Tournament of Legends...is anyone in America interested?

[Gulshog]

I really had a lot of backlash towards this title, when it was announced that is was undergoing a major change at the request of the new publisher, Sega (it used to be called Gladiator A.D., and was more realistic). However, over time as I have watched videos of the game, I've really been drawn to this title. And, the fact that it's being released for $30 helps a lot, as well. The graphics aren't the best, but not bad. The bright colors, interesting arenas, cool characters, and neat special moves have really hooked me.



I love Marcus' lion attack! That is the kind of original, over the top action and fun that I hope to get from this title. Nothing overly deep and complicated, just something fun to play with your friends. It also has a cheesy movie appeal...reminds me of the original Clash of the Titans. The kind of movie/game that doesn't take itself seriously, but offers up enough crazy goodness that it wins your heart.

I'll be buying it in July...will you?

[thresholdXCI]

This High Voltage's game? The video doesn't look too bad. Just a shame the name and cover lend such a shovelware image to the title.

[Autosaver]

This High Voltage's game? The video doesn't look too bad. Just a shame the name and cover lend such a shovelware image to the title.

Coverart looks better then the game itself. ^_~

Terrible that this game was supposed to be a bloody spartan game, but cut out because no one wanted to publish it. (Beta screens)

[cortjezter]

i saw the original gladiator version behind closed doors at e3 2009, and played it behind closed doors at gdc this year... what do you want to know?

[thresholdXCI]

Terrible that this game was supposed to be a bloody spartan game, but cut out because no one wanted to publish it. (Beta screens)

Ah yeah, I remember the artwork they showed when they unveiled the game. A man with a sword and another man with no head... or indeed any arms. Pretty nice. I suppose you can't blame SEGA though, at least they tried with MadWorld and HotD: Overkill.

i saw the original gladiator version behind closed doors at e3 2009, and played it behind closed doors at gdc this year... what do you want to know?

Is it any good? As in how fluid/ deep is the fighting?

[mariomaniac45213]

Sorry no I don't buy shovelware. Especially from a lackluster company like HVS. On top of that no online. Not even a rent from me. It looked so much better when it was a blood bath.

[cortjezter]

Is it any good? As in how fluid/ deep is the fighting?

i played a few rounds and got to see a fair amount of characters/levels. of course the first session isn't going to reveal me as any sort of master or even understanding the various move sets, but each character is wildly different, both visually and their move sets. you'll have different blocks, regular attacks and special attacks; some characters by their design will be better for long-range and some better up in your face. timing is also key, both in blocking and attacking, making some of that strategic gladiatorial fighting a core component of this game too. add in an armor system, interactive levels and hazards, taunts/gloating, and some interesting use of motion controls for triggering certain actions or sequences (they're also including classic controller support that has its own interesting simulation of the motion controls to keep things fair), and it seems pretty deep to me.

i actually had to ask if what i was seeing was actually running on wii hardware, or if some of the scenes were pre-rendered, because it looks absolutely amazing visually. controls work quite well, and it looks like there will be plenty of extra unlockable stuff too.

don't understand the anti-hvs sentiment because the game changed from its original form. personally, i thought it was really ugly and a little on the boring side before. instead of limiting itself to one country and one class of fighter, it now pulls from a wide variety of geographic areas and mythologic eras, giving it a lot more interest across the board from character and level design to the art style, visual cues, and combat methods.

[Autosaver]

If you haven't noticed, HVS has been known for rushing tons of projects and most of them are just worth a rent.

[Gulshog]

If you haven't noticed, HVS has been known for rushing tons of projects and most of them are just worth a rent.

Well, I don't know just how long they have been working on it...so I cannot say that they are rushing it, or that they rushed The Conduit. As I've said before, I enjoyed the Conduit (bought it at $30 not $50), and got my money's worth. It wasn't Half-Life 2, but it was an enjoyable FPS with faults, that drew me in with the setting (secret societies, aliens, etc.). I didn't encounter any bugs or glitches, so honestly I can't say it seemed rushed. I know there were problems with multiplayer, but I didn't play it much online.

I don't think much can be said about those who hate HVS...I get where the hate comes from. I understand that people fault them for not making AAA games. But, I think they do try to make good games. I think they try way harder than most other small developers out there that aren't AAA caliber dev/pubs (Nintendo, Capcom, etc.). Remember Soul Calibur Legends for the Wii? Even Capcom is guilty of milking easy to develop games...all the RE rail shooters?

So, I guess all that I can say is that the game looks good, to me. I like the direction they are going, and it looks like a good brawler. But, some people won't give it a chance, simply because it is HVS. And, as I said, I understand the bias. Sometimes, though, it's good to not react so harshly to something you haven't tried. I would never have bought a Wii if I hadn't just let my old biases die.

[coffeewithchess]

I just don't know about the game, now. I understand they changed it from Gladiator A.D., to Tournament of Legends, and they probably did so only after they couldn't find a publisher for Gladiator A.D. They are using a lot of the same levels from Gladiator A.D., just with more colors(or less filters perhaps?), but also taking things out of the game, that I thought were interesting.
The original game had a crowd, that would react to the fights.
Quote, "After winning enough favor from the crowd, players can challenge the champions for fame, wealth, and in some cases, freedom stand waiting to the victor. "

Quote about the technology for the crowds possibly, "All of the updates are not simply graphical though, as seen in our Imposter / Instancing technology. This technology allows us to feature a large number of characters on screen with no discernible framerate hit. This means that we can have hundreds or even thousands of models in the scene."

WM+ was basically confirmed for Gladiator A.D., but no support in Tournament of Legends.
Quotes confirming WM+ for Gladiator A.D.:
"That said though, we are currently incorporating the latest version of the Wii MotionPlus firmware and will support it."
"The Wii MotionPlus will be used to add variance to the attacks to break up what could possibly be seen as mechanical attacks."

I think it sucks as a business decision, to have changed the game like they did, but money talks in the end, and they need money to keep making games.

[thresholdXCI]

Thanks for the impressions Cort. I'll keep an eye out for reviews and the like nearer release, although that said this isn't very high on my game wishlist.

[Autosaver]

Whoops, need to change my wording.

HVS has been known to take on waay too many projects at one time.
Iron Man 2(Sucked),Conduit 2, and this game. And possibly even another one.

[Gulshog]

Whoops, need to change my wording.

HVS has been known to take on waay too many projects at one time.
Iron Man 2(Sucked),Conduit 2, and this game. And possibly even another one.

That I would definitely agree with. I believe Grinder was supposed to come out this year, but then they started up with Conduit 2, and it got pushed back, etc., etc. They don't seem to have a clear head in their upper leadership.

[Autosaver]

Yup

So really, they are having games that are spanning on all platforms. What the f

[TYFIGHTER]

Meh. The only 3D arena fighter I like is Soul Calibur. Looks like it could be fun though, just not for me. After Super Smash Bros, all other fighters seem boring and slow.

[Gulshog]

New Sega America Blog post is up as of Wednesday:

http://blogs.sega.com/usa/2010/05/12/ne ... r-screens/

New trailer, and new screens.






The game looks brighter and crisper...I don't know if it's a bullshot, or a new graphics improvement. But, pic 1 looks very nice.

[cortjezter]

The game looks brighter and crisper...I don't know if it's a bullshot, or a new graphics improvement. But, pic 1 looks very nice.

as i said above, i had to actually ask if what they were showing me at GDC was running on real wii hardware because it looks almost too good to be true. i think the art is very polished already and they still have plenty of time to work..