Gauntlet IV

"Classic arcade action revisted, revamped, and re...verberated...?"

GAUNTLET 4 for Sega Genesis

PREMISE
A badly wounded warrior stumbles through a tiled corridor, surrounded by ghosts and grunts. He feverishly fights them back with his axe, swinging faster and faster. The carnage is unbelievable. From around the corner, Death himself appears, his only purpose to drain what little life remains in the valiant combatant. In his desperation, the warrior uncorks a magic potion, and vaporizes the army of evil in a flash. He is safe for the moment, but the fact remains: "warrior needs food badly". Yes, this is a highly dramatized recreation of the classic quarter-muncher from the 80's titled "Gauntlet", but no, you're not hanging out in a smoky arcade with a bunch of kids - you're in the comfort of your own home! Gauntlet 4 is a near-perfect port of the classic we all know and love, with some nice extras thrown in for good measure, such as customizable options, a killer soundtrack, and an RPG-like quest mode. Fans of the original will not be let down. The premise is untouched - one to four players choose from a warrior, a valkyrie, a wizard, or an elf and descend into a seemingly endless dungeon to satiate their appetites for blood-letting and gold. All the demon-slaying, treasure-hunting action is just as you remember it. Destroy as many monsters and monster generators as possible, collect as many keys, potions, and treasure chests as you can, and stay alive long enough to make it to the next level. Your life force will slowly diminish over time (assuming it hasn't through grievous bodily injuries inflicted during endless waves of combat), forcing you to seek out food for extra health, and unlike the arcade version, having a pocket bulging with quarters won't help you - a maximum of 9 credits are available in the options menu. Let's see you get to level 87 with that...

GRAPHICS - 6
Everything looks just like you remember it. Red-eyed ghosts materialize from piles of bones, and grunts, demons, sorcerers, and lobbers emerge from skull-capped "monster generators". Keys, chests of gold, potions, and food are all scattered about, waiting for the brave. Swirling down into the black level exit box will bring back memories, as will the warrior and valkyrie "action pose" title screen. If my memory serves me (it does only sporadically), the layout of each level is even identical. Everything is a dead ringer for the original.

MUSIC & SOUND - 9
Here is where you'll find one of the extra additions that will, in my opinion, greatly increase your enjoyment of an old classic. Gauntlet 4 has been given an AWESOME soundtrack, where as the arcade version had none. Adrenaline-pumping tunes will set the stage as you slog through hordes of monsters, fighting for every inch of ground. They're not all amazing, but the standouts are incredible - some of the best music you'll hear on your Sega Genesis. My personal favorites are "Sortie", a rousing battle anthem, and "Transparent Obstacle", at first dark and whispery, and then intense and beat-driven. Both are excellent. The sound effects are straight from the arcade. The tingling keys, the grunts and groans, and the voice-over hints are all are intact (the voices do sound muffled however).

PLAYABILITY - 9
Try, try as you may, this game is brutal and unforgiving. The original was programmed with one purpose in mind - to make you plunk down quarter after quarter. There are an endless supply of bad guys waiting in line to have a swing at you, and there's no getting around it. You can strategize, you can hold down the attack button until your thumb begins to tingle, but they WILL keep coming. The only way to temporarily hold back the sea of angry beasts is to immediately go for the generators that spawn them in limitless supply. Sometimes you'll be forced to wade through crowds of enemies just to eliminate the generator, soaking up tons of damage in the process. Playing with more than one player will up your odds a bit, and working out your team strategy on the fly is a good time, but continuous play with no time limit just doesn't seem to be possible with this one - you're all going to die eventually. Unless I'm missing something, there doesn't seem to be an end to Gauntlet 4, and the levels just keep on coming. It's almost like playing a game of hackey sack - let's see how long we can keep this thing going.

SUMMARY
Gauntlet 4 is pure arcade fun, plain and simple. It's an uncomplicated killfest, a scramble for loot, and a drive to see what's through the next exit. The inspired soundtrack is icing on the cake and will only add to the experience, and the quest mode is worth a look, too. Even though it is undeniably repetitive to the extreme, you'll always seem to find yourself playing for just a bit longer than you thought you would.

OVERALL - 8 out of 10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/05/07