Gauntlet Dark Legacy

"Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance beats this in every category"

There's been a genre going on since the NES days. It's called Hack 'n Slash. I started with Final Fight, and now played the two on Xbox, Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance and Gauntlet: Dark Legacy. I'll tell you one thing. If you want a good Hacking game, get Baldur's Gate. Read on why.

The graphics in Gauntlet are pretty ugly. The characters are quite dull and cartoonish, as are the weapons and monsters. A plus is that the game is very colorful. It really reminds me of Jet Set Radio Future, sort of. The only graphics that really showed were the bosses. The looked excellent and were huge and unique. I give the graphics a 5/10.

The sound in Gauntlet is one of the lower points. You hear clashing swords, weapons striking enemies, and grunts when your character swings his/her/its weapon. Sure, they aren't beautiful, but they do get the job done. There really isn't any music at all. I give the sound a 4/10.

The gameplay is probably the weakest point in the game, but then again, there's not really any high points. First of all, there are two points in the game. There is single player, and multiplayer. They are the exact same, but totally different. Confusing yes, but I'll explain.

The single player in Gauntlet is just discusting. There are traps you may fall into or get hit by, and of course enemies. There are a variety of monsters in weaker or stronger forms. There are two attacks. One is Quick, and one is strong. There are also two ways of attacking enemies. Hand to Hand and a distant attack. You'll find yourself pressing the same button over and over. There are also tons of items to pick up, such as fire breath, triple attack, invulnerability, etc. These are the cool parts. The weakest part is the magic. You press one button, and it kills all of the enemies in the distance. Quite boring. 2/10 single player.

The multiplayer is very fun. It's the exact same as single player, but with four players. It's much more fun yelling to kill the vampire while your friend is trying to fend off an orc. The bosses are incredibly fun to beat with 3 friends. 8/10 multiplayer.

The replayability/length is excellent. If you like the gameplay, there are over 100 levels to play. The levels are also very replayable, because the game is pretty non-linear. I give the length a 8/10.

Gauntlet is not near as good as Baldur's Gate, though hardcore fans may want to pick up both. I give the game an average rating. It's poor in graphics and sound, but excellent in replay and multiplayer. 4/10.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 02/09/03, Updated 02/09/03