Legendary: The Box Hands-On
We bring death to the Minotaur.
November 19, 2007 - Spark Unlimited's Legendary: The Box may have one of the more unfortunate titles in recent memory, but that doesn't mean it's a game you should instantly discount. In fact, The Box has the potential to be a fun shooter full of mythic monsters running amok in modern-day New York. In The Box, you play as a thief with some seriously bad luck. You're the poor sap tricked into opening Pandora's Box. Caught in the midst of an inter-dimensional invasion of New York that you've caused, there's only one option: use your newfound power to kick some ass and save the world.
Legendary isn't like BioShock. You won't be getting crazy powers that allow you to shoot fireballs from your hands. Your gift is the ability to steal animus from dead enemies and use it to heal yourself. It may not sound cool, but never look a gift horse in the mouth. With some of the heavy hitters you'll face in Legendary, you'll need all the health you can find. Your weapons are a variety of guns. It's hard tech that will fell the mythical invasion. Armed to the teeth, you will have the chance to take on both fantastical creatures and skilled mercenaries. All you need to know is that mercs and werewolves both bleed. So pull the trigger 'til it goes "click."
If you've played a console FPS before, you will have no trouble hopping into Legendary. Though the grenade button and reload may be in different areas, it's a fairly simple point and shoot game. What makes it stand out are the monsters you battle. Playing through part of Episode 5, we had the chance to take on numerous werewolves and one unhappy minotaur.
The werewolves come in two varieties: beta and alpha. The betas are plentiful and are fairly easy to take down -- particularly from afar. The alphas are the real troublemakers. When these white beauties show up on the scene, everyone takes notice; even your enemies. That's because alphas are fast, smart, and a challenge to kill. The wolves tend to have similar behavior patterns. They like to attack first from a distance, tossing items off rooftops. After taking a few shots, they get more aggressive until they switch into a rage mode and take you head-on. Dodging debris (or shooting it out of the air) is pretty cool. P.S. Wolfman does indeed have nards.
The more impressive battle comes against the Minotaur. This half-man/half-bull of legend has two attack stategies. At first it fights straight up, swinging a mace and occasionally charging. Do enough damage and the Minotaur goes into rage mode. He devolves from his human half and takes on the mentality of a bull. He snorts, kicks his foot, and charges at you with his head down. He'll burst through walls if he has to, just to get his horns through your belly.
What's interesting about the monsters in Legendary: The Box is how they react to your mercenary enemies. See, the mercs work for a man who wants to control the monsters that have invaded our world. But he doesn't have control of them at this point in the game, meaning they view the mercs as your enemy. If you stay back, you can watch an alpha wolf tear through the competition and witness the Minotaur swatting mercs aside with his mace. It's pretty awesome. It seems that you could use some strategy to distract your human and inhuman enemies by "helping" them notice one another.
Legendary: The Box has the makings of a sleeper. It could sneak up on people and, when released in '08, surprise us all with a fun romp. But it's too early (and our playtime too short) to tell. Still, if the thought of putting a full clip into a werewolves chest excites you, then be sure to look out for Legendary: The Box. Hopefully we'll get more time to play with The Box soon.
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