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Legendary
If you’ve ever thought the effect of Half-Life on the FPS genre was overstated, look no further than Legendary. Led by a silent protagonist and featuring epic boss fights plus loads of impressive scripted sequences, Valve’s 1998 PC masterpiece turned the genre on its ear. Ten years later, Legendary follows that exact same model — and while the formula feels a bit dated now, the result is a shooter that’s still incredibly fun.
As mercenary thief Charles Deckard, you’re hired to steal an artifact from a New York museum…and it turns out to be the fabled Pandora’s Box. Opening the device, you unleash griffons, golems, werewolves, and other mythical creatures on the world; simultaneously, it sears your hand with a mysterious signet that has the power to heal your injuries by collecting Animus energy from fallen creatures. From Legendary’s opening episode, breathtaking scripted scenes evoke Half-Life–ian memories: a griffon swooping in and snatching a pedestrian, a 100-foot-tall golem tearing through the streets of Manhattan, and a mammoth kraken swiping at you with its tentacles are all impressive moments. Spectacles, even.
And refreshingly, Legendary manages to maintain its focus for the duration of its solo campaign, whereas some other shooters lose their steam well before the closing cinematic. Where Legendary commits its crimes, however, is in the minute-to-minute gameplay. Though it’s enjoyable overall, it suffers from a handful of small problems. You’ll occasionally get caught on geometry and/or cornered by an enemy, usually resulting in your death. Also, the occasional dumb puzzle feels more like a chore to solve than actual entertainment. Clipping is also a problem, as werewolf corpses often fall into walls or objects — not good when they get back up and resume their attack unless you decapitate them. And some (though certainly not all) of the game’s best moments are observed rather than played. Case in point: both the epic golem battle and the final fight itself fall into the “hit three switches and watch what happens” category.
Conversely, the obligatory multiplayer mode is no mere throwaway deathmatch scenario — it includes werewolves that serve as fodder for both human teams. Though wolf kills count toward your overall frag total, you’ll really need the furry freaks for their Animus, which must be delivered to your team’s Animus control device and filled before the opposing team can do the same. It’s a nice twist on standard teamplay, but regrettably, Legendary sports only this one multiplayer mode and just four maps out of the box.
So while it’s clearly modeled after a decade-old game-design recipe, Legendary nevertheless packs plenty of flavor into its spectacle-laden crust. With most Xbox gamers weaned on shooters that ape Halo’s gameplay and style (a game that’s seven years old itself), don’t be surprised if you find Legendary’s solid retro formula refreshing.
On Xbox 360
+ Plenty of pretty scripted sequences and dazzling boss encounters.
+ Intriguing multiplayer mode.
- Minute-to-minute gameplay feels dated.
? How'd a simple thief get so good at wielding heavy weapons?
7.5
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sleepydave
October 17, 2010 at 7:36am
Have to agree Mitch OXM, the glitches are slightly disappointing. It just becomes annoying after a while. A shame because otherwise this could get so addictive. Dave
Rockstuh
March 30, 2009 at 10:17am
Took me a good day to beat on the hardest difficulty setting. I like how they took boring old history class and brought it to life in an amazing new way. 8.5/10.
fatlessflame123
January 10, 2009 at 5:53am
I really like the game but I do belive that the rating is a little high for this game for the fact that in some of the cutscenes the movie will be playing then it goes to black and comes back to the game play but over all I think the game is about 5.5/10 for the story of it the range of enemys that you get the kill and decapitating a werewolf with an axe is really fun.
imALWAYSinSTOCK
December 30, 2008 at 3:11pm
WOW OXM you have totally opened my eyes!! Dead Space is a stupid, retarded kid on the playground and Legendary is the second coming of Jesus Christ himself!! And God is, of course, a giant spaghetti monster!!
SandStorm4000
November 26, 2008 at 6:03am
7.5 seriously??????? Were you completely stoned when you tried the game??? This is game is pure crap!!! As you can see, all other review sites and magazines give it around 2.5/10. "and yet you give Dead Space 6.5..." I entirely agree... what a hell??? Last time I read reviews here, can't count on them... even the UK version of oxm gave it a 5/10 (already a high score but closer to reality). The guy who wrote this should be fired...
powergloveman
November 16, 2008 at 3:34pm
Exactly daze, fps games are becoming to generic, which is bad cause i love em.
Daze Of War
November 12, 2008 at 9:49pm
I knew from the start that this game was going to be pretty much crap. When I watch the developer diaries on XBL the game just looked so generic.
Mitch OXM
November 11, 2008 at 3:42am
Personally, I was totally wowed by every set piece and huge encounter, but Spark continues to fail with fundamental design mechanics. Yeah, it feels old, but like Ryan I don't hate it for it. But getting stuck on walls, having bullets miss despite aiming perfectly, and other annoying glitches ruined it for me... Yet I still had to see what was going to happen.
wickedclowns95
November 10, 2008 at 11:20am
Although, nobody is playing this game online. I was able to play 1 game online in an hour and a half of waiting... ------------------------- Inhale the damage smoothly Paradise isn't lost It was hiding all along.
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