Crimson Alliance is strange to say the least. The game is freely downloadable from XBLA and that gets you some gameplay, but not all of it. 
Think of it like a free trial with the character packs unlocking the full game.
Crimson Alliance Free Version
In Crimson Alliance the trial experience and the full game are essentially one and the same. The only things locked are the characters and how much content they can play. In solo play, characters can play the first three levels and save all progress. In multiplayer, they can play any level in the game, save progress, but are limited to a 15 minutes session.
There are then class packs for each of the three characters: Rogue, Wizard, Mercenary.
Buying a Class Pack for Crimson Alliance gives you a fully licensed character or characters depending on which offer you choose. Fully licensed characters can play all of the content in the main game. The version of the game labeled “FREE” on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace is essentially a “shell” containing both the trial experience and the full campaign. So to play the game you’ll need to download the FREE game first. And then purchase a class pack.
So don’t be confused in that you can download Crimson Alliance for free, that’s basically the trial but a quick purchase gets you an unlock code for more of the game. Now the character packs are 800MSP each or 1200MSP for the whole crew which makes it one of the most expensive XBLA titles (2400MSP if bought separately) available and the All Class Pack a steal. So then the question begs to be answered: is it worth it?
Crimson Alliance Story and Environments
This is another one of those games that has taken to the motion comic storytelling which I quite like. If you think about it, had they done the story in the game engine, it might not have looked all that great, and taken away from some other facets of the game. The motion comic gets the story across and does it in a very stylized way. This then leads into the environments all of which are richly detailed. The sad thing is that you never seem to get close enough with the camera to really appreciate all the detail. Also there are a long list of enemies that you will face, but you really want to learn more about them, you have to go to the Crimson Alliance website as the monster manual (infringement?) is only there.
