Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade

Detroit Free Press

This dazzling little gem for the small screen is one of the best in the first crop of games for Sony's new PSP. It's everything a handheld adventure should be: easy to see, easy to play, fun to play alone or with other people and strikingly detailed.

Gaming Illustrated

The varied monsters made a nice gamepaly experience, as well as the variety of skills that the various heroes can perform.

BonusStage

Its fairly generic plot, slim character class choices, and long loading times mean Untold Legends isn’t perfect, but when you consider that you’re playing a game with visual quality that’s previously only been seen on computer screens or a nice high-definition TV, the game is well worth a purchase.

Game Chronicles

It encourages multiplayer adventures by making it extremely easy and fun to hook-up, but doesn’t reward your efforts by tweaking the gameplay or rewards for the extra members.

Loaded Inc

The thing that does keep it different is that fact that each character has access to unique weapons and spells, which makes it worthwhile to go through the game with each class of character.

1UP

Fun despite its forgettable narrative, and painfully long load times. Fun in the RPG sense, fun in the no-brainer button mashing sense, and fun in the kill monsters with your buddies sense.

Thunderbolt

A four-player wireless multiplayer mode is just icing on the cake for this game. Loading up the game with some friends and fighting scores of foes is even more fun than the single-player mode, but even without a group of buddies this is still a game worth owning.

Next Level Gaming

Aside from the huge disappointment from multi-player and the long load times from levels, the game is great.

PGNx Media

A solid game. It meets all the requirements for a hack-and-slash game. You’ll find a number of enemies, character progression, and a decent presentation. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have its own charm, which subtracts from the game substantially.

GameZone

Much of the experience in Untold Legends seems very simple and repetitive. Luckily, great character customization options and a wonderful skill tree help provide the player with enough variety to continue playing.

Game Informer

Nice four-player support and a fairly long quest are definite pluses, but don't make up for Untold Legends dropping the ball so badly on the level design front. [May 2005, p.134]

PSX Extreme

Everything you've heard about Untold Legends is true. It's a solid hack-and-slash, but it doesn't really break any new ground. It's also very repetitive.

IGN

It's a complete game, awkwardly balanced but still a good, long adventure, and a good recommendation for times you want mindless fun with a chance for some thinking if you feel the urge. But it does not have all of its powers under control.

PSM Magazine

The fancy spell effects can sometimes actually obscure your vision, and you can only cast the two spells you have mapped to the hotkeys. [May 2005, p.78]

Gaming Age

If you’re looking for another fun multiplayer game, Untold Legends is definitely for you. It’s also great for a pick up and play.

Gamezilla!

A fun game that fills the action RPG genre adequately. I look forward to the next wave of titles in genre where developers may have more time to incorporate voice acting, more robust cities and more varied quests.

eToychest

The largest problem, however, is how repetitive the quests become after extended play.

Game Over Online

Offers up some pure combat action and not much else. Any fan of Diablo 2 or Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance will feel right at home here. Let the mindless killing commence!

Deeko

The simplicity of it will entice your want for hacking enemies. A game with one of the longest load times in history.

PALGN

The PSP gets it's first RPG, we just wish it was a little more refined, this game could have been longer and provided more side quests to keep gamers entertained after the action has finished.

Electronic Gaming Monthly

So why couldn't I put it down? Simple: deep character-building options. [May 2005, p.91]

PSX Nation

Untold Legends’ lengthy single-player campaign and multiplayer options compensate somewhat for its underwhelming sound, forgettable story and mindless hack-and-slash gameplay.

Gaming Target

I’m not a huge fan of this genre, but Untold Legends captivated me for quite a few hours until the repetition and lack of interest in the genre set in.

Gamers' Temple

If you’re looking for some quick hack and slash dungeon crawling on the go, it certainly will satisfy your need. RPG fans will more than likely find it disappointing, though, as the RPG side of the game is minimalist and lacking in depth.

Warcry

As with any game similar to Diablo, it's definitely geared toward group play. It's just more fun to slice and dice your way through so many monsters you're neck deep in blood with a friend.

TotalPlayStation

If you like a good dungeon crawl without all of the extra crap like deep story or engrossing characters that you care about, here's the game for you. If, on the other hand, you need a bit more meat to your hack and slash, wait for "UL2."

