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Co-Op or No-Op...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: July 14, 2006
Author: Amazon User

"Gauntlet" is `born anew' in Midway's latest update of its legendary franchise, which tries in vain to add grit and a storyline to attract new players. While the story is mildly interesting, it's still quite simple - an emperor betrays his four immortal heroes (warrior, valkyrie, elf, and wizard) in an attempt to steal their powers, but rescues them in the nick of time while sacrificing his own life. Naturally, as this is a game about dealing death on a massive scale, this event triggers all kinds of beasts to stalk the land, while the emperor's advisors turn into twisted versions of their former selves and must be dealt with one by one (can you say boss battles?). For a "Gauntlet" game, the story is quite complex - but obviously that's not saying much when you consider that "Gauntlet" has rarely had anything that even resembled a storyline playing behind its action.

In its newest format, "Gauntlet" plays like some diabolical concoction of its namesake and Sega's "Golden Axe" series (itself about to be updated), with a dash of the movie-licensed "Lord of the Rings" games thrown into the mix. Surprisingly, this is the first game in the series to remove the overhead, top-down perspective that is a franchise tradition. Admittedly, that does make it feel less like "Gauntlet," which purists may frown upon, but at the same time the perspective works quite well. It provides a good view of you and your surroundings, which is nice indeed because the graphics on display here are quite pleasing to the eye.

Like its storyline, the gameplay in "Seven Sorrows" is simple. Simple in a charming way, but nonetheless mindless. You select one of the four titular heroes, plunge into the game and begin killing everything in sight. This is the very same formula that spawned "Diablo" and countless other variations, and it's still fun after all these years. All of the heroes have their own unique skills and attacks (though they aren't as different as they first appear to be), including unlimited ranged attacks (countless axes for the warrior, countless arrows for the elf, etc., etc.). Though a few new tricks have been thrown in, you'll probably stick to the basics because they prove to be so effective. The heroes do gain new abilities and attributes in between missions, and while this is a nice touch it ultimately stands on the shallow end of roleplaying.

Strange though it may seem, "Seven Sorrows" is actually less cerebral than Midway's last entry in the franchise, "Dark Legacy," which is saying something. Levels are arranged in a linear fashion, and gone are the winding labyrinths that we used to know. What's more, many of the special items and treasures have been plucked out, leaving just the basics - gold to purchase new skills with, and food to replenish health. Fortunately the monster spawners remain in tact, constantly generating foes until they are destroyed, and one improvement to the series is that you no longer need to collect keys to open chests. And yes, Death can still appear when you least expect it to up the ante. Still, there's the inescapable feeling that this isn't exactly "Gauntlet," despite some cool nods to past efforts.

Other problems include monsters completely devoid of personality or challenge (although boss encounters are fairly memorable and much more interesting) and a very short campaign with little replay value. That said, the game maintains that strange addictive quality for its duration, especially if two or more friends are playing it side-by-side. The production values are good, and despite the sometimes tedious gameplay the levels themselves are varied and colorful.

"Seven Sorrows" is interesting, as "Gauntlet" purists may sneer at the changes it has made to the franchise, while other players may just not see what the fuss is about. However, there is a fun game to be had here, particularly if you bring a likeminded friend to the melee. I hope, however, that next time Midway combines the best aspects of "Seven Sorrows" with the much more traditional "Dark Legacy." Until then, "Seven Sorrows" should serve its purpose to arcade starved players with an itch to co-op.

Good mindless eye candy- don't expect more and you'll enjoy it

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: August 10, 2006
Author: Amazon User

If you compare the cost of buying this movie from a Used reseller vs the cost of a bad summer action flick then this game is a bargain. I actually enjoyed this game. Nothing deep to figure out, just pick up the controller and mash buttons with a friend.

