Untold Legends? (PSP roguelike)

[Flojomojo]

Anyone here playing this one? Check out Penny Arcade's opinion:

You don't need to play Untold Legends very long to find out why a person might not relate the legend in question: it's simply not a very good legend. It absolutely follows the Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance/Champions Of Norrath playbook, but whether the hardware isn't quite up to the task or the game mechanics are being joylessly iterated it's hard to care about it one way or the other. As with all co-operative games, it can be endured much longer than the game itself warrants. And since it's portable, you can hate it anywhere: on the bus, in the park, etc.

Ummmm ... faint praise. Then again, I really like Sword of Fargoal as well as the janitor simulator known as Gauntlet, so maybe I would enjoy it.

[heavy-sixer]

I've been playing it since I got it. It is certainly a Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance/Champions Of Norrath knock-off. But that's fine with me because I loved those games, and besides, I'm really not paying much attention to the story, I'm just killing things and keeping track of the quests in the journal. I think ign.com's review is pretty fair 7.6.

[ianoid]

I still think that the biggest shortcoming of these Johnny come lately hack n' slashes (which I really really dig) is the lack of hidden stuff. Gauntlet (I,II and NESes) had alot of hidden stuff. People love hunting for hidden stuff, esp. if it's not critical (for those who DON'T like hunting), and Baldur's, Norrath and Untold just don't have a serious cache of stuff for the die hards to find. Minigames and hidden stuff are underexploited.

[Lord Thag]

It's pretty fun. The fact that there are TONS of optional dungeons, extra levels in dungeons that you have to unlock later, and the fact that the whole game is randomly generated with each restart make it pretty fun. It definately is a baldur's gate knockoff, but it's a darn fun one.

 

Dunno about you guys, but Diablo in the palm of my hand with wireless multiplayer is a GOOD thing....

[pinball22]

I definitely want to try this game out... I'm a huge fan of run/hack/slash games... BG:DA, Norrath, Gauntlet in its many incarnations

(except for the PS2 version of Dark Legacy), and especially the aforementioned Sword of Fargoal.

 

I would like to see more secret stuff included in games of the genre, though. I like to hunt things.

[cryptik76]

I agree with the sentiments that have been posted in this thread so far.

 

I'm not hugely experienced with the console Dark Alliance-style games, but I know enough about them to know that Untold Legends is essentially a rip-off of those games.

 

But, you know, it's still a fun game, and hopefully its sales will encourage Sony and other companies to do additional action/RPG's on the PSP, and hopefully the criticisms leveled towards it will encourage some more originality next time around.

 

Keep in mind that it's a launch title. Better ones are still to come. In the meantime, it's a great looking, fun game that I'm enjoying despite any criticisms I have for it. And the co-op mode is pretty fun.

[heavy-sixer]

I agree with the sentiments that have been posted in this thread so far.

 

I'm not hugely experienced with the console Dark Alliance-style games, but I know enough about them to know that Untold Legends is essentially a rip-off of those games.

 

But, you know, it's still a fun game, and hopefully its sales will encourage Sony and other companies to do additional action/RPG's on the PSP, and hopefully the criticisms leveled towards it will encourage some more originality next time around.

 

Keep in mind that it's a launch title.  Better ones are still to come.  In the meantime, it's a great looking, fun game that I'm enjoying despite any criticisms I have for it.  And the co-op mode is pretty fun.

 

 

I agree. I just wish you could play it online because I don't have anyone to link PSPs with. I'm the only one I know who has one.

[Lord Thag]

I have a co-worker with a PSP and Untold Legends. We're going to give the MP a try sometime this week. I'll post a review here after we do. Fun game! It has that 'just one more level' quality that makes it really hard to put down.

[AlexKIDD]

After reading some mediocre reviews for this game I didn't pick it up in my first batch of psp games. However I played my friend's copy today and I like it quite a bit. Sure,it's not the best rpg when comparing it to FF or Phantasy Star or something but it's a very fun game to play. I plan on getting it this week so I can play some multiplayer.

[BydoEmpire]

I only played UL for a few minutes on a friend's psp, but after that quick judgement I don't think I'll buy it.

 

My problems with this genre (I've also played through BG:DA and D&D Heroes) persist game-after-game, developer after developer. First, you're always giving a limited selection of character to pick from. Why not let you create your own character, D&D style? I know, UL lets you change your hair from brown, to light brown, to lighter brown, but that's not enough. Secondly, where's the role playing and questing? I wish one of these games would add some quests other than "go to area, kill boss, collect magic doodad." You can have action and some interesting quests at the same time, but no one does it. Finally, the combat is seems to always be "Mash X. Repeat." Phantasy Star Online added an excellent element of timing to the button mashing, which really gave the combat legs, imho. I wish some of these action-rpgs would make the combat more intersting.

 

I haven't played Champions of Norrath or Demon Stone, so if either of those address these things, I'm all ears. I like action RPGs, and I thought D&D Heroes was fun, but I want more than Gauntlet combat with a predetermined character.