For sixty levels of hack n' slash action, Gauntlet: Dark Legacy delivers. For sixty levels of hack n' slash fun, it doesn't.
Runestones: they're stones, they're powerful, and you have to find them. Thus, after a few grainy FMV movies that have all the picture quality of 1996 PSX games, you're charged with saving the world by building your rock collection…and smashing in the heads of numerous demons in the process. Granted, it's fun for a while (read: the first level), but the sense of constant reward just isn't there like it is in other dungeon crawls like Diablo, Phantasy Star Online, and Baldurs' Gate.
Besides the fact that the graphics do nothing that a Dreamcast couldn't, and the sound, especially the announcer, is hideously laughable; Gauntlet's biggest flaws come in the fact that it is essentially just a bunch of levels that could have been part of the first game at one time. The game as a whole feels less like an action RPG, and more like a dumbed down version of Dynasty Warriors 3 that tries to hide its repetitive structure by calling each key a different name in each level and scattering numerous powerups everywhere, most of which are useless in a game that will more often than not end up with you, the bored player, hitting the attack button until you either die or win.
Gauntlet Legends was an arcade smash because the original Gauntlet was a classic, and the game was well designed, lots of fun to play, and well suited to the quarter-munching arcade environment. However, Midway's direct-to-console sequel will most likely have many Gamecube owners screaming "Purple gamer needs fun! Badly!"
-George
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