Yahoo! Games

It's a solid first-wave title, while the awesome 3D engine and multiplayer game makes it a truly new experience in the portable arena. Let's just hope the next legend that SOE tells has more surprises.

GamePro

Does a fair job of showing off the PSP's technical prowess. As a fairly straightforward hack-and-slash RPG, Untold Legends fits the bill. Just don't expect it to match the bliss that is "Diablo II."

Gamenikki

An enjoyable, if heavily formulaic, RPG to get the PSP life cycle kicked off.

Boomtown

It's fun in short bursts, which ideally is exactly what I’m looking for in a handheld game.

My Gamer

One of those games that will definitely get better as sequels are created.

Edge Magazine

As a portable title, Untold Legends knows that its payoff has to be immediate and frequent and it graciously complies, with even the briefest morning commute diversion yielding at least one quest completed, at least one level gained and frequently another full wardrobe change rounding off a constant feeling of accomplishment. [June 2005, p.86]

GameSpot

There's not much enthusiasm in Untold Legends. This leaves a game that, while hitting most of the necessary bullet points, is just going through the motions.

Da Gameboyz

I've played some bad RPGS, some worse and some better than this one, but the thing that made this one fall in my opinion was how disappointing it was compared to what I thought it would be like.

VGPub

I cannot recommend a purchase as this game gets really repetitive and boring playing by your lonesome.

RPG Fan

I found it addicting when I first played it, and even praised it. Looking back now, it's just a mediocre game with a few redeeming qualities, and too much repetition.

Play Magazine

Graphics that don't particularly push the power of the PSP and fun-crippling loading times that are often in excess of 30 seconds. [May 2005, p.69]

Official U.S. Playstation Magazine

Both utterly forgettable and strangely addictive, the ultra-simple hack-n-slash model works surprisingly well in a portable format. [May 2005, p.111]

DarkStation

Doesn't do anything new or exciting, and this really translates into a rather lackluster performance.

GameShark

A great pick up and play and slash sort of game. Long periods of playing this game will probably bore you, but if you need a quick RPG fix while commuting, it’s not bad.

Worth Playing

Had more thought been put into making the multiplayer options more feasible, the interface more intuitive, and the graphics clearer, then it could’ve been a really nice first RPG for the PSP. Unfortunately, the entire game gives the impression of having been hastily constructed along the most basic lines of the hack n’ slash formula in order to be ready to go for the system launch.

AceGamez

The problem with Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade is the simple fact that there's nothing at all out of the ordinary. Even reading back over what I've written, it's glaringly obvious that there is an overall lack of innovation, a lack of a fresh sense of style and a new feel of play.

Pelaaja (Finland)

Untold Legends feels too much like it’s been made for home consoles and then squeezed onto a PSP, losing many small, but important features in the transition. Visually the game is really impressive, but the action is repetitive, the loading times are atrociously long and the slowly evolving story is just not interesting enough. Still, the game’s fun in small doses and especially as a multiplayer experience. [Sept 2005, p 62]

Pure Magazine UK

Limited customisation options, slow loading times and camera problems. [Feb 2007, p.81]

GameSpy

Gets the job done in an absolutely no-frills way, with generic story, visuals, and gameplay leading to a business-as-usual experience -- but one that fits in your hands, this time.

games(TM)

While really quite enjoyable in small measures (annoyances excepted), Untold Legends is a massively optimistic game and this is its ultimate downfall. [June 2005, p.100]

Game Revolution

While not necessarily straying from the formula that made its predecessors great, this one seems unmotivated and underachieving, like something a dungeon master with a hangover might scrabble together to pay the overdue rent.

netjak

My only real complaint is that this entire game is dull. Even with the option to play this with 3 other people, I hardly see any area of this game that multiplayer would make more enjoyable.

G4 TV

Perhaps the single outstanding aspect of Legends is the visual presentation, which really works well.

GameCritics

Sony Online is really out of touch with what makes this kind of game good. It adds nothing to the genre that hasn't already been done before—and actually gets a lot of it wrong. I'm never leaving my copy of "Lumines" at home again.

Eurogamer

In short, there's no real feeling of accomplishment when you level up, which means there's no real incentive to do anything other than belt through levels in a bid to get them over with quickly and move on.