.

Who would have thought it from MS.

 

[Neuromancer]

I was commenting that the game is structured like a F2P game (microtransactions, purchasing characters, ingame currency from real money, etc) yet it'll cost you $10-$70 depending on which method you take to purchase it.

This sounds like a mess to me.

 

[Raide]

It should have been 400 for 1 character, 800 for 2 and 1200 for all 3. If they want to try and do a F2P game with micro-transactions, they should have started it cheaper.

 

[eek5]

I don't mind the tiered pricing but they have their price points all fucked up. 2 characters should still be cheaper than the full package imo

 

[Spirit of Jazz]

I was going to buy this then I heard about the money scam.

 

[Poker360]

My review for this game will be up on dark station tomorrow. Will post a link when it's up

 

[legbone]

so, if you buy the 800 point version, do you get to pick your character? because if so, i highly recommend the assassin. easily my favorite character. the stun move is cool as fuck and sometimes you get a one hit kill stab move after doing it. she feels like easy mode. so much fun to play. way better than the other two characters in my opinion.

and i just realized something that is total bullshit. there is an achievement for getting a gold medal on the first level with all three characters. you cannot get this achievement without paying the 1200 points. that is bullshit. anyway, glad i only paid 800 for all three characters. i bought fruit ninja kinect for 800 points and never downloaded it just so i could get the full version of this for 800 points.

 

[Omikaru]

I wonder what was going on at Microsoft when this decision was made? They've basically combined the payment model of traditional games with the F2P payment model.

I thought the idea of paying for in-game characters/items/currency was that the game itself was, you know, free. And I thought that paying for a product up front meant that you'd get the full product.

They are either incredibly greedy, or incredibly incompetent.

 

[S1kkZ]

played for a pretty long time now (assassin) and love it. the mtransaction stuff is no problem, so far.

 

[Gowans]

still no code

 

[Poker360]

Here is my review of crimson alliance:

http://darkstation.com/reviews/xbox-360/crimson-alliance/

 

[S1kkZ]

Here is my review of crimson alliance:

http://darkstation.com/reviews/xbox-360/crimson-alliance/

i disagree with the microtransaction stuff. i am at the last level now (i think) and the best weapons/armor are the ones you find/get in the hidden rooms/coop puzzles/challenges. yes, there is this super expensive stuff in the shops but you dont need it (it looks pretty cool but the stats are so-so, compared to the stuff you find). also: if you use the combo system and get silver/gold medals or play the challenges, you get a fair amount of gold.

i never paid for the gold and i had a ton of fun so far. the expensive stuff just gives me a reason to get more medals and play coop, so i can afford some of that cool looking stuff.

 

[Poker360]

i disagree with the microtransaction stuff. i am at the last level now (i think) and the best weapons/armor are the ones you find/get in the hidden rooms/coop puzzles/challenges. yes, there is this super expensive stuff in the shops but you dont need it (it looks pretty cool but the stats are so-so, compared to the stuff you find). also: if you use the combo system and get silver/gold medals or play the challenges, you get a fair amount of gold.

Interesting, i never found anything near the quality of what was in the shops, which is why i made it such a big deal.

 

[S1kkZ]

Interesting, i never found anything near the quality of what was in the shops, which is why i made it such a big deal.

just the cool looking stuff is in the shops, but the stuff with the best stats is hidden in the levels or you get it in the challenges. at the last level now (on normal) and i never had issues or was frustrated.

 

[madmackem]

still no code

Not got mine yet either.

 

[Seanspeed]

It should have been 400 for 1 character, 800 for 2 and 1200 for all 3. If they want to try and do a F2P game with micro-transactions, they should have started it cheaper.

I dont think so. Even with one character, you're still getting the full game(which is what you're mainly paying for). They aren't charging 'by-the-character' necessarily. Just giving a discount to anyone who's willing to be locked into just one class.

I think its a good idea. It was always going to be a 1200 point game.

 

[Raide]

I dont think so. Even with one character, you're still getting the full game(which is what you're mainly paying for). They aren't charging 'by-the-character' necessarily. Just giving a discount to anyone who's willing to be locked into just one class.

I think its a good idea. It was always going to be a 1200 point game.

