Tournament of Legends Review.
Realistic, arcade style fighters have been few and far between in recent years. Other than the exception of Soul Calibur and possibly a few others, fighters have gone 2.5D in style with titles such as Tatsunoko vs Capcom and Street Fighter 4. Sega were once the kings of the arcade fighting realm, and have teamed up with High Voltage Software to publish the once ultra-gory Tournament of Legends. Does this mythological-themed game hold up to the top-tier fighters of this generation?
Tournament of Legends is a 3D one on one fighter very similar to the Soul Calibur series. Players control one of 12 different characters in a small arena-like environment as they battle to be the first to knock out their opponent three times. A mythological theme is present in the game, with such playable characters as a minotaur, valkyrie, and the God of Death. Each character has their own attack power and speed, but the latter of which isn’t a game changer since the combat is very slow and sluggish. Compared to a game like Soul Calibur where speed and pulling off combos are essential, Tournament of Legends falls flat on its face.
The valkyrie.
Each character can equip any of the ten blade weapons or 40 different magical attacks, which vary from healing powers to projectile attacks — all very basic. Tournament of Legends does have a story mode for each character, filled with a comic book style opening and battles against each of the other characters. Nothing about the story mode is special, as it’s just a romp through each arena and their character.
Looks good, plays well, but there isn't much to do.
Sadly, there isn’t an online mode to speak of in Tournament of Legends — something that really could have increased the replay value of the title, especially considering it’s a low-content fighter. There are two shining areas in the game, though: the visuals and controls. Tournament of Legends uses the High Voltage’s Quantum 3 engine — the same one used in The Conduit and its sequel — so there are some really good looking effects, such as lighting and detail on textures. Even though some character animations are stiff, Tournament of Legends looks fantastic. Technically speaking, it plays well too, even if the gameplay isn’t deep or enthralling. The game can be played with either traditional button presses via the Classic Controller, or with the motion controls of the Wiimote. With motion control gestures work very well. Obviously not to the extent of Red Steel 2, but a horizontal swing will unleash a horizontal attack and a vertical swipe will have the player’s character perform a vertical strike.
Tournament of Legends
| Pros | Great visuals; Wiimote gestures work well. |
|---|---|
| Cons | Not content heavy by any stretch of the imagination; Lack of online play hurts the title's replay value; Sluggish, slow combat. |
| Verdict | Tournament of Legends is only $30, but that still isn't a justification for the lack of content in the game. With only 12 characters that are virtually the same in all but visuals, an uncreative story mode and next to no replay value at all, Tournament of Legends is a surely a quick cash-in for the studio's true AAA title in Conduit 2. |
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