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Platform: PSP
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Publisher: SCEA
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Developer: Sony Online Entertainment
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Medium: UMD
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Players: 1 - 4
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Online: Yes
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Also on: (n/a)
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Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A
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It's no secret that most action RPGs, Gauntlet and Diablo being two of the more prominent examples, are somewhat flawed. The emphasis is on killing horde after horde of enemies, endless fetch quests, and so forth, it’s all designed to earn new equipment, more money, more experience points. Problem is, that killing can get somewhat tedious, especially when combat consists of hitting the same button or two over and over and over again. And though there's an overarching purpose to all of this, experience points and loot the light at the end of the tunnel meant to justify the tedium, it doesn't necessarily make the mindless combat any easier to swallow.
On that note, the team over at Sony Online Entertainment, the folks behind Untold Legends: The Warrior's Code, deserve some praise. It's clear they recognize the problem here, the combat system clearly designed to be varied and balanced enough to avoid this common issue. Each of the five characters has a regular attack, a regular charged attack, a variety of special abilities that can be mapped to numerous buttons, a range/projectile attack, a charged range/projectile attack, three different levels of counterattacks, and even the ability to temporarily transform into a powerful beast. It all seems well and good for the first few hours, but as the player progresses flaws start to appear, and pretty soon the game boils down to mash-a-thon style it was so clearly trying to avoid.
Take the counterattacks, for example. When an enemy begins to charge a powerful attack, a cursor sometimes appears near them. While standing in or near that cursor, the player is able to charge their counterattack by holding down square, the length of the press determining which of three different attacks will be performed. But as this all happens rather quickly, by the time the player is in position the enemy's attack is often ready, nullifying any attack the player may have been preparing. Even if the player happens to be in the right position, their charge may be reset by another enemy's attack or may have begun too late as a result of waiting for the previous attack animation to end. Despite the damage bonus these counterattacks bring with them, they're just not reliable enough to be worth bothering with.
Likewise for the transformation abilities, which grant a temporary strength bonus. Though helpful at the start of the game, as the player advances and gains more powerful weaponry, transformation provides less of an advantage. Eventually it gets to the point where the bonus is so negligible that, like the counterattacks, they’re just not worth bothering with.
So now we're down to the regular attacks, charged regular attacks, range/projectile attacks, charged range/projectile attacks, and special abilities. But the charged variants of the attacks aren't worth the time and vulnerability they require to build up, the better strategy being that of simply mashing the attack button. And since projectile and regular attacks are mapped to the same button, the equipped weapon toggled by hitting the left shoulder button and circle, there's no reason to bother switching from a character's more powerful weapon to a weaker one.
That leaves us with regular attacks and the special abilities for a general battle strategy. However, those special abilities are meant as a supplement to battle, each requiring a set amount of energy that limits how often they can be used. Thus, combat is reduced to nothing more than mashing that X button over and over again.
It's disappointing, because outside of the gameplay, The Warrior's Code is a solid title with good ideas. Players must hold down square for a few moments to exit an area, which prevents them from accidentally leaving the area in the midst of combat or adventuring. A teleport function allows players to easily hop from one location to the next, helping to cut back on the tedium of backtracking. Voice-acting and cinematics help to further the narrative along, meaning players aren't forced to read blocks of text for hour after hour. Maps are large and packed with enemies, each defeat bringing experience and the potential of additional gold or equipment, the player able to save at any point.
SOE even went so far as to implement online multiplayer, always a welcome feature. Both Co-Op and PvP play is available, with PvP providing a number of modes, including Capture the Flag and Frenzy (deathmatch). Sure, things aren’t entirely perfect, the inability to scroll the map making it difficult to know the location of certain objectives without being in the immediate area, in-game communication limited to a series of simple preset commands, Co-Op restricted to only two players, but these are just minor complaints.
Unfortunately, minor problems are the least of the concerns here, with the game falling back on well-worn generic gameplay despite a number of attempts to prevent this. The counterattack and transformation systems are clever concepts and would add that much-needed variety if they weren’t so poorly implemented.
Though it tries, Untold Legends: The Warrior's Code doesn't necessarily offer anything past action RPGs haven't. It's far from the best or most innovative action RPG, but as PSP owners seeking their action RPG fix don't have a lot to choose from, it’s certainly better than nothing. Let's just hope the inevitable sequel addresses these flaws; the potential is there, it just needs a little more work.
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