Legendary Reviews

"Legendary's" quality as a video game is in no way related to its namesake. Quite the contrary. Despite being released during 2008’s big holiday shopping season when SO many great games are being issued, "Legendary" is nothing more than a budget title masquerading as a top-tier shooter (and it will run you about $60 for a purchase to boot). Whoever at publisher Gamecock had the bright idea of charging the same amount of money for this as Activision did the likes of "Call of Duty: World at War" should be canned immediately.

And I'm sure you've read the negative reviews as well. Of these negative reviews, IGN's is probably the most biting in that it awarded Spark Unlimited's mythological shooter a jaw-dropping 2.5 out of 10. To my knowledge, no gaming publication has given "Legendary" anything above a 7 and that really isn't good news for Spark, who's last FPS endeavor was the much-maligned "Turning Point: Fall of Liberty" (and for the record, it wasn't that bad). It just goes to show you that a cool concept and promising game play footage don't necessarily bring good reviews.

But is it really THAT bad? Is "Legendary" actually so bad it's virtually unplayable (hell, IGN gave glitchy travesty "Hour of Victory" a five-point-something)? Is "Legendary" as unwelcome as, say, "25 to Life" and... gulp... "E.T."?!? This, of course, is only relevant if you believe IGN themselves are still relevant (har har). I will tell you this much, though; "Turning Point" was no trend-setter, but it was a decent generic FPS and nothing more. Spark Unlimited made very clear that "Turning Point" was to be very old school and "twitch"-oriented. It succeeded at being that for the most part, but its shoddy visuals, poor programming, and hideous textures got in the way of what was otherwise a fairly run-of-the-mill, kinda-sorta fun action title. It had some impressive set pieces even if the budget allowed for very few of them. The same can’t be said for “Legendary” simply because it tries harder and reaches farther. But it is, again, for the “twitch-centric” gamer who has been craving a distinctively routine shooter with a nice chocolate coat, but no cherry on top of the metaphorical sundae.

“Legendary,” both in scope and execution, is the “spiritual successor that could” to “Turning Point.” It doesn’t hold a candle to the big hits we’ve already played this season, but the game’s focus on epic set pieces and immense battles means that, despite shallow game play, it will hit harder with FPS fans than Spark’s previous offering. I can’t say that there is much to do throughout “Legendary” other than kill a handful of different, cool mythological beasties in only a number of interesting ways, but these beasts are thrown at the gamer in such large quantities and presented with such flair – such as Werewolves crawling on walls and ceilings as they come at you and huge Griffons swooping down from above for a little “snack” - that it’s hard not to get wrapped up in “Legendary’s” flawless execution.

Despite a budget that doesn’t even begin to dent that of heavy-hitters like “Gears of War 2,” you may find yourself surprised at some of the spectacles you will be witness to. One highlight is that of a giant scrap-metal Golem stomping through New York City’s famed Times Square and literally smashing it to pieces. Defeating the thing isn’t as epic as I would have liked, but going through this process presents an amazing sequence where the Golem punches its giant hand through a deteriorating skyscraper – with resultant debris falling around you - with the hopes of eliminating your character. Another fantastic set piece is when the gamer, as Deckard, takes on a Kraken in London. Bringing it down is rather simple, yet satisfying, but the pay-off is an in-game cut scene having said Kraken bring down Big Ben in a glorious display of lighting.

That is really what “Legendary” is all about: presentation. Game play is nothing we haven’t seen from the FPS genre since the corridor shooter craze of the early/mid ‘90s with “Wolfenstein 3D,” “Doom,” and “Quake,” thus meaning that enemies are largely unintelligent and, to disguise their lack of intelligence, there are quite a few presented to the player during what seems like every moment of game play. Some creatures are defeated by way of strategy (the Kraken and Golem, for example) while others just require you to keep pumping hot lead into them until they keel over (here’s looking at you Minotaur and Griffon). I suppose if you were looking for a mythological FPS with an arching story and huge reveals you may find yourself massively disappointed, but “Legendary” does a fantastic job of setting its purpose up well from the start. This is not of the “Half-Life” mold of gaming; “Legendary” is strictly point-and-shoot and the developers made sure we feel like bad asses doing it. Bringing down cool creatures and witnessing the ensuing aftermath is spectacular fun.

Even with the maligned Animus feature presented – wherein you collect the essence of destroyed creatures to power up the signet on your arm that replenishes health, fills up Animus devices, or gives you the ability to perform an Animus Blast which stuns nearby creatures – being DESERVEDLY maligned, “Legendary” is a fun no-brainer for the action enthusiast that has finished “Gears 2” for the umpteenth time and wants themselves an old school-er with a highly interesting concept.

Even with its subpar budget and that underlying sense of “the concept could have been worked into something so much more,” at least “Legendary’s” visuals don’t suffer as much as that of “Turning Point’s.” They are both powered by the same engine (Unreal Engine 3), but “Legendary’s” texture work is working at a much higher resolution. Lighting is marvelous and many of the environments, particularly in London, are brilliantly designed and detailed. Human models could be better as they look more like lifeless mannequins than real people, but the various creatures that now inhabit the Earth are top-notch. By no means is “Legendary” a truly fantastic looking game, but it is visually solid and sporting some great art direction as well.

When I scanned through the reviews on “Turning Point,” I half expected the criticism. When I read through the reviews prior to purchasing “Legendary” I just thought to myself, “Wow, is it really that bad?” I will play any game regardless of publications’ views on them, but this I really had to check out for myself just to quell my curiosity. Not only is “Legendary” a great big surprise for me, but it is also a game that I feel is completely and totally undeserving of its negative press. Granted, it really doesn’t deserve anything more than a 7 or 7.5, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I agree with ratings of 5 and below. The game doesn’t break any new ground but “Turning Point” seemed like a big enough warning sign of future products to come from Spark. If anything, “Legendary” is an ambitious “TWITCH” shooter that was unfairly bludgeoned by critics simply because they were not aware of what kind of game it was to be before release. Peculiar how similarly “twitch-centric” games “Painkiller” and its sequels have received rave reviews, but “Legendary” gets shafted. The crazy world we live in.