Gauntlet Legends

"All the Arcade Splendor and more"

When I first heard the arcade quarter gobbler was coming to Dreamcast, I was very excited. I loved the arcade game, but, as aforementioned, it ate a LOT of quarters. It was too tough and in many ways very cheap. But this solid action/RPG expands a lot on the arcade version and makes it a very solid game in it's own right.

Presentation: 8/10
Boring menus and an occasionally annoying save system detract, but still, a solid presentation all around. Cut scenes remind us why were playing, but don't give us much in the way of inspiration.

Graphics: 9/10
When I first loaded up, when it started to zoom in on my character, the framerate was low, and I immediately thought that the rest of the game might have this problem. Luckily, it didn't. The rest of the game has some very nice graphics, though lower res than the arcade. The only problem with that is it zooms very close to your characters to cover this up, making traps sometimes too hard to spot in multiplayer. A minor problem, admittedly.

Sound: 8/10
Gets the job done. The fighting sounds are distinct enough to not blend into everything else and the announcer can be funny. You are greedy! comes to mind... when you steal all the food and leave your friend for dead in a multiplayer game. It loses marks for stupid commentary like ''Food restores health'' and ''Use keys to unlock doors''. Hmm.. seems pretty self explanatory to me.

Control: 10/10
I almost never do something I didn't want to do. The analog joystick moves your character around to perfection, even better than in the arcade, you'll find yourself running and moving cautiously toward a trap perfectly. Very responsive controls, all around.

Gameplay: 9/10
A lot of fun, but slightly low on the challenge factor. I find myself doing milk runs back to the first stage a lot to recover life and potions and keys. I played it first single player and found just how fun it is in multiplay. The only major gripe I have is that fast characters run around and grab a lot of experience and items and slower ones get to pick through the rest.

Buy or Rent? This is a very special game. It's atleast worth a rent. I bought it before renting though, and I don't regret it at all.

Overall: 9/10
The single player mode admittedly drags on a bit. But it can be useful to grab a few levels before your next multiplayer beat down with a friend. Maybe I'm just a sucker for action/RPGs or really cool multiplayer, but all in all, this game is definitely a buy, I'd go complete it again and again.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/17/01, Updated 04/25/01