Many RPGers' most prominent reason for being part of today’s gaming world are the (somewhat few and far between) “hack and slash” titles. For that reason, it’s no wander that, as you set out to destroy the evil that has fallen upon your hero’s small town of Aven, you really should feel at home with the controls, character models, and surroundings of this “Dungeons and Dragons: Heroes-esque” game. The towns and many various dwellings within the game are adjoined by a vast number of pathways and eerie forests that seem to make the somewhat linear land plot seem almost wide open, and give players much to explore.

UL also makes great use of the PSP’s video ability with amazing particle effects never before seen on a hand-held system, and a complete must in any RPG. The character model shading and detail is also amazing and deserving of praise. All of this fit with an attractive frame rate (in single player gaming) makes Untold Legends pretty easy on the eyes.

A downside is that it seems to be far too easy to keep your hero in the best of equipment available. As game-play goes on, the shop (there is only one shop) begins to sell better equipment relevant to your hero’s progression through the game. You should never have to go back to the shop later on after seeing a weapon or piece of armor that is better than that of what you are wielding. Most of the time, you will have the cash on hand ten fold to purchase it. There would be a greater general challenge in the game if it was a little more difficult to obtain equipment through UL, as that is where a sizeable amount of the enjoyment lies in an RPG.

The quests in UL are justly long and take a little bit of thought to complete. There are many side quests to add to the many hours you can easily bury into this game. With 1000s of quests all together, there is a lot of fun to be had with one or multiple players alike. However, this wouldn't be considered a game with significant replay value.

Now, the multiplayer aspect of UL is a great addition to the game, though it defiantly could have used a little “beefing” up. It seems to make poor use of the PSP’s WiFi functionality, and can make for a pretty laggy experience. There could have also been a different level of difficulty when playing with more than one person. The number of monsters and monster strength in general doesn’t seem to rise when other players join the game, as many would expect. This makes it pretty easy to play with 2 or more people. It is enjoyable playing through some of the quests with as many as 3 of your friends though. It’s unquestionably worth your while if you can get yourself and 3 others into a game, all playing as different heroes, to take full advantage of the game’s potential.



Overall, there is one main gripe to be had with Untold Legends. The music and sound effects are rather repetitive. In UL’s defense, there aren’t many titles thus far for the PSP that have really taken advantage of sound per say. The music especially could be a little more diverse. However, this definitely shouldn’t take any expected enjoyment from you during game play.