Official Website
Platform: PlayStation 2, Xbox
Genre: Action RPG
Number of Players: 1 - 4
Peripherals: Multi-tap Adaptor, Broadband Adaptor

Warrior needs food badly!

This phrase is probably one of the mostly widely recognized lines from any video game in history, at least for the old school gamers. I know that I'm not the only one who spent a good portion of his allowance playing the game with a group of friends in the arcades. Midway has never just pushed the game aside and forgotten about it however, and Gauntlet has returned once again with Seven Sorrows, an old school version of the classic game but with a modern look and a few surprises.

In the empire of Uricoiniti, betrayed four immortal heroes, and now his spirit wishes to redeem himself of his past sins. Alone or together, the four must now vanquish the sorrows, the embodiment of the emperor's treachery and deceit. The fate of the world hangs in the balance as the four valiantly attempt to battle their way through hordes of enemies and the every incarnation of the six sorrows, horrible representations of the emperor's wrong-doing. Should you succeed, the world will once again be safe, but fail and all will fall into disarray and chaos.

The Seven Sorrows features the four heroes who any Gauntlet player knows very well. They are of course the Warrior, the Wizard, the Elf and the Valkyrie. Not only are the characters familiar, the gameplay is as well. Each of the stages of the game finds you in a maze, desperately battling for your very life, but these aren't the standard stonewalls of the old games. Gauntlet features highly detailed areas, from lush jungles to cities under siege. You will often find yourself overwhelmed with hordes of foes that relentlessly attack and once slain, reappear. This is all because of the generators in the level, nasty devises that keep enemies coming until they are destroyed, but there are even more challenges.

The fighting is intense, and while you may be immortal, you're not invincible, and you can take damage. Luckily, there is plenty of food that can be found to restore your health, and falling low will result in the familiar "Warrior needs food badly" or "Warrior is about to die." Chests in the stages will also yield food, perhaps gold, or even the visage of Death itself. The appearance of Death will begin to deplete your health until it's destroyed. Using a Mana Blast is a fast way to rid yourself of this menace, but unlike health, mana will replenish over time. The stages also will have you looking for keys to open door and bypass barriers, or dealing with teleportation devices to get further into each stage.

Completing a stage will earn you experience which will build your levels. You will gain a skill point each time you level up to increase your stats, so you can improve your health, your mana, or even or attack power. The gold you have obtained can be used to buy new attacks for your character, and Seven Sorrows isn't simply about pushing buttons. Each of the characters has their own series of combo moves that can be utilized, and these will be invaluable as you try and restore order to the kingdom.

The controls for the game are very well thought out, and you'll find a good deal of variety. The left analog will move you and the right can be used to dodge attacks, a feature that I've seen with a few games recently, and a nice touch. The D-pad on the other hand will be used for your special moves, though some of these will need to be purchased before you can use them. This is a hack n' slash type of game, and these attacks are both available, but you will also have projectiles that can be used and a "launch" option to toss enemies into the air. There is also the deadly mana blast, the ability to block attacks, and another button used to open chests and use switches. There are certainly more moves that the Gauntlet of old, but the new moves and skills are very easy to get used to.

The Seven Sorrows looks extremely good and even features a rather interesting method to present the story. The "cut scenes" are done more in the form of drawings, somewhat like Mark of Kri, though the images don't sketch themselves out. The stages themselves are very well detailed, filled with plenty of items that can be smashed, some great lighting effects, and plenty of other visual tricks that bring Gauntlet to life. The characters look fantastic, but one of the most impressive features of the game are the bosses. These are huge, and deadly, and this is where four players come in handy. You can go online with Gauntlet and play with other players across the world, and the USB headset is supported. The multi-tap adaptor is also usable, so if you don't have Internet access, you can get some friends together and slash your way to victory.

Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows, may be seen by some as a simple hack 'n slash adventure, but for those of us that loved the game or have just recently discovered it, this is a modernization of a classic title. Even playing the game solo, it becomes very difficult to just put it down and walk away from. This may not be a game that requires heavy thought, but it's incredibly fun and addictive to play. If you're a fan of the original games or love the Baulder's Gate series, Seven Sorrows is a title that you have to own. It's a triumphant return for Gauntlet that proves that old school game mechanics can be brought successfully into the modern age of gaming.
 

-mike-