Untold Legends: The Warrior's Code

There are a couple of flaws to point out and the game doesn’t take any groundbreaking strides forward, but in remaining true to the addictive simplicity of the genre and providing just enough new tweaks and additions to the time-tested formula The Warrior’s Code finds itself a lofty spot in our diehard hack-n-slash hearts, and I guarantee it will do the same for any action-RPG fan.

The adventure that the programmers originally had in mind is finally at hand, complete with multiplayer options galore, a lengthy adventure, and a presentation that's stellar.

While hard-core RPG gamers may scoff at the game’s hack and slash approach, it plays well for those looking for an action-RPG that works well as a portable game.

The Attack of Opportunity are so botched that you won’t even bother with them and the Changeling, while cool in concept, is not integrated or balanced, so that your primary character will quickly outclass the beast form.

It is pretty much the exact same type of game that gamers have been playing for years.

An admirably action-packed RPG, but one that gets repetitive fairly quickly. [Aug 2006, p.78]

I'd still kill for a lock-on or strafe but one out of two isn't bad--especially given the quality of the acting and story arcs Untold has on tap. [Apr 2006, p.73]

It's no groundbreaker in the genre, but it'll keep you entertained a few minutes at a time, as all good portable titles should.

Dungeon crawls live or die by their longevity, and sadly this is not a game with staying power. It's fun, yes, and markedly improved since the last game, but the combat has to be more varied and visceral, and the presentation just a little more refined.

While improved in many ways, Untold Legends: The Warrior’s Code is still too generic to tell an emotionally-satisfying tale that can compete with Final Fantasy.

If you enjoy constant hours of hacking and slashing your way through enemies, then Untold Legends: The Warrior's Code is a game that is highly recommended. Otherwise, be careful.

The problem remains that this game is ultimately more of the same. It's still a solid game, just not particularly legendary. [Apr 2006, p.84]

A pretty big step up from "Brotherhood of the Blade." The storyline has been upgraded and fleshed out to a nice degree, and the new attack types are fun to tinker around with and work in to your overall combat strategies. It's just the little things, like the now clunky menu, and the boring levels that really end up preventing the game from being a true success.

But for the time being, this is as close you're going to get to a Pocket Diablo, and that counts for a lot. [May 2006, p.93]

It fixes lots of the little problems that plagued the first game, and it's just involving enough for a long flight or repeated visits to the DMV.

A marked improvement over the original PSP launch title, with flashier, smoother graphics, a slicker, more user-friendly presentation, improved combat, and a slew of multiplayer options that will keep fans of the game coming back for more far after they've completed the single player campaign.

Warrior's Code is better looking and sounding than the original, but it doesn't really play any differently. It's still a long slog through thousands of enemies without many distinguishing characteristics.

Sony Online improves upon their original PSP RPG with a more intuitive control scheme and online play, but messes up with a disjointed story.

If you've been hacking and slashing your way through similar games like Baldur's Gate and Champions of Norrath, Untold Legends 2: The Warrior's Code won't blow you away. It's still very much the same kind of game, but that doesn't mean its any worse.

I think the real problem here is not that anything is bad per se, but that it really has all been seen before.

I had a good deal of fun bullying through the game for a while, but that was mostly because most realtime RPGs have the power to get you going -- it takes something compelling to recommend one over another, and in this case, The Warrior's Code doesn't have that something.

While Untold Legends: Warrior’s Code is definitely an improvement upon its predecessor, there are major drawbacks including bland level design and nonsensical button-smashing.

It's a better hack-and-slash experience than Brotherhood of the Blade, but The Warrior's Code is still only suitable for dedicated fans of hack-and-slash dungeon crawlers.

Those buying this or looking into it due to its morphing/transforming angle will be disappointed since it really isn’t as big a focus as the box art makes it out to be.

I guess the biggest problem I had with Untold Legends 2 was the polish and synchronization of elements within the game. The story never felt worthwhile, the gameplay has lots of options but ultimately boiled down to mashing x, the sound and music always felt really out of place, and the multiplayer mode, while solidly constructed, left a lot to desire.

There is plenty of redundancy with similar looking environments, endless combat and the continual smashing of crates but the game has a comforting, mindlessness to it that makes time fly.

A by-the-numbers hack’n’slash – technically competent but emotionally void.

The biggest sticking point is that Untold Legends has been “told” before, several different times in several different guises. While improved from its predecessor, Warrior’s Code is not quite up to the level of a Diablo, Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance, or similar hack-and-slash titles.

The Warrior's Code essentially has forgotten when to say no. Pulling itself outward in every direction at once, it stretches thin where it should be richest: at its core. [June 2006, p.95]

A frustratingly patchy RPG - at once unpleasant to play and creepingly addictive - that doesn't deliver on it's significant [promise]. [June 2006, p.87]

The Warrior's Code isn't as much of an improvement upon it's predecessor as it could and should have been. It still feels like a launch title.

The overall package is no better than the original and in that regard it is actually more disappointing, since we already know how well the PSP can deliver on graphics and controls in this setting, and there are better role-playing games available for the PSP that you'd be wiser to spend your money on than this.

An average entry-level action RPG. If you're a heavy user of wizards and orcs, you'll have probably played something very similar only last week.

The classification warns of mild fantasy violence, which sums up the game nicely.

The basics are creatively executed, but, while enjoyable, the resultant experience falls far short of reinventing anything – let alone brilliance.

The new online mode makes multiplayer gaming all the easier and gives players a greater chance of playing the game in the best way possible, but other than that it feels like a slightly tweaked, albeit newly clothed and well polished, version of the first game.

What a dreadfully bland disappointment this turned out to be. [Apr 2006, p.107]

Formulaic and unchallenging. [Apr 2006, p.94]

I suppose that some gamers out there are willing -- nay, perhaps even eager -- to play a long game of uninspired levels strung together with an inconsequential character-creation system. But then, some people also like to watch "Friends." In reruns.

Don’t be fooled into thinking this adventure makes any kind of departure from the model arrangement of any of the series. [June 2006, p.116]

If you’re a fan of the genre, it's possible that you’ll have a good time with this title, but you'll still have to overlook some significant flaws. By contrast, if you’re looking for an entry point into the hack-and-slash genre, it’s hard to recommend such a below average formulaic adventure.

It’s probably the most depressingly average game I’ve ever encountered. It doesn’t even try to be good, because it can’t be bothered. It just plods along, at it’s own pace, chucking enemies at you every now and again.

The Warrior's Code is a long slog that's guaranteed to kill some free time—and may even entertain newcomers to the genre—but there isn't anything rewarding or enjoyable about it.

It's far from the best or most innovative action RPG, but as PSP owners seeking their action RPG fix don't have a lot to choose from, it’s certainly better than nothing.