Pros:
- Simpler game interface and customizations than previous generation of Gauntlet. I actually prefer this simplification. I found Gauntlet Dark Legacy a bit excessive in the customization department and found myself ignoring most of it.
- Returns Gauntlet to its simpler origins.
- Graphics are quite good, there are some landscape scenes that are really quite well done.
- Musical score is decent, and sets the mood appropriately.
- Shorter game. I think this is a Pro rather than a Con - I found the previous generation a bit too long for my taste, and frankly got tired of it so never finished it.

Cons:
- Game is repetitive- but frankly Gauntlet has always been repetitive.

Disappointing, too short - but not THAT bad

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 5 / 7
Date: December 22, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I share the disappointment of the other reviewers, especially with the shortness and linearity of the new Gauntlet game. The previous one, Gauntlet: Dark Legacy, was one of my favorite Xbox games, but the new one is missing most of the things that made the previous one so great. No secret areas (or maybe only accessed in multiplayer mode), almost no power-ups, too easy, etc.

One of the aspects that was so bad it was a little funny is how easy it is to dispose of Death when he shows up. All you have to do is save up enough mana (magic power) before you open a chest, and you will ALWAYS be able to INSTANTLY get rid of Death. It's unintentionally funny because by the time the announcer says "Death Has Appeared!" in ominous tones, Death is already gone! So Death is no real threat in this game like in previous Gauntlets.

Despite all of the major flaws with this game, though, I DID have fun during the limited time it takes to complete this game. The graphics are very good - I appreciated the little things like the blinking red eyes buried in the shadows in the forest and the way the enemy soldiers' shields block incoming attacks (the sound and look of it). One of the bosses, the guy made out of stone (I think he is the 3rd Sorrow) was kind of cool to defeat -- again, it was too easy, but still interesting and mildly challenging to figure out. So despite the major letdown, and the big feeling of "is that all there is?" when I quickly finished the game, I'm still giving it 3 stars for the moderate amount of fun I had while playing it.

What Happened to Gauntlet???????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 4
Date: July 03, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This is my review to Gauntlet Sev........Wait a minute, this is not Gauntlet, this a mere hack and slash with no potions unlike the originals!This game is not Gauntlet, Original Gauntlet games had potions, keys, and a way to waste death.This one has no way to kill death and instead of only throwing projectiles like the original, you just do this,xxxxxxxxDownxxxxxxxxxxxDownxxxxxx, rinse and repeat.Although I have to say is that the graphics are very well done.It is to bad that this game is no Gauntlet game.Fans and newcomers alike, this is only worth a rental.

Greatly Disappointing

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 10 / 12
Date: December 14, 2005
Author: Amazon User

For many, this game has been a great game throughout the years with it's many versions and platforms that it ran on. Then comes this new version after all this time. I will give them credit for the graphics. Everything is just outright gorgeous. However, I am guessing that is where they spent all of their time because the game is too easy at best. As long as you can press the fire button fast enough, you breeze right through.

There are no secret passages to find. The game guides you where it wants you to go and you cannot take a wrong turn. You can purchase fighting abilities that allow you different moves, but everything is so easy, I found myself rarely using any of them. There were so little moves anyway with the Wizard, I had them all purchased within the first hour of gameply. There are no potions to buy, no keys to find to open chests, and so on. You literally just walk through the game pressing the "A" button as many times as you can. It takes nothing more than that.

Anyway, for long time Gauntlet fans, I think you will be disappointed. The previous version was a little easy, but what made up for that was the length of the game and all the little secret places and definately all the different characters. This version only has 4.

Again, the graphics are so much better, but you can take a nap while playing and still be able to finish the game. Yes, even on the so-called hardest level. I put the game in and had all seven levels done, by myself mind you, in 6.5 hours and I was taking my time thinking there actually might be secret passages. The final beast is just way too easy. Just run past all the creatures, flip the switches several times as required, and it is over just like that.

GAUNTLET NEEDS FOOD, BADLY!

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: September 29, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Gauntlet took the traditional dungeon crawl style made popular by the pen-and-paper role-playing game, Dungeons & Dragons, and amped it up to an insane degree by tossing billions of monsters at four heroes from a top-down perspective. Your heroes, in turn, were armed with medieval weaponry that they hurled at ridiculous speeds, machinegun-style.

