Another generation, another chance to plod through the hellspawn of Gauntlet. Derivative and uninspired from the get go, Untold Legends attempts nothing new in this tired genre, something made all the more depressing when you consider its Cell-powered platform.

Of course, given the game’s predictably hackneyed narrative it’s unlikely that we’d approach this with anything less than a sickening bias. The story follows the ‘Dragon’s Shade’, the king’s elite group of warriors, tasked with quelling some of the uprisings occurring up and down the land. However, for some reason or another, it’s revealed that the king is in fact behind these uprisings, so the Shade opt to turn against the king and… take down the uprisings… which is what they were doing anyway. If nothing else, Untold Legends serves as a stark reminder that a new generation of hardware doesn’t necessarily bring with it a new generation of software.

Its familiarity isn’t completely value-free though, as there is a certain amount of depth that even the most cynical gamer could appreciate. Playing as one of the ‘Dragon’s Shade’ in the first hour will be a markedly different experience from playing as one in the fifteenth, such is the potential to level up and improve your band of heroes’ skills. Naturally, the levelling up is all achieved through experience points that are used to increase stats and improve spells – each one of these (there are nine in total) can be levelled up five times. There are other ways to adapt your chosen warrior as well, such as through buying new bits of armour with orbs – this all adds up to something that whilst not fun, is at least purposeful.

That alone, however, is hardly reason for recommendation and certainly not when you consider what the rest of the game entails, namely Square, Square, Square, Square and the odd bit of X. Yes, the combat is, rather unfortunately, hideously monotonous with you relentlessly pecking at the face buttons desperately hoping that this is the last time you will have to kill a set of three ogres. Things perk up every now and then with the introduction of companions that come in pretty much any form, and things are more enjoyable in co-op, but for the most part this is undeniably tedious stuff and unquestionably a huge waste of the PlayStation 3’s capabilities. Indeed, such is its inability to impress or excite as next-generation games should, it doesn’t come as a huge surprise to learn that this was once going to be released on PS2.

Aaron Asadi