Gauntlet was the first four-player co-operative game to hit the gaming world. Arcades must have earned a fortune from this game alone as kids flocked in to take on the hordes of enemies that awaited them. It combined RPG elements with arcade frills. Many years on Midway have released a whole array of Gauntlet games that have ultimately, been quite dismal. The Cube Gauntlet game looks great though and has been entitled Gauntlet: Dark Legacy. With the four-player mode expect a lot of quarrels to ensue about who gets that vital acid breath.

"Gauntlet is a classic, time-honored franchise that has been a favorite among gamers for years," said Helene Sheeler, vice president of marketing, Midway. "Gauntlet Dark Legacy builds upon the steeped Gauntlet tradition with dynamic new features and a unique cooperative-style gameplay." Interested yet? Then read on...

The game spans across 8 massive worlds: Mountain, Desert, Forest, Castle, Ice, Town, Sky and Dream, all of which reveal an incredible 60 levels to fight your way through! Venture where only legends dare tread with more than 50 evil enemies, challenging evil bosses and countless potions, power-ups and secrets to uncover.

GDL is a visually adequate game. It doesn't explore the GC platform, but GDL isn't a game for graphics, it's aimed to have good gameplay. From the screens available GDL looks smooth and effective. It's not over complicated, doesn't try to show off smart effects and is no way a benchmark title graphically for the GC. If you want a title to show off the GC's graphics GDL isn't going to be your game of choice.

GDL isn't about top-quality graphics though. It's about arcade-quality fun with three other friends at the same time. You pick from a few characters each with their own attributes, attacks and unique look. Then you set off on a quest of roughly 60 action-packed and intense levels. Be warned! If you are going to play four-player there are going to be some pretty heated arguments, and at the same time lots of laughs from a great atmosphere within the room. This is as good as multiplayer gaming gets!

GDL isn't going to be the best single-player game on the GC, from experience on the virtually identical PS2 version it doesn't have the charm the co-operative mode offers, which is really GDL's strongest selling point. It isn't going to be the deepest game ever either, it's linear and simple but this does suit the four-player co-operative mode and game's immediacy. What it lacks in non-linearity it makes up in sheer size with 60 levels GDL is going to take you a long time, expect a good 20-30 hours out of GDL. You'll almost certainly go back to earlier levels in order to get more experience to gain a level and become stronger for the later levels. There are 8 characters available at the start of the game including warriors, jesters and wizards. Not only this but there's over 20 more characters to unlock so you might want to go through the game a few times altering your experience by being different characters. You'll traverse through unique worlds each with their own themed foe and these worlds include mountains, deserts and forests. There are 30 varied and essential power-ups to be found within the vast and expansive lands of GDL including Electric Amulets, Super Shot, and the devastating Thunder Hammer. As you can see there's a lot to see and do in GDL. It's one of the more deep games concerning features at the Cube's launch, which is one quality that will appeal to some future Cube owners about GDL.

There are a few improvements over the PS2 version including better sound and graphics, more power-ups and an expanded inventory system. Whether this will prove enough for previous owners or current owners of the PS2 version isn't really clear but I very much doubt so.

Gauntlet: Dark Legacy is going to be another great party game for the Cube and fans of the arcade original are going to love it. Whether or not it will hold it's own against Super Monkey Ball and Super Smash Bros. is another question though. GDL is going to be released alongside the Cube on May 3rd.