I've been a fan of Gauntlet since the game was in the video arcades. Ah, the good old days of the Barbarian, Valkyrie, Elf, and Wizard. Of course, no self-respecting guy wanted to be the Valkyrie, because...well because she was a girl. The Elf was nearly just as bad, especially when he shrieked in his prissy elf voice, "Oh no!" as he neared death.

Gauntlet introduced a lot of fantasy troupes that are routinely mocked today. It rationalized that when you eat food, you heal. Given that I'd prefer just sucking down a shake once a day to actually having to eat, I have difficulty imagining that food actually gives you that kind of recuperative abilities. Sometimes food was just sitting in some chest, waiting to be discovered. Other times monsters dropped it. It always looked delicious; a whole chicken on a plate with potatoes, a leg of pork, or some smelly cheese. It never made any sense and didn't have to.

Gauntlet was also known for the Dungeon Master (again, swiped from D&D) providing some obvious and not so-obvious commentary. My all time favorite is when the other characters accidentally destroyed food. "ELF SHOT THE FOOD!" booms the DM, encouraging every other player to smack them upside the head. About to die? The DM had some advice there too. "WIZARD NEEDS FOOD. BADLY!" When I get really hungry before lunch, sometimes I hear that voice too.

Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows, attempts to update the hack-and-slash style of the original Gauntlet while at the same time providing the rationale for the characters' ridiculous "kill `em all, let the DM sort `em out" style of mass murder.

Our heroes are immortals, crucified (!) by some kind of Aztec-looking sun emperor. His seven advisors all turned out to be wretchedly evil. Since the heroes are immortal, they didn't die (and now we know why they keep coming back to life each game...it all makes sense now!). Filled with regret, the emperor (taking the role of the booming DM voice guy) guides our heroes along the path to redemption by encouraging them to kicking the living snot out of his former employees.

A lot of thought went into Seven Sorrows. The generators that spawn dozens of monsters are still there, but they create enemies with a magical flourish. The environment is beautifully rendered in three dimensions, allowing enemies to be knocked right off precipices (my favorite tactic). In addition to all the running and the killing, there are occasional quests where our heroes go and kill more monsters, find a key, then run back to the door and open it. Gauntlet was never a deep game.
Each hero has been updated with a wide variety of moves, including magical powers that replace the potion-bombs from the original Gauntlet. The Elf can stun enemies, the Valkyrie shrieks and tosses bad guys into the air, etc. Each hero has a logical ranged weapon too; the Valkyrie shoots energy lances from her blade, the Elf pulls out his bow and fires, the Barbarian hurls hand axes and the Wizard shoots bolts of energy. All four heroes are highly individualized; the Valkyrie's "jump back" maneuver is actually a series of backflips while the Wizard teleports all over. Overall, the graphics are impressive.

Unfortunately, Seven Sorrows is far, far too short. My wife and I have come to the conclusion that we are now advanced players, so starting a game on normal difficulty no longer suffices. We should have set it on hard but didn't; in retrospect, I'm not sure if that would have helped. We ended up beating the game in the span of just a few hours.

It's ironic that Seven Sorrows is probably most like the original Gauntlet game. That's not a compliment though; in a crowded market of Gauntlet-clones, Seven Sorrows doesn't sufficiently distinguish itself from all the other sword-swinging, axe-hurling, bow-shooting, magic-blasting games out there.

Not worth it, but awesome graphics

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: March 28, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Just adding my voice to the many reviewers who have already said it: this game is too short, and the gameplay is too monotonous.

A friend and I completed this in just a few hours. That's not worth $50.

The graphics are fantastic. I enjoyed walking around the levels, just to see the intricate layouts and cool effects in the backgrounds. Curiously, the cut scenes were pretty poor. I guess all of the development went into level design?

