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A few weeks ago, while I was out getting a new hard drive for my
computer (it was not full, more like had a bad OS on it and was really
killing my gaming life). My brothers and I stumbled on to this gem of
a game, but there was only one problem -- the cost. We took a look at
it and decided to get it if the cost went down.
A few weeks later, I opened the ad for the same place I got my hard drive
and there it was, Gauntlet Dark Legacy for ten dollars less and begging me to pass
the word. Later, I phoned home from work and learned that younger brother
has gone out and purchased it already. On one hand, I was excited because this
had been the first game we got for the Game Cube since Christmas, but I was
also let down because it was younger brother that purchased it. We popped
it open Friday night and the three of us started playing.
Gauntlet Dark Legacy is almost a direct port of the game of the same
name in the arcades. You play a character that is either one of the four original types:
fighter, valkarie, wizard or archer or you could play one of four new
types: knight, dwarf, jester or sorcerer. Once you choose and enter a six
digit name for you to play as, then you jump into the game.
For those of you familiar with the arcade version, you do not start out
with all the levels unlocked. Instead, they are unlocked through the
gathering of crystals and golden items. The levels generally
have a theme of sorts running through them, and then there are about
four or five sub levels for you to fight through. For example, you go to a sort
of grave yard where you have fight the undead, ghosts and maggots and
than you fight through a town with the same sorts of nasties. Also scattered
throughout the levels are what can only be called mini- bosses that you
must defeat to move on.
At the end of the fourth or fifth level, you will encounter a nasty boss
creature that you must slay. The only way to beat this boss is generally
to either be very high level, or use one of the special weapons that you
have to get in a level. I have yet to fight one of these bosses, but will
soon.
As you progress through the game the character you choose grows as
well. As you hack and slash through levels, a voice will boom out saying that your character
(blue knight, red archer, etc.) has gained a level. This gives the game a
role playing feel about it and really increases the replay value. As your
character grows, it will begin to look even better. For example, my blue
knight, EdAznr, started out at level one with a piddly spiked club and
shield barely big enough to protect his face. As Ed began to gain levels,
his shield grew bigger and his spiked club got bigger and more meaner
looking. Then I hit level 40 and the weapon became a two-headed battle
axe and now at level 45, EdAznr has a huge shield and a wicked looking four-headed axe.
I really like the graphics of this game because they remind me of the
game in the arcade. Vary nice and clean looking with good details. The Game Cube does a
good job of handling the large number of characters on the screen at the same
time without slowdown. The only pitfall is that there are occasionally
millisecond pauses as the system works to build up the level graphically.
The sound effects on the game are very good. You have the screams of
the beasts as you hack into them and the background cries of birds flying
over. My only gripe is that the background sounds drown out the music.
The one main gripe I have is that the game left Midway with one major
bug. That is, the game has a tendency to freeze up when you least expect it. I
read on some BBS that most of the time it freezes when you read a scroll
that gives you clues throughout the game. Most of the time when I play it
freezes when I am in the middle of combat. This gets really annoying
when you are in the middle of playing and just hit the next level.
Even with this major drawback I highly recommend the game if you have
a Game Cube. It's not that much fun solo, but if you can get a couple
friends together to play it should be all-out Gauntlet fun.
Rating: **** 1/2 out of *****
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