Bargain Bin Gaming- Episode 23: Carcassonne

XBL_Carcassonneboxart_160wOn the surface, a game as simple as the obscure German board game “Carcassonne,” doesn’t look to be an enthralling addition to the X-Box Live Arcade library of games.

But just like Uno was turned into a cult classic on the 360 by Carbonated Games two and a half years ago, Sierra has done the exact same thing with “Carcassonne,” making the sometimes complex game of strategy and precision a great pick up and play title on the 360.

For those who are unfamiliar with the game, “Carcassonne,” is basically an interactive puzzle where players connect pieces to build kingdoms, roads, farms and churches, all which are worth points when connected to each other. After 70 pieces, or tiles are laid on the game board, the game is over and whoever has the most points wins the game. While this sounds rudimentary enough, up to five players can play at the same time, making for some quite interesting and intense gameplay.

As a matter of fact, “Carcassonne,” may be the most addictive title currently available on the X-Box Live Arcade.

Imagine playing a game as thought-provoking and strategic as chess and as addictive as “Tetris” and you have the foundation of “Carcassonne.” Then add in a slew of expansions, which allow gamers to create rivers and different types of towns and it’s easy to see how deep the gameplay is. If deep and addictive gameplay wasn’t enough, the game also features a fully capable online mode that also adds to the gameplay and provides even more hours of playability to already deep game.

However, the game is far from perfect on the sound and graphical level. While the game’s mediocre sound and graphics don’t take away from the game’s playability and fun by any means, Sierra could have spruced up the game board more and perhaps could have tightened up the average camera. The sound as well is far from great, as the same track is pretty much played over and over throughout the game, with various sound effects thrown in for good measure. If these problems were to be addressed, “Carcassonne” could possibly be one of the most dynamic puzzle games of all-time.

Nonetheless, these problems won’t stop you from playing this game by yourself, with friends or online against total strangers; yes, it’s that addictive. The same way games like “Sim City” and “Tetris” were able to get by on sheer gameplay is the same way that “Carcassonne” will suck you in and steal away hours of your free time away. Overall, it’s a welcome addition to anyone’s 360 collection and a phenomenal puzzle game that will be remembered for a long time.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13821 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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