Reviewed: March 4, 2006
Reviewed by: Mark Smith
Publisher
Midway
Developer
Digital Eclipse
Released: November 22, 2005
Genre: RPG
Players: 1-4
ESRB: Everyone
6
6
5
6
6.0
Supported Features:
Screenshots (Click Image for Gallery)
I don’t care if you are fourteen or forty, if you call yourself a gamer then you have at least heard of the legendary Gauntlet, and most of you have probably played at least one incarnation of this classic RPG in the past 20 years.
In 1985 Gauntlet was probably responsible for gobbling up more quarters than Pac-Man was white dots, and that was clearly by design. What other game allowed up to four players to join forces to defeat endless swarms of monsters and then allowed you to keep playing as long as you kept pumping more quarters into the game?
Now, 20 years after its arcade debut, we rejoin our intrepid heroes, the Warrior, the Valkyrie, the Wizard, and the Elf, as we descend back into the depths of twisting mazes, deadly traps, and thousands of vile beasties in what truly is the “gauntlet” of RPG games.
Gauntlet has been re-envisioned so many times it was actually a shock to warp back 20 years to play it in its original form, but not for lack of availability. This retro classic has been made available on just about every system in those classic retro compilations that have been peppering game shelves for the past several years. Chances are, if you have any sort of game collection you probably already have this exact game, so why pay for it again?
Gauntlet is one of the few games on Xbox Live Arcade that is truly a cooperative experience, especially for up to four gamers. Previous versions of the title have allowed for four players but you always had to be together, even at the arcade. Now you can journey into the endless world of Gauntlet’s dungeons whenever you wish and with whomever you can find online, making this one of the more social games on Xbox Live.
And just like the original coin-op version, Gauntlet is best played with other players. It’s practically pointless to try and play the game alone despite the scaling difficulty. You lose all of the tactical advantages of working together and combining the skills of the four character classes, plus the game just isn’t that much fun alone.
Gameplay is as simple as ever and spot-on with the original. You move around a top-down dungeon with hundreds of spawning enemies that pour from monster generators located around the maze. You beat your way through these monsters and smash the generators to collect your treasure and experience, level up between maps, and repeat until you die, give-up, or actually complete the 100 levels in Gauntlet.
Trick to the design include learning how to use and combine the skills and abilities of the various characters as well as tactful use of potions and exploiting the linear pathfinding mentality of the enemies causing them to funnel into your blade or bow. Admittedly, the game becomes more a test of patience and perseverance than skill, as you can pretty much hammer the buttons while chatting with your co-players.
I found the support for all HDTV resolutions a bit amusing since the graphics are identical to the arcade game from 20 years ago. So we have 2D levels with crudely animated sprites for monsters and players and virtually no special effects, lighting or anything than resembles modern technology, all presented in blistering high-res quality.
I will give the designers credit for mirroring the quality of 1985, but it would have been nice to enhance the visuals for the 360, even slightly. As it is, this game looks more suited for a cell phone than a major next-gen console.
Gauntlet was one of the first games to actually speak and anyone who played it backing 1985 will certainly remember the deep voice warning, “Warrior needs food!” The rest of the sound package contains the same simple synthesized sound effects from two decades past. What sounded good coming out of a TV in the arcade is painful to listen to on a 1000w home theater. Turn down the sound and enjoy conversation with friends over the headset as you beat your way to victory.
Only the most diehard (or bored) gamer will likely replay Gauntlet in its entirety. For your efforts, you will earn a whopping 60 points to your gamer score, just one of the 12 achievements required to net you the full 200 points this game offers. Solo gamers are pretty much out of luck since nearly all of the achievements are earned in online play, and some require some true dedication.
I’m a big fan of the Xbox Live Arcade concept, but I don’t think this should become the dumping ground for every retro game trying to milk a few bucks from the consumer, especially when those games are already available in so many other retro compilations and formats. If you want to release these classic games then at least retrofit them for the 360.
As it is, hardcore Gauntlet players will probably buy yet another copy of this game if for no other reason than the ability to play multiplayer over Xbox Live, which is admittedly a good reason to play what is otherwise a very dated and boring game that will try your patience rather than test your RPG skills.