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Phoenix
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I just finished playing Legendary, which was done by Spark Unlimited. The game is about what happens when your character, an art thief by the name of Deckard, literally opens Pandora's Box. However, the legend about Pandora's Box as recorded by Hesiod was not entirely correct, and instead of unleashing intangible evils unto the world, monsters that were believed to be purely mythological are turned loose to wreak havoc on the world. Now you have to run and gun through the aftermath, find out the truth behind the job you were hired to do, and survive against both monsters and human threats.
Visually the game is very stunning. It does require a lot of graphics power to render without skipping. It seems to like to run at 75Hz video refresh by default. I can't complain about the graphics at all other than they require a fairly high-end card to fully appreciate. Sound is just about right. Weapons sound beefy, except for the pistol. Environmental sounds, human voices, and the sounds the monsters make are all right were I'd expect. For atmosphere, you have a cross between action and horror.
Customization of controls is a bit limited. There's no pull-down menu that I can see, so you'll have to rely on the in-game menu. The menu itself has a minor bug in it that sometimes you can accidentally change the wrong selection. Also, once you're in-game you can't adjust the graphic detail. You have to exit back to the main menu. The game uses a checkpoint system for saving as opposed to the usual instant or slotted save game system. The checkpoints are put at logical points in the game and are spaced just right so that if you die or exit you'll not feel like you have to redo a lot of work again.
Gameplay involves combat with various creatures, as well as solving some environmental puzzles. The weapons range from a fire axe to some very powerful weapons you find later on. Early weapons you'll find in the game are a pistol and sub-machinegun. Firearms can be shot from the hip or you can hold down a key to sight down the gun. You actually use the gun sights in this mode, which allows for more accurate long range shooting. There's one weapon in particular in the game that benefits a lot from this and allows you to take down human foes very effectively, though every weapon benefits. At close range you're better off shooting from the hip. The axe is incredibly powerful and in some situations I found it to be preferable to using firearms. As for what you can carry, you can carry your axe, two types of firearms, and a maximum of four explosive grenades and four Molotov cocktails. You can trade a firearm that you are carrying for newer weapons that you find, but you cannot carry more than two guns at any time so you'll have to decide what you prefer to keep on you. Your character also gains some special abilities that come to use later in the game. I won't spoil by describing them, but it does not involve "bullet time" or slow motion effects. Taking hits jars your vision and you also know when and where you're being damaged from. If you're getting your ass kicked you'll definitely want to retreat and clear your head before you try to resume fighting.
Puzzles are usually fairly simple - find a way from point A to point B. Some of them rely on gameplay physics, others just require you to interact with the environment. The game uses a hint system that makes important things glow so you can more readily see things like ammo crates, dropped weapons, levers or wheels that need turning, etc. There's also a waypoint hint key so if you're confused about where to go it'll give you a clue, though how to get there is not always entirely obvious.
Enemies vary from fairly easy to maddeningly hard. I'll spoiler tag some info about the monsters here.Minotaurs and griffins are incredibly tough and deal out massive damage. These are the toughest enemies in the game in a stand up fight.
Werewolves are easy kills with the shotgun if you can hit them in the head. If not, stun them (you'll learn how to do this early on) and then hack the hell out of them with the axe. Remember to hack them or blast them in the head once they go down or they'll get back on their feet and attack you again. Alpha werewolves require a LOT of damage to drop, but the same rules apply.
Nari are by far the nastiest creatures in the game in my opinion. Picture a Cherub from Doom 3 that can phase in and out of a solid state. When phased, they can animate physical objects and hurl them at you, move them to block your path, etc. They can also travel through walls and ceilings. You cannot hurt them when they are phased out. Just before attacking, they'll turn solid then kick at you with their feet. There is also a way to force them to phase in - I'll leave that up to you to figure out. The best way I've found to fight them is to use the fire axe up close and hack them once they solidify and dive at you. A single nari is not that dangerous, but at some points they will swarm you in large numbers.
IGN and a few other review sites completely ripped the game apart, but I'm at a loss to understand why. The environments were very heavily detailed, the combat was well done, and I never felt like I was being let down at any point. Everything I've heard the game criticized for I've found the exact opposite to be true, and from what I've read, others who have played it found it to be a decent game and undeserving of the ratings it received. Yes, it's a linear first-person shooter. What, and Doom 3 and Half-Life 2 weren't? No, it's not Doom 3 or Half-Life 2, but I found the game every bit as enjoyable to play. If I have one complaint it's that the game felt a little short, and it requires some pretty heavy duty hardware to keep up with the visuals. I'd recommend trying out the demo if you've passed this one up. The bird likes this one. 
