Gauntlet (NES)

Tengen week keeps rolling on!

Difficulty: ***1/2

Controls: ****

Sound: ***

Graphics: ***

Overall: 13 1/2 stars out of 20

Morak the Evil One has stolen the sacred orb! The villagers plead for your aid. They say that the evil wizard took the treasure deep below the earth, and has locked it in his gauntlet! Grab your weapon and ready your magic and head down to the horrors below...This is the arcade smash hit, Gauntlet from Tengen!

You'll have your work cut out for you if you go solo. You can enlist the aid of a friend (which helps out tremendously). The Gauntlet has five worlds with about twenty stages in them. Adding to the difficulty is the fact that you have to collect letters to form a message in order to get into the very last levels of the game! Damn! While the enemies themselves are no real danger in small groups, once they surround you...you're in for some pain. And just wait until you get to the trickier levels with teleporters, stun pads and invisible walls!

Moving one of the four heroes around the dungeon is quite good. But for some reason your guy will move slower when you travel diagonally. The 'A' button fires your weapon and the 'B' button uses any magic you've collected.

The sound effects really save the game. While the music that's in there is alright, it quickly repeats. The opening theme is very good. A moody tune that fits the dark, unknown mystery of the gauntlet! Your weapons firing, collecting treasures and using magic all sound terrific. Heck your guy shouts out in pain if its taking too much damage! You also hear them blurt out 'Oh!' after he has eaten some food. Nice touch.

The opening screen with all the monsters and the flashing 'GAUNTLET' title is superb. Unfortunately, while the four heroes are nice to look at, the enemies are boring and void of detail. On the password screen you see the face of Morak himself and he even taunts you as you collect the various bits of the message! Great stuff. Note: there is some massive slowdown in this game. Even in the earlier parts as enemies fill up the screen.

There are five worlds with many rooms to conquer. Its not a short one. Added that you must collect various letters to form a message to even get into the last few stages, adds to the difficulty. The controls are good but moving diagonally is a drag. While the music is repetitive and lacking, the opening theme and the sound effects make up for it. The graphics are just par and there is a lot of slowdown. The game however is a blast to play. Even better with a friend! So beware if you venture down into the gauntlet. Because you may not see the light of the day again...