Alone or with up to three friends, embark on a quest to collect the 13 missing runestones and do battle with the evil wizard Garm. In doing so, you can hack and slash through 60 levels, enpowering yourself with 30 special weapons and powerups.

Also, exculsive to the Gamecube version, an expanded inventory system, stereo sound, and higher resolution graphics, and unique powerups.

Adapted From The Case

I got hooked on this game in the local theatre arcade with an old roommate. When we went to a movie, a dollar or so worth of tokens was spent in this game (most often because it was the cheapest game there, and with only two of the four controllers used by us, you didn't have to worry about 'hogging' it). So, when I heard it was coming out for the Cube, I knew I had to buy it and save me money.

To explain the draw of this game would be similar to explaining why moths go to an open flame...they know its painful, but they still do. This game is somewhat along the same lines. The levels, some of which are pretty massive, are done with decent graphics, the characters are cartoony, but done in a similar quality. The powerups are useful at times, but not neccessary, and the inventory system is much more useful over the arcade 'pick it up and you use it immediately' means of control.

Of course, I completely avoided answering my moth analogy, but I think the easiest way to explain why I like this game is that I enjoyed playing it in the arcade, its mind-numbingly simple to play, and there's a competitiveness to it in multiplayer as to see who gets what items and gold. Another fun part of the game is seeing how your characters appearance changes every 10 levels. Eventually, they get pretty interesting looking.

The sound in this game is pretty mediocre, and the sound effects tend to be laughable, but I still play it. You may want to adjust the in-game volume though, as I've found that with it maxed, it tends to distort and make your speakers crackle.

While we're on the subject, lets talk bugs. There are a few, which is suprising from a game that Nintendo okayed. The inventory system is not perfect. You can pick up things and then they disappear, not everything in your inventory can be sold (although its debated as to whether or not thats intentional), and it seems like only a certain amount of the same item can be in the inventory of your save. For example, if five other characters in your file (not overall, but in the named part) have an anti-death, any time the sixth character picks one up, it disappears/does not stay with you. Another bug has to do with the letters on the ground of the levels, sometimes, when you pick one up, the game will freeze.

The final bug that I'm aware of has to do with stat bonuses (buying stats). If you purchase stats for one character, and then start over with another (start with fighter, then move to wizard), the fighter's stats will reset to that of his level. So, if you want max stats, your best bet is to wait on purchasing them until you've unlocked all the characters and removed the 'NEW' from them (Selected them and saved - this does not apply with Sumner).

So, other than the inventory bug, the bugs are not hard to avoid and tend not to affect gameplay that much. If you're a fan of the Gauntlet arcade games, give this one a look.

***½