Reaching back into the annals of history, there is a smallish franchise that has sadly not seen the light of day as of late. The arcades and the NES were both graced with the presence of Gauntlet, a top-down multiplayer fantasy game Ed Logg and Rob Zeigler of Atari in 1985. Like many fantasy video games, it was inspired by Dungeons and Dragons and brought to life for arcade cabinets with gameplay basically ripped from Dandy and Time Bandits.
Gauntlet is a game series of survival, shooting various ranged weapons into various mobs and making your way to a goal on the other side of the map. Gauntlet Legends is a cut and paste of the 2D game from 1985 brought to the arcades, Dreamcast, N64 and Playstation. While it does tilt the camera at a more isometric angle, the top-down qualities of the game are still in tact.
You fight mobs made up of orcs, ghosts, wraiths, etc. with one to four players, collecting power-ups, avoiding traps (one including Death himself) and making your way through locked doors and blocked paths. Each level is part of a hub world that you return to when you either die or beat said level. As you progress through each of the levels, more of the portals in this hub world open up and you start to unlock more secrets and level up your characters as you fight.
It is almost essential to have at least two players, especially in some of the later levels. This may not be the deepest of games and it may be somewhat repetitive with its gameplay but there is no denying that it's fun. Employing each of your special abilities in a fight as an Archer, Wizard, Warrior or whatever class you choose is part of your own contribution to the fight. Wizards have catastrophic ultimate attacks that can clear out large amounts of enemies. As you collect potions on the battlefield, they will each have different effects that will help you fight the long line of enemies coming your way.
The spawn points for the enemies need to be destroyed. If you don't make sure they are down to their lowest point, they will continue to spawn enemies for as long as there is room in the area to have them. This means that the mobs will come from this spawn point and attack you from anywhere on the map. If you leave them unattended, you will have a long line of monsters to battle in order to backtrack and destroy the trap to its fullest. Some of the traps start at a high level and they produce stronger enemies. The more damage you do to these spawn points, the weaker enemies will spawn.
If you needed an excuse to have over some friends and play a fun little game that's simple and enjoyable, look no further. Gauntlet has always been a game that is very familiar to those who play Dungeons and Dragons and that is always enjoyed most with a small group of people. This is arguably the peak of the franchise in both graphics and gameplay. The iconic quotes like "Red Warrior is about to die" or "Blue Wizard needs food badly" always seems to exist in some gaming circles. Do yourself a favor and give this game a try. Virtua Axe Throw!
