auntlet Legends is a fast-paced third-person action game combining small amounts of puzzle-solving with loads of combat. Players (up to four) take on the roles of fantastic heroes dedicated to driving the forces of the demon Skorne out of a series of bizarre worlds. Players begin by choosing a character class and color. Each class specializes in a different skill: Warriors have the best strength, Valkyries the best armor, Magicians the best magic, and so on. Once all players make their choices, the characters appear in the central castle. Each tower of the castle provides portals to one of the worlds conquered by Skorne. Only one of these portals is accessible to begin with; the others must be opened by the players' efforts.
Upon passing through a portal, the players are immediately attacked by monsters. The monsters are generally none too clever, but potentially there are infinite numbers of them, so it is up to the players to seek out and destroy the "monster generators" before being overwhelmed. The characters have short and long-range attacks of varying effectiveness as well as special attacks awarded from items they pick up along the way. The bad guys have various attacks based on their type, ranging from biting at the players' ankles to breathing fire to exploding.
Characters win a level by finding the exit portal. To get there they must avoid traps, manipulate keys and doors, turn switches, and find secret areas. Experience points and gold are awarded to each character at the end of a level, the amount depending on that character's actions. Gold can be spent between levels to improve a character's skills or to provide specific items for the next level. Solving levels and finding items allow access to new portals and towers and provide advantages when fighting the "boss" monsters found in the last portal of each tower.
Fast, furious and quirky
Gauntlet's light tone permeates every aspect of the design. Heroes and monsters alike are garishly colored and ridiculously proportioned. Character turbo attacks, which can destroy a whole room full of monsters, are over the top. Players will enjoy watching the Sorceress summon an army of skeletons from the ground and the Jester produce an immense mallet from out of nowhere.
The game boasts sharp, detailed graphics. The tones of the various worlds are distinct and well presented, with the monsters appropriate to their individual settings. The boss monsters are cool and intimidating, although they often suffer from limited animation. Additional players can drop in and out of a game easily, and characters who have been played separately can play together later, so just because you start a quest on your own doesn't mean you can't also continue with a friend.
The experience and treasure systems give a satisfying sense of progress and provide incentive to go back and replay levels. This greatly extends playability and allows "bulking up" before taking on especially difficult levels. Play occasionally becomes frustrating, especially when all the monsters on a level have been cleaned out but the exit is nowhere to be found. But since there are always earlier levels to re-conquer and often multiple towers available to attack, players will rarely be in the position of absolutely having to beat a certain level in order to advance.
In short Gauntlet Legends is fast, often mindless, fun. Don't expect much plot, or even strategy--just lots of action and plenty of cool pictures and funny noises.
