|
Picture a future based solely in the past. A strange oriental land, where nothing and everything is familiar. Yeah, I'm pretty sure you're picturing something like me, an endless expanse of beautiful scenery, cultures merging but never clashing. A utopian ideal, if you like. Sadly, according to Infinite Machine the future is fraught with inconsistency, impaired and limited movement and stupid friends. Bear with me, I shall elaborate later.
You assume control of Sun Soo, heir to the Soo kingdom, until a coup led by an evil prince (Xao Gon) overthrows the monarchy and plunges the land into chaos and turmoil. Sound familiar? Are there no other storylines to be bounded about these days? Well, luckily Sun Soo and friends won't live in a China ruled by the nasty Xao Gon and decide to take back what is rightfully theirs.
Gameplay:
On first glance, New Legends appears to be a 3D action-adventure. Look carefully however and the 3D environments soon become more and more linear and 2-dimensional. You can veer off the guided path but it always ends in a dead-end or just empty scenery. You are constantly guided with a compass telling you what direction you should be headed, leaving no incentive to explore. Not that there's anything worth exploring, anyway. It would have been nice to be able to explore the larger levels more, with ore people to talk to and expend the storyline a bit more. Perhaps offering sub-quests to embark on.
The combat system is fun to use at first. You have a button on the joypad corresponding to Soo's left and right hands. A press of the X button lets fly whatever you have held in that hand, same with the right which is activated with the B button. For example you can take on your opponents with a handgun in one hand and slashing away with a sword in the other. Alternatively you could use both hands with a two-handed weapon such as a quarterstaff. In essence it's a great idea and could make for impressive fights, attacking ranged enemies with projectile weaponry and wielding a sword for some close combat is an exciting prospect but is unfortunately sloppily implemented. There are basic combos to learn but each fight rapidly descends into a random, button mashing experience and essentially leaving a hollow feeling inside. Block -> Attack -> Block etc? is the most depth you're going to get out of this one.
The enemies are a weird bunch, as are your friends who accompany you on your missions. Basic AI routines seem to be used and your friends constantly run off, get stuck in scenery or fall off cliffs, where the enemies routinely just stand and wait to attack you, as if you were a novelty in a carnival. Another letdown.
On the plus side, the auto lock-on feature is well implemented and targets your closest enemy, making the repetitive combat easier that it would have been if it had not been included. Why? The camera. Aaargh! Such a common problem but surely that's one of the first things to work on if you've created a 3-dimensional engine and world to explore.
Graphics:
Unfortunately the graphics are similar to he gameplay ? bland and uninspiring. Basic textures are used throughout and animation is years old. It looks very much like a game stuck between the last generation of consoles and the present day. Jagged edges cry out for some anti-aliasing. Little use of effects really shows with just the occasional lighting or special attacks showing the X-Box is being used to only a fraction of its abilities. So if it's basic for today's standards, why is there SLOWDOWN!? Turning corners is like opening and closing your eyes rapidly (try it and move your head to one side to get the idea). Quite why this happens defies belief when you realise that often there is nothing but you moving on the screen when the game gets the jitters.
Sound:
I could just say that the sound seems to have had as much effort put in as the rest of the game but unfortunately it's my job to elaborate. The samples used for the sound effects sound like they've been recorded in 22khz mono, such is the tinny sound that comes from your speakers. Likewise the soundtrack. It's not terrible, but then again it doesn't stir up any emotions or emote the action on screen. When I'm battling against a bunch of bad guys, I want the tempo to be raised and the music much more intense, making my heart beat faster as the tension mounts? alas, it never happens. With the depth of games being released today and the power of the machines we have in our homes, it's not too much to ask to have a rousing soundtrack to accompany my gaming experiences, is it'
However, the placement of the effects is well done. If you have a surround set-up you can tell which directions your opponents are coming from, which is a blessing due to the appalling camera.
Longevity:
I doubt you'll have enough patience or lack of a life to play this title to the end, but it's not all bad. The problems are just too ingrained into the game to make you want to return again and again to see the end. It's all over in a relatively short time (12 hours or so) and leaves you feeling a bit, well??ho hum? I guess.
Round Up:
There's a game here, I just haven't been able to find one in all of the slack efforts that have been put in. New Legends feels very rushed rather than having a half-assed approach but it just doesn't fill me with joy when I sit down to play it. To be honest I wouldn't have played past more than an hour or so if I didn't have to and that's not a good thing. Initially I was excited by the prospect of New Legends and the team do have a great deal of talent, it just needs to be channelled in the right direction and not fall back on age old gameplay and graphics.
Pros:
|
