Pages: 4 Review: Untold Legends: Dark KingdomPosted Dec-09 2007 by ron, created under For Playstation 3While Dark Kingdom's gameplay design shows excellence by integrating the deepest, mostflexible combat system of any action RPG, on consoles at least, and giving some validity toevery single nuance of it, there are clear issues with the contentdesign. The graphics seem technically competent enough, and there isn't actually too littledetail either. It's all just a matter of unfortunate direction.Whenever the game serves up brighter, full day-light segments, be theyon top of a tower built from glistening blue marble, on the sand-stoney plazas of acapital city, or on the outskirts with old brick walls lining fields of tall grass andthe occasional tree, the game does manage to look nice actually. The problem israther that so many areas are dark, and colorless, and they are so by design, either becausethey take place by night or in underground spaces.
It's a hard thing to even try to make such settingsinteresting to look at, and Dark Kingdom does not manage to do it either, unsurprisingly. Thefault lies in the attempt rather than the execution, but it still is a fault, especiallyas it occurs so early in the game, and then stays that way for several hours. In that phase,where the game still needs to establish itself and grab the player somehow, the graphics contributenothing to achieve that goal. Onlyhere, after enduring several hours of night-time, caves and other sources of desaturated darkness, doesthe game start to slowly give us more light, bringing out its rather nice dynamic shadows and surfaceeffects. It would have been smarter to stuff the first third of the game with attractive, bright,colorful graphics.The second content-related problem lies in how the designers tried to mix up thegameplay elements to keep the experience fresh but with apparently too little time for testingand ironing out the kinks.
Specifically, there are two major boss encounters that changethe way the game plays and end up highly frustrating because you must climb up wholenew learning curves that are totally unrelated to the rest of the game, to be able tobeat these fights. We can't really talk about the second one, but the first one integratesenvironmental hazards into the whole fight. Touching these moving hazards means instant death, or very closeto death, depending on how you grew your character, and you have very little warning timefor dodging them because the camera controls are completely taken away from you during theentire fight. As a third insult, the battle arena is closed off by an invisible wall that preventsyou from getting away from these things.
Nov 15, 2006 Tales of Gold for Untold Legends. November 6, 2006 - Untold Legends Dark Kingdom has gone gold. The PS3 exclusive action-RPG is guaranteed.
This is unlike anything what you're used to up tothat point, where you could freely jump to your death into every single pit, across everysingle edge you could even reach.Then there is a section, approximately twenty minutes long, where the playerneeds to recruit and herd around friendlysoldiers who will ultimately assist in a mini-boss type fight. Keeping them alive canbe a real chore, not least because they act as impenetrablephysical obstacles wherever they stand, so you often can't just attack the enemy that'sattacking them, but have to walk around or jump over them first.
Developer(s) | Sony Online Entertainment |
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Publisher(s) | Sony Online Entertainment |
Platform(s) | PlayStation Portable |
Release |
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Genre(s) | Action role-playing |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade is a launch title for the SonyPSP handheld video game system, developed by Sony Online Entertainment. It is a third person action role-playing game in which the player can complete various quests for money and items. Untold Legends can be played cooperatively with up to four other players via Ad Hoc.
The player can choose to be one of four characters (Knight, Druid, Berserker or Alchemist). The goal is to save Aven, a city so high in the mountains that it often appears to be floating in the clouds, from the attack of various creatures. This 'floating city' is the last defense of humanity against a sudden onslaught of dark, foul creatures. It is up to the player to explore the world of Untaca and its various regions, searching for items, talking to people, and killing monsters.
Plot[edit]
After emerging victorious from a tournament, the Guardian finds the city under attack by large Spiders. Pursuing through the sewers, the Guardian discovers that the benevolent ruler Kaylee and the Overseer Lysetta have been corrupted by praetox and a dark disease that twists their minds. After dealing with a series of threats and would-be usurpers, the Guardian is told that Kaylee has finally succumbed to the dark curse and is forced to kill her and the forces that started the series of attacks.
Reception[edit]
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The game received 'average' reviews according to video game review aggregatorMetacritic.[1] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of one eight, one six, and two sevens, for a total of 28 out of 40.[5]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ ab'Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade for PSP Reviews'. Metacritic. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
- ^Edge staff (June 2005). 'Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade'. Edge (150): 86.
- ^EGM staff (May 2005). 'Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade'. Electronic Gaming Monthly (191): 91.
- ^Gibson, Ellie (September 28, 2005). 'Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade'. Eurogamer. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
- ^ abFreund, Josh (March 15, 2006). 'Latest Famitsu reviews - Yggdra Union, Ace Combat Zero, more'. GamesAreFun. Archived from the original on March 20, 2006. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
- ^Biessener, Adam (May 2005). 'Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade'. Game Informer (145): 134. Archived from the original on March 14, 2008. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
- ^Vicious Sid (March 23, 2005). 'Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade Review for PSP on GamePro.com'. GamePro. Archived from the original on March 24, 2005. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
- ^Hurh, JP (March 30, 2005). 'Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade Review'. Game Revolution. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
- ^Davis, Ryan (March 23, 2005). 'Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade Review'. GameSpot. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
- ^Nutt, Christian (March 28, 2005). 'GameSpy: Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade'. GameSpy. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
- ^Hobbs, Ronnie (April 7, 2005). 'Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade - PSP - Review'. GameZone. Archived from the original on October 5, 2008. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
- ^Nix, Marc (March 23, 2005). 'Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade'. IGN. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
- ^'Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade'. Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine: 111. May 2005.
- ^Newman, Heather (April 24, 2005). 'Untold Legends [Brotherhood of the Blade]'. Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on April 26, 2005. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
External links[edit]
- Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade at MobyGames
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