I got to play around with Untold Legends : Brotherhood of the Blade yesterday on a beat-up PSP that was used by
testers. I have to talk about the PSP first. The poor thing was a QA unit, meaning it was manhandled by dozens of
rushed, underpaid, stressed out, testers — but it was still in really good shape. The sparkly sheen is so fine you feel
like it will disappear after a month, lost under the kind of sweat only gaming can bring. Could the PSP actually hold
up well under heavy use?
Okay, the game! For a first gen offering this title certainly seems to offer everything you could possibly want. I
only got to play the wireless multiplayer mode, but it gave me a peek into the power of this handheld, and the great
ways Untold Legends is taking advantage of it. Simply put, you get great graphics, easy and addictive gameplay and
wireless multiplayer.
I teamed up with a couple of guys, one of whom was Mario Rizzo, Associate Game Designer. We chose a character class,
powered-up and headed into a game that Rizzo had set up. It was a flawless join, so we got right to the action. It's
standard slash-fare, with special moves for each class, and magic spells getting cast left, right and center. As you
would expect (or hope) from a Diablo-type game, when things get hairy it's a lot of fun. Teaming up on the big bosses
was especially pleasing, since three total strangers got to bark orders at each other in an effort to stay alive.
Players gain xp as they go, of course, and can head into the character menu with a click of the Select button when
it's time to assign points. Once in the menu, a little icon flashes next to his stats on the game screen, so the other
players know he's powering up. This is the only time there's a slow-down of the game; a brief 2 second pause.
Otherwise, even with a dozen characters running around on the screen, the game was smooth.
Another nice touch — UL automatically takes a look at how much experience you have and adjusts the HP of the baddies
accordingly. So the battles were tough, but not impossible.
This is only a preview, but if I got a good look. I can say a couple of things with some level of confidence. If you
don't like Diablo then stay away. But if you're looking for a game with spells, copious amounts of specialized weapons,
tons of treasure, single/multiplayer quests, robust inventory and a detailed character management system then it looks
like Untold Legends is a must-have launch title.