I certainly like the look of the game but I am still a little concerned about replay value. I am sure I will get a good few hours from it. It will be a nice stopgap for the summer.

I wonder if they will DLC extra player classes later down the road as well?

 

[zatara]

Is it wrong to expect something along the lines of Torchlight with this game? Like lots of loot and leveling up?

 

[legbone]

Is it wrong to expect something along the lines of Torchlight with this game? Like lots of loot and leveling up?

yes, it is nothing like torchlight except maybe the camera angle. no leveling up and no skill trees. there is loot but it's nothing to write home about. still a beautiful game and pretty damn fun. i'm having a blast with it. i'd recommend playing the demo though. this game is super shallow compared to torchlight.

 

[Poker360]

Is it wrong to expect something along the lines of Torchlight with this game? Like lots of loot and leveling up?

Haha read my review a few posts up

 

[Phonomezer]

still no code

Same here

 

[Littleberu]

Is it wrong to expect something along the lines of Torchlight with this game? Like lots of loot and leveling up?

Think Legend of Mana more than Torchlight.

 

[mollipen]

UUGH i kinda hate rpg with gender fixed classes.

Seriously. Companies, if you don't offer gender choices for games like this, 95% of the time I'm just going to ignore your game. End of story.

I'm sick of "we'll toss in a token female character, and make her one of the three same classes we always make female characters" BS. Oh look, there's one female character among a bunch of male characters! I bet she's either a healer, or the "sneaky + long range weapons" character!

Make two character models for each class you lazy assholes.

 

[FINALBOSS]

I was really into this game until I read it's nothing like Torchlight and shit.


I'll stick to Dungeon Hunter Alliance--which I only play on rare occasions.

 

[legbone]

yep, dungeon hunter alliance is so good. one of the better diablo clones i have ever played. it and torchlight are currently my gotos when i need a loot whore fix.

 

[Keio]

So we are supposed to get a SOA download code from MS? Nothing in Europe for me yet...

 

[REV 09]

Seriously. Companies, if you don't offer gender choices for games like this, 95% of the time I'm just going to ignore your game. End of story.

I'm sick of "we'll toss in a token female character, and make her one of the three same classes we always make female characters" BS. Oh look, there's one female character among a bunch of male characters! I bet she's either a healer, or the "sneaky + long range weapons" character!

Make two character models for each class you lazy assholes.

doesn't Torchlight do this? i don't see the big deal really.

 

[Neuromancer]

Tom Chick doesn't like it.

But what rubs me the wrong way is that each store includes a nag for you to buy 40,000 gold from the Xbox Live store. In the overall calculus of the game, 40,000 gold is an unbalancing metric butt-ton of money. It will basically unlock all the best items for each of your three slots. I’m guessing it will let you effortlessly plow through the levels, pretty much guaranteeing silver medals all the way.

Is Crimson Alliance supposed to work this way? Shouldn’t the developers tune their game* so the amount of gold you earn is commensurate with either the amount of time you’ve played, or how well you’ve played? When is gameplay just a grind that you should be able to buy your way past? Should indie developers shirk their duty like Electronic Arts routinely does, giving players the option to subvert whatever challenge level their game should provide? And should an indie developer include a nag for this every time I’m counting out my hard-earned gold for whatever minor item I can afford?

I don’t know the answers to these questions. But I do know that I lost interest in Crimson Alliance after being repeatedly nagged to pay extra money as an alternative to actually playing the game.

 

[S1kkZ]

Tom Chick doesn't like it.

what an idiot. sounds like he played the game for 10 minutes. and the game never "naggs" you to buy gold. finished it yesterday, had a good time, i give it a 7.5 (i only played sp). the micro transaction thing is nothing to complain about. never bought gold and was able to finish it with zero problems and my assassin looked pretty cool at the end.

 

[Fl1pp13]

I was able to put some hours in Crimson Alliance and have to say I really like it. It makes me think of a mix between Bastion and Trine, with some links to God of War. I don't really know how their money-making system works though, as I got my characters for free..

 

[Gowans]

This is gona be up in 90 still no code

 

[madmackem]

Yep no code for me either, wtf ms.