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Apr 01 2006
Untold Legends 2: Warrior's Code Review
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| Summary: Anyone for a second dose of goodness?
90
SOE has certainly gone out of the way to produce a full-fledged and polished title using the Untold Legends franchise. With all its virtues, it does have its faults. Of all the multiplayer options, the game lacks 4 player cooperative play. I can remember all the fun I had with three of my friends playing BotB as we tried to slay the Shadowed God, but we won’t be able to go slay the dark Emperor as a foursome this time around. A small disappointment, but worthy enough to be voiced. Another minor thing is the linearity of the game. There’s not as much room for exploration this time. To me at least, that shaves a lot of time out of the game. The final annoyance, and this is really annoying at first, is the menu system. But once you finally get the setup down, it becomes second nature.
With the introduction of the new combat system in “The Warrior’s Code”, the combat dynamic has changed slightly. At heart, it’s still a “smash-X-until-it-dies” game, the charged attacks and attacks of opportunity add enough to vary how you fight. Sometimes there will be a situation where you have an opening for an AOO (attack of opportunity) and it can be the difference between beating the monster or getting killed. But, don’t expect to execute one perfectly the first time you see it. It takes time to learn the timing, thus balancing the new variables out. For those who enjoyed adding components to their items, they may be in a shock. Not all items are socketed in this incarnation of the game. But to balance it, socketed items can have multiple slots. This adds to the strategy needed to use the sockets, so bedazzle your gear well. It could be the difference between life and death.
Controls – (16/20):
For the most part, the controls are solid. Nearly everything is where you expect it to be. The only flaws in the controls come from the shift toggle, weapon switch, and blocking. SOE broke from what BotB had set up for those commands. The shift and potion buttons are reversed so that it’s now are and not L that uses a potion, leaving L as the shift. Keep in mind there is an option to revert the shift back to R, but don’t even bother. SOE mustn’t have completed the remap for that option, because with it enabled some shift commands don’t function. You’re better off leaving the controls at their defaults. This isn’t quite a bad thing, only annoying and is easily countable as part of the game learning curve.
Sonically , the game hasn’t changed all that much. The sound effects seem for the most part to be recycled from the first game. There is a little variety, but not enough to notice. However, the TWC’s soundtrack has undergone a full overhaul. The soundtrack for the first game could easily be recreated using Cakewalk if you knew what to do. Instead of relying upon what sound like polyphonic ring tones to convey the game’s atmosphere, there is actual orchestral music lending a much more epic feel. Think of it as if you went from the Ultimate DOOM to the Halo Soundtracks, it’s just that good. Also, the new addition of character voiceovers helps make the story come to life and makes the plot more accessible. It’s a welcome improvement for those who got tired of reading through dialog.
On the surface, it doesn’t seem as if much has changed, if you’re looking at just your character. SOE decided to ditch random dungeon creation in favor of making it as they want it to be. That kind of ruins the exploration value, but at least you won’t be getting lost trying to find the next area you need to get to. Along with static maps, the texturing has been vastly improved for the environments. Bringing the camera all the way in to see things in the most visceral sense is a massive treat as well, since the character animations have been completely redone. That stiff feeling from BotB is gone now, the characters look and more far more fluidly this time around. If only SOE could to the same for my back.
All in all, TWC is a wonderful game. For those looking for a true sequel to BotB, you won’t find it here, but it’s still worth picking up. Once you get past the acceptable learning curve of the game, things really begin to shine with the glamour of gold. So enjoy and add a few scars to the Emperor’s fiendish horde.
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PRODUCT INFO
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Comments
04/02/06
rem3
| Minnesota USA
hmm... from those screens, the graphics don't look that great. good review anyways, though.
+
04/02/06
42 
theazhrei
| Michigan USA
Cool. I like the first one. This one might rock too, even with the differences. Nice review.
+
04/03/06
Quillemaul
| California USA
I just picked this up the other day to kill time while I wasn't playing Oblivion on 360 lol I gotta agree with the initial review, killer game, but still some minor gripes about the controls. I've just given up blocking and keep a healthy supply of health potions (no pun intended) on hand. The menu system is the most major of improvements in my opinion, MUCH more intuitively put together over BotB. All in all, if you enjoyed the first one, this will be a welcome addition to your collection, and the infrastructure co-op and competitive modes kick major tail!
+
04/03/06
26
ConraDargo
| Sweden
GameRankings.com says 67% and readers 7.6. I think I'll trust those results more than this review... which was a nice read, still 
+
04/03/06
zigster
| Germany
What about integrating your own MP3s into the games Soundtrak? I read somewhere, that that was supposed to be possible this time around.
+
04/03/06
28
yoyo_pete
| 
| Ohio USA | SOCOM: [BC] YoYo-Pete
I havent noticed it if it is there... But over all, this is a pretty fun whack and slash RPG... I really enjoy it.
+
04/03/06
20
d00d
| California USA
maby this game will be the psp diablo?
+
04/03/06
26
ObviousTroll
| Pennsylvania USA
d00d, that's a good comparison. I'm having a lot of fun with it right now - although I'm currently annoyed that NPCs won't do what I tell them to do and I can't figure out how to heal their wounds.
+
04/03/06
26
ObviousTroll
| Pennsylvania USA
oh, nevermind. I posted the question, went back to my game and the !@#$ NPC asked me for a health potion.
+
04/03/06
8
Sniperboy
| Georgia USA
Who Wants my Psp im sellin for like 300$ w/ games movies and mem cards
+
04/03/06
5
BestOfWest
| Arizona USA | SOCOM: bestofwest
wtf? post that some where else!@
+
04/05/06
3
sklnathaniel
| USA
gosh...i stop lookin at this site i all thease games come out! well u learned my lesson, check psp411 everyother day.
+
04/07/06
2
Kamara
| Texas USA | SOCOM: Kamara
Game looks awsome. I am so glad they learned their lesson from the first one. I played the first one for about a day and never touched it again. My only problem is deciding between this one a Syphon Filter. :D
+
04/07/06
28
yoyo_pete
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| Ohio USA | SOCOM: [BC] YoYo-Pete
I too had that same problem.... I played syphon beta and demo... I hadnt played this at all, but have been waiting for the sequal.
I really like it... But I still wish there was more to the charater development. You cant really compare them as they are so different and both good games.
But I'm happy I picked untold 2... But I do know I will have to get Syphon at some point.
+
05/21/06
2
hansombuggah
| Hawaii USA
Online Multiplayer sucks they should of make it 10 people or sumthing.. i mean come on...
+
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