The Gauntlet trailer for E3 2014 has arrived, and promises some classic gameplay with a new generation appeal. Is it worth “gearing up for battle,” though?
The original Gauntlet was released under legal issues on the Nintendo Entertainment System, an instant classic with cutting-edge ideas. It was random, in that you didn’t know what level was coming next. It used character voices at a time when many thought it was impossible. It incorporated multiplayer co-op gameplay just to get past certain areas. It gave you a choice of four types of characters to play as, even though going solo usually meant you would need to be the barbarian or the Valkyrie.
The new Gauntlet trailer appears to indicate that the game takes queues from other successful titles such as Diablo and The Legend of Zelda , using a top-down perspective and a more realistic maze style. The down side to this is that individual characters might not be able to wander off to other parts of the map, and, like the original, you might get stuck until everybody realizes you can’t move. A split screen mode or individual screens for everyone in the party might fix that problem.
Gauntlet E3 trailer joins party, needs color badly http://t.co/eWUJa8rdQD | pic.twitter.com/WEIm0jHO63
— Joystiq (@joystiq) June 4, 2014
Something new to the game is the ability to change out your weapon and armor, making for much more diversity as you take on the myriads of monsters the game will throw at you. The cast appears to be back, as we can see the elf, the barbarian, the wizard, and the Valkyrie once again in attendance.
New power-ups will grant a variety of special moves, so there will be more than just the screen-clearing super attack from the original. This Steam exclusive only lacks a wider variety of monsters, as they seem to be little more than graphical upgrades from before, with maybe a bigger monster on occasion.
The Gauntlet trailer also invites you to pre-order, though it doesn’t list what kinds of bonuses you’ll get. Warner Bros might need to put some work into this title before it’s worth looking into, since it’s nothing we haven’t seen before.
[image via YouTube]
