When the PlayStation 3 came out the selection of titles to pick from was relatively drab. Basically Resistance: Fall of Man was the only "system seller" but those gamers who just dropped $600 may have found themselves looking for something else to do. If hack and slash action RPGs were your flavor then chances were you probably tested the waters with Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom. If there's a chance that you missed the title here's one gamer's humble opinion.

The original Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade came out for the PlayStation Portable back in March of 2005 when the handheld system launched. For what it was the game offered a moderately decent dungeon crawling affair with a few nuances mashed in between the clichés. Basically the big draw for the game was the fact that it was like Champions of Norrath but in a version that you could take with you. Now you could hack and slash your way through a generic fantasy realm on the go!

While it's not quite on the go, Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom seeks to bring the handheld franchise into the big leagues with a next generation incarnation. In a smart move Dark Kingdom's story has very little (next to nothing) to do with the PSP game. Still, this is generic fantasy bunk at its weakest. An evil guy rises, a kingdom is in peril, and a group of heroes comes together to save the day. Unfortunately the game's personality and charm remains just as dry as that description. There is nothing that leaps out at you and says "Look at me!". Well, nothing in a positive manner at any rate.

Gameplay:

Just like the lackluster storyline the gameplay is another area where Dark Kingdom brings absolutely no inspiration to the genre. In fact, I'd go as far to say that this game is a step backwards in many regards.

When the game is fired up you're presented with a character selection screen. Do you want to be the Warrior? How about the Mage? What about a Scout? Each of these classes plays out just like you'd expect them to with little innovation. The warrior clubs people around like a barbarian, the scout is nimble and sneaky, and the Mage mainly uses magic. It's character classes like these that founded the action RPG genre but when the new generation is supposed to be all about pushing the envelope, do you really want to go that far back to your roots?

Don't get me wrong, it's not like I need to have a fresh experience with every game that I play. I personally love the action RPG genre and every facet that comes with the territory. There was just something about Dark Kingdom that felt boring and tedious right from the get-go. Part of this feeling could have come from the generic nature of the story and complete lack of personality from its characters but the gameplay actually didn't help matters much.

The basic formula in Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom; hell, any action RPG for that matter, is that you walk around until you see a monster and beat it to death. Rinse, wash, and repeat about a thousand times over and you have a marketable release. The gameplay never really becomes more involved than that. Sure you can cast spells and use special attacks but for the most part you're going to be slogging your way to and fro. A small list of enemy types keeps things in Dark Kingdom repetitive as well so don't expect much variety five hours into the quest.

A smattering of boss fights helps to alleviate the mediocrity, and for that matter so do various objectives that pop up every now and again. Having to destroy particular items, issue orders to troops, or even flip switches help break up the never-ending hack and slash concept. These breaks are merely minor distractions and do little to pull you from the clutches of boredom. Fortunately the customization aspects of Dark Kingdom help somewhat.

As you kill indiscriminately through your adventure you'll notice that a trio of colored orbs disperses from the recently deceased. Red restores your health and blue restores your magic. The yellow one is the most important. If you think of the yellow orb as the currency in Dark Kingdom you'd be on the right track. You use this essence to buy stuff to slap on your character and make them more powerful. Sure you'll still find armor and trinkets lying about as you kill but the things you can buy are much better than randomly dropped objects.

While your character's personality may never grow beyond its generic character class preset you can make them stronger with experience points. Killing over and over again not only gives you colorful orbs to play with but some good old fashion XP as well. When your character goes up a level you are given a limited number of points that can be allocated to raise stats and beef up skills. The ability to customize is there but it's not very involved so don't expect yourself to feel compelled to keep killing for that coveted level up.

Through it all the single player campaign was dull from start to finish. The tedium of constantly pressing the same button blended with the generic game build did little to lift my spirits. There were a few points in between where the hacking and slashing actually became enjoyable but they were rare at best. If you're going to play online with a few buddies then you'll probably have a better time. Playing through the game in this manner reminded me of back in the day when I would drop quarters into Gauntlet Legends ("Elf needs food badly!"). Still, for a next generation action RPG Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom fails to meet most all expectations. It's a moderate diversion for fans of the genre but anyone looking for a meaty experience will be left wanting.

Graphics:

The biggest thing that people debate with every new console generation is the quality of the graphics. Sony's PlayStation 3 has the capability of pumping out some fantastic looking 1080p video though in the case of Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom the graphical cap is placed at 720p. For most this may be well and good but the lack of quality as far as design is concerned doesn't help matters.

Dark Kingdom's environments are not very detailed and to be honest they are sparsely better looking than a PlayStation 2 game. The character models receive some slightly better treatment and change in appearance as you add new armaments. Unfortunately a slew of flaws also do nothing to leave a positive impression.

The game features an incredible amount of pop-up with enemies and objects just appearing out of nowhere. Clipping and clunky animation are other issues though they're nowhere near as bad as the slowdown that runs amuck at every turn. The draw distance is not very good either and you can expect a bit of fog here and there. In the end Dark Kingdom is noticeably better looking than a last generation game but it's nowhere near to being at the level we'd expect from the PlayStation 3.

Sound:

Dark Kingdom at least sounds better than it looks. The game features a nice fantasy score with orchestral tunes that definitely sweep you up in the moment. The sound effects are decent as well though they tend to get repetitive as you constantly hear the same noise over and over again. The voice acting in Dark Kingdom is a mixed bag of quality as well. Some of the voiceovers are acceptable and decent while others are so bad you'll probably chuckle in response.

Conclusion:

If you're looking for a hack and slash game for your shiny new PlayStation 3 then Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom is one of your only options. Let's get one thing straight; it's not a terrible game. There are some high moments here and there during the campaign but unless you team up with some friends online you're going to be getting bored quickly. This title brings little to no innovation to the action RPG genre and in many ways it feels like a step back. Fans of crawling through dungeons will most likely want to give this one a rental.