It is clear that each level was painstakingly designed by hand. That is almost certainly the problem. Although this leads to beautiful scenery, it meant the developers couldn't afford to make the game bigger or longer. I think most of us playing the game would have given up some of the hand-tuned beauty if the developers could have gone for more of a building-block approach like most other games like this on the market.

Avoid buying this one new. If you can find it used for around $10, take a look at the graphics.

A big letdown for a huge Gauntlet fan

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 18 / 21
Date: December 22, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I am a HUGE fan of the Gauntlet series by Midway. I raced home with this newest version, eager to re-immerse myself in the Gauntlet universe. We finished the entire game in FOUR HOURS.

I'm not saying this to say we're Game Gods. I'm saying this because we were in utter shock that the game is so short, so boring, and so completely unlike the previous games that we loved. I can't even imagine how the company that created the previous, fantastic Gauntlet games could be responsible for this release. Maybe they lost their good programmers and were under contract to release a new Gauntlet by X date, so they had their newbie coders kick this out? I am just horrified at how poor this game was.

First, you get a choice of four charaters, of course - the elf, warrior, mage or valkyrie. However, you don't get to choose their color! I know it's a small thing, but I was ticked at that to start.

Your character has 3 main attacks plus 1 long-range attack - so the elf gets 3 sword swings plus his bow attack. In addition, there are combo attacks and d-button super attacks that you can pay to unlock over time. You then move from map to map, bashing away at enemies, killing the enemy generators and finding keys for doors. That part of the gameplay is similar to previous games. You can't shoot your friends in the back of the head, which my fellow gamers appreciated greatly. I was notorious for standing in the back area as the elf and just letting the arrows fly.

Really, the huge issue is the game's shortness. If it was 3-4 times longer, at least, it would seem perhaps worth playing. But I really found its entire layout much less interesting than the previous Gauntlet. In the previous one, you had a central area from where you could go out to various worlds, each with its own theme, going back and forth as you wished. In this one it's just a straight line, and while there are some thematic elements, it came across as a dungeon crawl that just plodding on for a few hours, then stopped.

Also, in the previous games, when you got character upgrades it was really exciting. You clearly saw the change and it was something fun to pay attention to. In this one when you get weapon and armor upgrades, you can barely tell. We would even stare at our characters before doing an upgrade, and it was hard to see anything had even changed.

The vocals really didn't impress me much. Part of the problem is that they would tell you "elf needs food" when the elf still had a ways to go - but then they would tell you "starving" and "has died" right on top of each other. So you were always being harassed about needing food, but never when you really needed to know. Also, with death being able to be slain with a mana blast, you pretty much were able to kill off death in .2 seconds any time you opened a chest. So Death was barely announcing his presence before he vanished again.

The graphics were good. There were many spots that looked walkable that you were magically blocked from going into, which was a bit annoying. If an area isn't open, don't put a wide open door pointing to it :)

I just don't know what went wrong here. I am extremely disappointed. Be sure to rent this game first, to see if it's something you would enjoy more than a day or two.

"Player Needs Entertainment Badly"

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: December 30, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I was sooo excited to buy this after Christmas and run home and play it. In retrospect, I'm so frigging pissed I spent $50 on this (and I'm not even past the first level yet)! There's NO differentiation between the different classes anymore, they all fight the same. I made it all the way to the first boss by merely running around the screen pressing the X button. BORING! To me, this is not a Gauntlet game at all! Stick with the classic versions or Dark Legacy; the eighth sorrow is purchasing this game.

Do NOT buy this game.

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: January 07, 2006
Author: Amazon User

(I played XBOX version)

What a rip off!! Also finished this game in about 4 hours, and there is no replay value.

I loved Dark Legacy and original Gauntlet, but you can rent this one if you are really bored. Potions are gone... how can you have Gauntlet without potions. Keys are gone... this doesn't live up to great gameplay of past Gauntlets.

This game was such a letdown. I am going to sell my copy now to try to recoup the money I wasted on it.

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