4

4 /5

Gauntlet is back for yet another iteration. The Emperor has crucified his four loyal heroes to a magic tree, driven by a maniac thirst for their immortality. Hundreds of years later, as only a ghost, he came to regret all the wrong deeds he has done and frees them, asking them to defeat his six former advisors in an attempt to undo what he has done.

This version of Gauntlet goes back to the roots: The warrior, valkyrie, elf, and wizard fight their way through hordes of enemies to make their way to the six bosses. The game is mostly a hack'n'slash affair, puzzles are limited to finding keys and pressing buttons that open doors and portals. Every character has a unique set of moves and attacks: The warrior has rather powerful attacks, the valkyrie has quick moves, the elf can shoot powerful arrows, and the wizard has several magical range attacks.

Defeating enemies gives you experience points that may be used to increase your three stats; some chests in the levels contain better armor or weapons. Also, new moves can be purchased with gold.

The game can be played both in single-player as well as cooperative multi-player, where up to four players fight together.

The newest feature of this game (other than the much better graphics) is the online gaming feature. Played online, the game is identical to a regular multiplayer game, with each player on a different box.