Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom
Review:
Any gamer can guess that the Playstation 3 is going to have some truly outstanding games. One of its first big launch titles was "Resistance: Fall of Man", which received excellent reviews and is currently loved by most PS3 owners. Another launch title that was predicted to be a standout was "Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom", but that is not what has happened. Although the game does have some redeeming qualities, many believe that it could have been a much better release, if given some more time.
"Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom" starts you on an adventure through the eyes of one of three different characters. Those three characters are the warrior, the mage, and the scout (or "rogue"). Although they may differ in appearance, they each are equipped with the same basic offensive and defensive capabilities. Each hero has basic, strong and fast attacks, as well as their own special powers/spells. The basic melee attacks are used to dispatch most enemies in the game, while the spells are used during more hectic situations and to finish off weakened enemies. Four character spells may also be equipped and used at any time, but in order to use any other powers/spells you must switch them with your current ones.
The overall storyline of "Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom" has been well developed and most gamers would agree it is a pretty intense and interesting story. Dureth, your Kingdom, is being destroyed from the inside, by none other than your very own king. You have been away from Dureth for quite some time and have heard of the corruption and dismay that has befallen the kingdom. Upon returning home, you can see that the king himself has been corrupted by an evil source. The kingdom's loyal citizens are being tortured and killed by demonic forces day in and day out. Finally, you have had enough and it is up to you to put an end to this corruption once and for all. So begins your journey on a mighty quest to find out who has corrupted King Halaskar. You must discover what is making the corruption so strong, and destroy the source of the corruption in order to save Dureth.
Like many other RPG games, "Untold Legends" takes advantage of the "experience points" system. That means every time you defeat an enemy, you will be granted experience points. By accumulating enough experience points, you will gain a level and be able to increase some of your hero's attributes; such as magic power, melee defense, health, mana, attack power, spell power, etc.
New armor is always a must have in RPGs, as it allows the player to take on new challenges better equipped. Well, there is armor and different gear in "Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom", but sadly it will not make your character look any different. This may not be a problem to some people, but many gamers find that with any new armor, the hero should have a new appearance. It just makes the game's adventure more visually pleasing and realistic. Another problem with "Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom" is the weaponry. Instead of allowing the Hero to use an assortment of different weapons during combat, they only get one basic weapon from start to finish. However, that weapon can be upgraded throughout the game-play using an assortment of different “power gems”.
The combat system in "Untold Legends" is not very complicated. The system is your basic hack and slash type in which you will do a whole lot of killing and crushing your enemies, and not a whole lot of thinking. Your hero's attacks can be strung together to make a nice set of high damaging combos, which will obliterate most incoming enemies. Top that off with one of your powerful spells, and you can take out a whole group of enemies in one huge attack. The sad thing about combat is that it can often get quite dull. This is attributed to the fact that it feels like your doing the same thing over and over, with no real changes. It is a nice change when you start encountering new enemies, but that "new" feeling goes away when you start the same old hack & slash process all over again.
When it comes to the graphics and overall look of the game, gamers seem to have been let down; considering the power that the PS3 has. That’s not to say that the graphics and visuals are bad, its just that they lack the special something that gamers have been hoping for and expecting from the Playstation 3. The details of the heroes and the enemy creatures, as well as the special effects, are pretty good and they make for some of the other visual let downs; but they can't make up for everything. The sound effects and music are pretty entertaining, but like the visuals, they can get rather repetitive after awhile. All in all, the graphics & sound of "Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom" have more of a PS2 feel then a PS3, bringing quite a disappointment.
Even though "Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom" has not been real impressive, it has still shaped up to be a pretty good game. In terms of the Playstation 3 hardware and power it may have failed. But, it is an entertaining RPG to play none the less, and it should (at the very least) give you a few hours of PS3 fun. It may not be on your "must have" list, but it is worth a try by all of the RPG fans out there.