Now that the Xbox has been established in the console world and has many followers and fan boys the system finally feels like it has made it’s mark in the console industry. With this achievement many things are certain, great games will be made and stinkers will arise. There will also be a slew of games that just feel rushed due to the fact that someone wanted credit for making an Xbox game. New Legends fits into the latter category, a game that could have been great just falls short due to lack of development time.
Where do I start with the disappointment? Well let’s start with the graphics, now we all know that the Xbox is capable of some amazing visuals, that is not disputed. The problem is that it can produce cruddy graphics just the same. New Legends is blocky, choppy and just plain ugly. The characters look like a first generation Dreamcast game and the stages, although huge sport almost no detail and are as jaggie as a 1st generation PS2 game. You can obviously tell that water effects are easy to do on the Xbox as this is the most impressive part of New Legends’ graphics.
We can see some positive things through this mess, for instance the combat system is very unique. The game feels like a beat ’em up style all the way, and if this is what the developers were aiming for they almost nailed it. The combat system is simple to pick up yet just deep enough to intrigue the likes of the hardcore. You can wield two weapons at a time, using them with different buttons and you can also assign weapons to each button during the game. So you can wield a sword in your right hand while slinging a rifle in the other, very nice. The combos are button mashing all the way but like I said this game feels very Double Dragon esque so no complaints there.
The sound is also ambient using the Dobly 5.1, although the music is very VERY bland and repetitive. I felt like I was trapped in an elevator AHHH! The voice overs are alos hilarious, listening to the main character get yelled at by his father is quite humorous but only lasts for the first few levels. I wish I could say something else nice about the audio, but it, just like the game, feel very very rushed.
I am keeping this one short as most people are only wondering if the game was any good to begin with. I suggest giving this game a rent as the storyline does have some interest and the easy game play may shine to some. I cannot recommend buying this one at 50 bucks, but then again it takes a lot to get my hard earned money these days. Perhaps the sequel will take full use of the Xbox’s capabilities until then we are left with a disappointing game that could have been an easy classic.