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Each match is heavily customizable, which is where things get interesting. Two to four players – again, local only – choose their archers from four avatars that look different, but perform the same moves, and then pick from three modes: deathmatch, team deathmatch or last man standing. The "play with friends" message still holds strong in the competitive Versus mode. Quest allows for one or two players cooperatively, though there is friendly fire, so watch out (or find friends with better aim). Quest mode is infinitely less stressful with a partner covering one half of the map, since each section is basically a complete level on its own. This is where TowerFall's true message shines through: Play with a friend. You'll probably use it a lot more than you'd hope. To resume playing, you smash the jump button until the gem bursts open in a hail of fire and smoke that kills anything near it – it's cathartic button-mashing and a fancy weapon, all in one. You have five lives at the start of each level, and when you die, your avatar respawns encased in a gem. It's less satisfying when a rolling slimeball does the same to you, but it all shakes out in the end. It's superbly satisfying to launch a shot into an enemy's back, jump to collect the arrow, leap down the gap at the bottom of the level and pop up at the top, directly on top of the boss enemy's head. It's a game for a wide range of players, combining asset management and twitch controls with platforming and wonky physics. The mechanics are butter, allowing for rapid transitions among platforms and across the screen, all while flinging arrows at enemies or bouncing on their heads. TowerFall mimics the frustration in games of yore, offering just enough hope that next time, you'll be able to beat all of those nasty beasties. Suffice it to say that going into TowerFall alone is an arduous task. All levels after the first feature a variety of enemies, including assassins, death himself, birds, tornado-throwing hawk-men and other beasties with special abilities, all determined to kill your little archer. It does a wonderful job of lulling you into a false sense of security before the real game begins, and the real enemies appear. I'm convinced the first level exists not to train the player for what is to come, but to cultivate the perception that this cute, pixelated romp is easy fun. It offers a balance, both challenging players and allowing them to grasp the simple controls – shoot, jump and dodge. The first level in Quest offers a fairly simple demonstration of what TowerFall has to offer, namely, piles of ghosts, slime balls, flying eyeballs and eventually, on stage five, another archer. TowerFall rewards patience and calculated risk in both of its main modes, the multiplayer Versus mode and the solo or two-player Quest mode. (Also included among those: exploding corpses.) Challenge friends and choose big head mode, play with laser arrows only, play in slow-motion, turn on constant side-scrolling or a myriad of other game tweaks. Shoot a barrage of arrows and then jump down and collect them from the bodies of the slain. TowerFall's charm resides in its twists on beloved platformers and shooters: Jump down a hole at the bottom of the map and re-appear at the top, dropping from a gap in the ceiling. So, yeah – it's basically the reincarnated amalgamation of classic NES shoot-em-ups and platformers, bred for a more technologically powerful world. You have a set number of lives, limited ammo, power-ups that disappear the moment you're hit, and hordes of enemies that demonstrate increasingly complex powers as the levels progress. In reality, TowerFall is a brutal bow-and-arrow brawler with vicious enemies that materialize from the ether in droves, heedless of whether you have backup or the skills to defeat them. It appears to be cute, pixelated and friendly, and it looks like something you would have played between rounds of Contra and Super Mario Bros on the NES as a kid.