The world of Legendary is defiantly something out of myth. With flying Griffins, Werewolves and large Golems roaming the streets of New York this story is one that comes wrapped neatly in a small little box. Although I’m not sure if I’d want to see Pandora’s box under my Christmas tree!
In the game you play as Charles Deckard, a professional thief who makes his living by performing jobs for the highest bidder. Deckard is hired to steal the recently discovered Pandora’s box by an art collector by the name of Ormond LeFey, who turns out to be interested in more than just the pretty designs on the box. Upon opening the box Deckard is branded with an insignia on his right hand, and to go with it a large variety of monsters that are released and rampaging the streets of New York. Now with the key to saving civilization branded on his right-hand Deckard must try to find a way to set things right.
While running around the wreckage that was once New York City, you see things from Deckard’s point of view. The movement through out the game has a similar feel to the Call of Duty games (and what a coincidence that Legendary’s developer Spark Unlimited is also the developer for Call of Duty: Finest Hour!). I will add in a bit of caution for those who get motion sick: extended hours of game play can make you feel queasy. I found my limit to be half an hour or so.
The targeting system for the gun is simple. You have the choice a cross hair that you can aim at the target or you can look down the barrel of the gun. Personally I preferred using the cross hairs to aim and shoot, but that may be a personal preference. One thing that took me a while to get used to was the gun occasionally shaking while you’re trying to aim, which can be a little irritating when a werewolf is clawing you to pieces.
During the beginning of the game there are sections of the scenery when Griffins come in through the windows and pluck civilians from the building, or land in front of you while biting people in half. To me, this was an interesting aspect that made the game fun, but if you run straight through the game you can miss these fun little tid bits that add to the game.
Now, the one thing in the game that I never truly understood was why can’t Deckland jump? Personally, when I envision a thief I usually think of someone who is at agile enough to get away from authorities if they’re being perused. Deckland has the running down, but the jumping is just about equivalent to a hop. So it looks like Deckland needs to learn how to jump!
Although Legendary isn’t the most finely tuned game I’ve played so far, it’s a game that has enough going for it to win me over. With decent graphics, interesting scenery elements, I’m willing to over look the small quirks that need to be polished out! So even with my inability to play the game for more than half an hour, I enjoyed it and I’m willing to give Spark Unlimited thumbs up for this one.