Raskulls: a review

Raskulls is a weird little XBLA game. Imagine a cross between Mario Kart and Mr. Driller and you'll have a decent understanding of what you're getting into: a racing game with puzzle elements that's a bit shallow, but fun with company.

The first thing you'll notice about Raskulls is that it's genuinely funny. It's fully aware that there's little story outside of everyone wanting the "shiny stones", so it focuses on cracking jokes and breaking the fourth wall. The single player is essentially a just string of puzzle and racing missions with more obstacles as the game progresses, but you'll want to continue if only to hear what the characters have to say next. From a cop's passion for doughnut milkshakes, to a mummy with a photography hobby, to a wizard who desperately needs jungle juice (seriously), Raskulls deals with being fairly shallow by making what's there really funny.

I don't want to imply that the game itself isn't fun, because it is, at least for a while. The single player is fairly short, but offers a nice variety of missions and some genuinely difficult bonus ones. You'll unlock all sorts of characters and other goodies, which are usable in the multiplayer (or single if you play with bots). The multiplayer is exclusively racing, and while it does give a very Mario Kart-esque vibe with its use of items and boosts, the lack of variety is what cuts the enjoyment short. There aren't a lot of tracks, and all of the characters play exactly the same. It's really more of a party game than anything else, and like most party games, it's the people you play with that make it really fun.

Local multiplayer is a blast. The splitscreen is fun, and odds are rematches will happen, making the game more entertaining. Online play, however, does not share this fun factor. This is due to two reasons: it's an XBLA game, and therefore doesn't have a lot of people playing, and the lack of interaction with players makes it hardly different from a bot match. The online is there, and it's alright, but you probably won't use it much.

Before I conclude, I want to mention that the game looks really great. If Halfbrick Studios made a platformer that looked and played like this, I would probably buy it in a heartbeat. The music is pretty good too, and they've made it available for download! If you've played the demo and liked what you heard, Halfbrick has you covered.

http://www.halfbrick.com/2011/01/raskulls-xbla-soundtrack-for-free/

So, is Raskulls worth 800 MS points ($10)? It's debatable. If you frequently have people around to enjoy the silliness with, I would strongly recommend it. If you're a loner, you probably won't want to plunk down the cash, as you'll eventually run out of things to do. Then again, if the style and gameplay really appeal to you after trying the demo, you may as well. After all, you get a snazzy Raskull for finishing the demo.

And really, how can you say no to that?