Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows
You’ll be sorry
Tags: Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows Categories: PS2 Reviews, Reviews, Xbox Reviews
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Jan 23rd, 2006
| Title | Players | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows (title page) | 1 - 2 | ||
| Developer | Publisher | Genre | Online |
| Action RPG | No | ||
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One of the games that I had been most looking forward to for the last six months to a year was Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows. The original arcade machine ate enough of my quarters to fund a small third world militia. Over the years I have picked up various console incarnations, as well as spending an inordinate amount of time playing the “classic” versions that appeared in the Midway Arcade Treasures collections. I’m always down for some multiplayer co-op play, and the Gauntlet series has never failed to deliver the goods – until now.
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I should have seen the warning signs at E3. Something seemed off, and many were telling me that this wasn’t the Gauntlet game that I had been waiting for. I only had the chance to play it for a whole of three minutes, so I held off judging from such little game time. Others who had the opportunity to actually test out the game on the show floor assured me that this was a very much watered down version of the franchise that held little promise. I still held out hope.
Upon hearing that there was a new combo system in place I thought it would add some depth to the franchise. The fact that it would go online only made me want to play this title even more. Indeed, Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows delivers on both counts, but any game can have combos and online play. Not many games can be called Gauntlet. Sadly, this one shouldn’t.
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Yes, the Wizard, Elf, Valkyrie and Warrior are still there, starting at one point and hacking their way through swarms of enemies to the end of a level in true arcade fashion. Yes, there are chests. Yes, the wizard is prone to die (a lot). That is where the similarities end.
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Previously, one needed keys in order to open chests. Not so now. Key rationing was one of the strategic elements of past Gauntlet games that is now no longer needed. Further dumbing down the franchise are the very linear levels. In Gauntlet: Dark Legacy, the levels would be mazes that could have used a map in order to finish. The pendulum has been swung too far in the opposite direction in order to make the game easier.
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Those chests still have food and gold, but no longer hold any special weapons or potions. These were key elements in the gameplay for Gauntlet fans, especially when playing with others, and the massive hammer was a great tool in helping to even the score for a player’s character that was a bit weaker with physical attacks. Part of the arcade fun was the use of the various power-ups that were strewn about the field hidden in chests (along with Death) which tied into the strategic element of key rationing.
While there are no potions, everybody has the capability to use magic now. A new bar measures a player’s mana and it is this that can be used to deal with a large quantity of enemies as well as fuel the various special attacks. The attacks that are purchased with the amassed gold are quite nice and offer up a bit of depth, but do not compensate for the loss of the rest of the gameplay.
Perhaps the greatest travesty is how short it is. I finished the game with a friend in less than 8 hours. We then went and played it on the hardest difficulty level and found it to be just the same.
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The graphics were decent enough, but not great. The audio was fairly well done. The story was rather silly, especially considering how short the game was. All in all, this didn’t deserve to have the Gauntlet name slapped on it. Just because you’re swinging a sword around in co-op alongside a bow wielding elf doesn’t mean you’ve go the gameplay down. This game was a mistake.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
|
+ Online multiplayer + Combo attacks |
4.5 |
| What Doesn't | |
|
- Dumbed down gameplay - Short - Boringly linear levels - No, I mean it's really short - Why does the end boss have the tools of his destruction right there pointing at him? |
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| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| Don't even bother renting, buying used or stealing. Go find a copy of Gauntlet: Legends or Gauntlet: Dark Legacy instead. | |
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Tags: Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Jan 23rd, 2006 and is filed under PS2 Reviews, Reviews, Xbox Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