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  I fly into the night, on wings of fire burning bright...
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Visimar
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Heh, I kinda expected you to like the game actually. Shame that it isn't garnering much attention, well, positive attention anyway. Being released so close to other hyped games (I'm looking at you, Gears of War 2) doesn't help it much either.  And about your comparison with one of the game's enemies... I personally thought the Nari were Lost Souls 2.0. Appearance aside, with their flying all over the place and being a nuisance in general that's what I first thought when fighting them. Good things Lost Souls can't travel through walls, make themselves invulnerable until they attack and possess objects to hurl at you. |
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Phoenix
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That's just it, I don't play games based on hype. I play what I think looks interesting. Sometimes I even do the opposite. If something is overly hyped I may ignore it, and if something is viciously attacked it may make me even more curious about it. I have this problem of wanting to make up my own mind and see for myself, and when someone says "oh this sucks!" I usually like to see why, and then see if I agree or not. I might have missed some good games in the process of avoiding a few hyped games, namely the Halo and Gears of War games, among a few others, but I've also run across many other games that I've found quite enjoyable and would have missed had I listened to the naysayers. When I do find something I think stands out, and especially if it's received negative press, I'll try to let people know it may be interesting and worth looking over. The "2.5" rating from IGN especially got my attention, along with Gamespot's "3.5". I figured if they hate it that much it must be something I'll like. Turns out I was dead on at least in that respect.
This leads me to wonder something about the video game reviewers themselves. Are these guys paid by certain companies to write up slobbering reviews of the latest Micro$haft product, and then trash anything else that comes along? Gears of War - Epic and Micro$haft. Halo - Micro$haft. Valve and Id they dare not touch because they are and have been the heavy hitters. Spark Unlimited is an upstart company without monetary muscle, and as you said, they released the same week as Gears of War 2. The people who say the game sucks invariably have not played it and are being forum whores for IGN, etc, and just parroting what they say in the review. When I see feedback from people who have actually played the game rate it around a 7.5 or 8 and then question why it got the low marks, that tells me a lot. I feel the same way, it's about a 7.5 or 8. It's not a Doom 3 or Half-Life 2, but it's a decent game in my opinion. If this is what's going on with review sites, then I wonder how many other games might be getting trashed like this, and how many other game companies are losing sales from bad business practices of some of the more wealthy competitors. After all, print bad press and you kill your competition, and all Micro$haft or one of the big companies has to do is threaten to pull advertising or tell the magazines, etc, "review us bad and we'll sue for libel, oh and if you want our money trash company X," and what do you have? A small-time outfit doesn't have the capital to pull that off, and I wouldn't put it past Micro$haft to do something underhanded like this. Of course, it could be that I'm over analyzing this and it's just a case of reviewer egos at work and the classic shooter-style game no longer being properly appreciated for what it is. Perhaps run and gun isn't good enough anymore? Oh well. I liked it, and I think the demo is at least worth a look. Then you all can make up your own minds too.
Visy: Seeing that you seem to have played the game, what's your take on it?
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I fly into the night, on wings of fire burning bright...
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~Va^^pyrA~
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I might have missed some good games in the process of avoiding a few hyped games, namely the Halo and Gears of War games, among a few others, but I've also run across many other games that I've found quite enjoyable and would have missed had I listened to the naysayers. Nope, doesn't sound like you missed anything to me.  |
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Phoenix
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And for those who are too lazy to download the demo or just want a quick peek, Machinima.com put this together. Be sure to watch in high quality.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A2XUEnJIbA
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I fly into the night, on wings of fire burning bright...
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Angst
Rabid Doomer
Team Member
Elite
  
Posts: 1011
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I'd have to say that Legendary was one of those poor games that get better as you play them.. The beginning felt kind of tacked-on and contrived, but they came into their own about the time you finally make it out of NY.. Felt a bit restrictive, and I have a newfound dislike for Minotaurs.. All in all a decent game that didn't really feel finished, the ending certainly left a bit to be desired >:b
I'mma go have me some vengeance burgers now.
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"Who says a chainsaw isn't a ranged weapon?"
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