A mixture of 'yesterdays' success stories that didn't quite cut it in 'todays' gaming environment.

User Rating: 7 | Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader PC
Gameplay 6
Graphics 8
Sounds 7
Value 8
Tilt 7

The Good
* Detailed history
* Superb voice acting
* Goblin Poetry

The Bad
* Resolution is locked at 800x600
* Somewhat repetitive game play
* Magic system is comparatively weak to melee

It's hard not to get excited about Interplay's latest release Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusade back in 2003. Over a year in development combining with the rumour mills about the possible collapse of Interplay makes me want to say 'lets play it just one more time for the road'.

On the surface it does look like a noble RPG. There are many elements on hand that is rarely seen in many other RPGs. Some of the examples are The Renaissance Period (for which I don't know why this part of history is rarely touched), the idea of intelligent goblins and no orcs nor elves could be to many 'experienced' role-players going against the 'laws' of fantasy RPG. On the other hand, Lionheart is using the successful 'Diablo' component of serious hack-and-slash over 'conversational trees' to embrace these 'missing elements'. You really cannot blame Reflex Studios trying this out as this method has been extensively used with many other action RPGs.

As the old saying goes 'What's today success is tomorrow's failure' pretty much sums up the mediocre public attention to this game. Considering this over-used formula constantly being displayed and I must admit can be quite tiresome, the unique premise of an alternate renaissance Europe have captivated me to continue this game until the very end.

The story blends well mixing magic with Christianity as you witness throughout Lionheart the continue struggles of the Inquisition and the Knights Templar trying to suppress the evil magic unbeknownst created by Richard of Lionheart during the Third Crusade; hence causing the great 'Disjunction' of 1192. Considering the game starts in 1588, Brittany and Ireland are now 15 different islands, the Cathars are under threat of extinction thanks to the Inquisition and all the 'world's power' is centered in Barcelona, where funny enough is where you start.

Throughout your adventures, you will encounter many famous people during this dramatic era including Leonardo (oddly enough assists you instead of being a pompous snob), Galileo, Marco Polo, Joan of Arc and many, many others. Pretty much whoever you can think of that had a significant influence during these 400 years, whether be a philosopher, explorer or a warrior, you'll most likely clash heads with them.

You can divide the game easily enough into three parts. The first part (which mainly centers on Barcelona and its surrounding areas) uses the traditional role-playing 'tree' conversations to snatch quests. The second part mixes RPG with 'Diablo style' hack-and-slash and the third part is just pure combat. Considering the game uses the 'SPECIAL' system (famously used in the Fallout series) means it's not compulsory to create 'arch-types' therefore you have the freedom to create any hero you desire. Ironically this is the game's weakness and main criticism. Since the latter part of the game involves wave after wave of hostility it will be beneficial creating a 'fighter/mage' arch-type than a diplomat or passive character; well actually a fighter arch-type as the mage component is a little weak. Many-a-times when monsters spots you, it races towards you so fast you have very little chance of letting go a spell. Aggressive spells like fire and electricity are very weak in comparison to the sword so you eventually ending up concentrating on protective or self-enhancing spells. So here you have this freedom 'SPECIAL' system which will not work effectively in this game. Again Reflex Studios is using a 'yesterday' success story into 'today's' gaming environment.

Graphically it's a mixed bag of candies. Considering the backdrop is 2D, landscapes, buildings, fauna, creatures and the likes are impressive. Further on you can see little swarms of fireflies among the trees, smoke rising from chimneys and drops of water into stilled lakes helps the overall game play as it immerses you to embrace the world. Sadly enough, the game's only resolution is 800x600 therefore considering the details placed in this game, without a doubt you'll need a good pair of eyes to appreciate the artwork. What's more depressing is the 3D characters are not really behaving in a 3D manner. They tend to be more akin to cutout figures.

Sound wise is a great deal better than the graphics department however yet again a mixed bag of candies...but to say the least, a better bag. All creatures yell out in a unique tone therefore easily recognisable and the background music sounds promising. However, like many parts of the game, a shortfall occurs that at times the musical scores tends to skip a beat or two. If anything is worth mentioning will be the voice acting. I'm sure there will be some games out there that have great voice acting however for my somewhat limited playing experience I have not heard great voice acting since The Longest Journey.

There are some serious bugs which thankfully are rare but extremely potent. The save system which sports the good ole quick save however if the game crashes (and for some odd reason mainly happens around Barcelona) say 'adios' to you saved games. Even the patch won't fix this so it's in you best interest to use many slots instead of relying just a couple. However this corrects itself beyond Barcelona. The game's map scrolling is also a little odd. It appears on the odd occasion it has a brief fit of plummeted framrates then corrects itself.

To those who value their time, Lionheart will take away around 50 hours of game play. For an action RPG it's pretty average in length however it's certainly a great bang for your dollars. Sadly that once the story ends there is no real replay value. As mentioned before, you can try and create a different type of hero however due to the amount of combat, you will eventually winding up again being a fighter/mage.

There is a multiplayer option which sports a maximum of 4 players using coop. Again that's pretty typical of an action RPG however I wish you luck in finding a server to join unless you are using LAN (and a friend of course). I even tried and create one however sadly enough it was a very lonely road.

The general packaging is worth mentioning. The manual is around 80 pages and pretty detailed and well presented, nice cover art however a little overused as it's plastered on the CDs, box and the manual itself, beautiful artwork of the main races including some beasts of burden and a mini guide all thrown in for around $10.

The overall feeling of Lionheart seems that the game is not in completion. You have geat graphics however fixed resolution; nice sounds, missing beats; real time combat, weak magic system and the list goes on. For every positive there seems to be a corresponding negative and this reflects the greatness of Interplay; that is brilliant game developers, no longer here. Play it for the fond memories of Interplay so let's do it just one more time...for the road.