There is a reason that "Sorrows" is in the title, because the makers feel sorry for those who play it.
THE GOOD
-Multiplayer available
THE BAD
-Short and Pathetic story
-Awful graphics
-Very repetitive
-Uninspiring level design
-Characters are all pretty much the same
OVERVIEW
Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows begins with four heroes (Warrior, Valkyrie, Elf, and Wizard) and an emperor. The easily influenced emperor is tricked by his loyal advisors into locking up the heroes in a tree. After this happens the emperor and his advisors commit six other sorrows in the world (the first of the seven being locking up the heroes). The emperor finally wises up to his evil advisors and just before they kill him, the emperor releases the heroes from their prison. With the emperor dead, the four heroes must face the all the evil advisors and correct the sorrows. If they can't, the world will plunge into darkness and chaos. Between levels you'll get to see a series of cut-scenes that explain the story further. A deeply voiced narrator informs the heroes of what has happened and what lies ahead. Anyways, the story is really, really bad. It's another generic "stop evil and save the world" type story and you can tell that the developers spent little time on this aspect of the game.
GAMEPLAY
This Gauntlet is pretty much the same "hack and slash" type game like its predecessors. Like I mentioned before there are four different characters to choose from and each of them have slightly different starting attributes (strength, mana regeneration, and health). The warrior is slightly stronger than the rest. The Valkyrie and Elf are more well-rounded. And the Wizard is slightly better in the magic department. Now each character is different but the difference is minuet. This means that your character selection really doesn't matter because they all play about the same. All the attacks, magic spells, and other abilities may look different but pretty much do the same thing. The controls for Gauntlet are good for each character. You have your hacking attacks, slashing attacks, range attacks and various magical / special abilities. It's really easy to pick up and play which makes the learning curve a few minutes, which is nice. Plus, with four people playing at once, you'll appreciate the fluid maneuverability.
Each level in Gauntlet plays about the same way. Hack and slash your way through waves of enemies, destroy enemy regeneration shrines, and either find the exit or boss of the level. Now do this over and over again with each of the levels looking about the same with poor quality. You can see how repetitive this game can get. Another thing to keep in mind is that the game is really short. You can easily complete the game in a few short hours. There is a small amount of role playing elements to this game in that your characters gain experience and you have the option to increase their attributes. Plus, the gold you find can be exchanged for better weapons. This just means that your character has unlocked another combination of buttons to perform on the battlefield. Now all this upgrading can only be done at the end of each level.
GRAPHICS & SOUND
The graphics are terrible in Gauntlet. Now this wouldn't be such a bad thing but in this game it matters especially when you play with other people. With hordes of enemies filling the screen and heroes looking alike, the poor graphics makes finding your character a game of "Where's Waldo".
The sound effects are OK. Not too much here besides the shouting of the characters and clanking of weapons. The voice acting for the narrator tries to be really serious but it actually comes out really funny because the story is so bad.
CONCLUSION
Well, the Gauntlet games are what they are, boring hacking and slashing. If you like repetitive button mashing and mind numbing story then you'll like this game. I don't recommend this game because the game is way to short with very little replay value so it's really a waste of money to purchase. Maybe a rent though. I was never a big fan of the Gauntlet series but it seems like the quality of these games are on a slight decline.