Review: Charlie Murder (XBLA)

Many a rocker has been accused of bartering his soul to the devil, or some variation of evil entity, for attaining rock stardom. Charlie Murder doesn't sell his soul to become the rock legend he is now, but jealousy has fuelled a rival death metal band, Gore Quaffer, to trade theirs in order to get the power to destroy Charlie and his bandmates. That's the heavy-metal backdrop that drives the brawler hybrid (mostly brawler, a good portion roleplaying game) Charlie Murder for Xbox Live Arcade, the new title from Ska Studios, makers of the excellent Dishwasher brawler series.

While there's a lot to like about Charlie Murder, including good multiplayer and that infusion of RPG character building, it lacks the charisma of both Dishwasher titles and doesn't quite capture the brawler soul either of those two games did.

Foremost apparent in Charlie Murder is the distinctive art style of the visuals along with the same bloody mayhem that splattered all over the gameplay from beginning to end in the Dishwasher titles. That style carries over no matter which of the band members you employ: lead singer Charlie Murder, who can dual-wield weapons and is a Bezerker class; Lester Deth, the guitarist that is an Elemental; the drummer Rexecutioner, who's the tank class; Tommy Homicide, who is the bassist and Shaman class; and finally Kelly "Skelekitten" Skitten, Charlie's girlfriend who's the group's backup vocalist, tambourine and trumpet player. Kelly is a Mesmer class who can sprint and dodge roll.

As these talents might suggest, each character has their own strengths and weaknesses, and each has their own signature moves.

As a single-player foray, Charlie Murder has some extremely difficult boss battles against the legions of Paul, Gore Quaffer's jealousy-ridden lead singer, also known as Lord Mortimer. When employing multiple players at once, the game becomes a lot easier, although it can get confusing to follow where individual characters are on-screen with all the blood-letting bedlam that's unfolding.

All characters can be built up in skills with the RPG element of Charlie Murder and that will really be a necessity as gamers travel deeper into the game. There is also some light puzzle solving and looting is highly encouraged, particularly for those looking to upgrade their punk rocker/heavy metal wardrobe or adorn themselves with tattoos.

Despite having the sold-to-the-devil gameplay soul of its inspirational brethren of the Dishwasher series, Charlie Murder somewhat lacks the charm of those two previous games. Maybe it's simply that the lone dishwashing Samurai is a more likeable fellow than Charlie and any of his bandmates, or that the Dishwasher tale was so compelling in comparison. Whatever it is, despite that lack of magnetism, Charlie Murder is a hard-rocking good time on its own merits, not the least of which are the multiplayer and RPG facets that combine with satisfying classic Ska Studios brawling gameplay.

- Lee Cieniawa

The Good:
- Plenty of the satisfying brawler gameplay that is the trademark of previous Ska Studio games
- The RPG/character build elements make it more a "thinking" brawler than mindless mayhem
- More is definitely better, as having multiple players makes it much easier to advance through the game, especially when it comes to the boss battles

The Bad:
- Despite the similarities, it doesn't have the same charm as the Dishwasher titles
- Having another partner or three helps get through choke points, but can get slightly disorienting with all the bloodletting chaos on-screen at once

Score: 8.5 / 10