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POSTED 29/2/12


DUNGEON HUNTER: ALLIANCE

Ubisoft/Gameloft
Vita (also on PS3/PSN/Move)

Let’s go crawlin’ now, everybody’s learnin’ how, come a dungeon crawlin’ with me...

So, you’re a Beach Boy, right? Oh, and you crawl about in dungeons, right? Erm, wrong. Well, the first bit, the second one’s actually right. If you’re a smidge old you might recall arcade smasheroonie Gauntlet. This is kinda like that, but origamied into 3D isometricality instead of being all flat and stuff. But, the aforementioned dungeon crawlin’ – erm, crawling - plus collecting potions, amassing loot aplenty, slashing hordes of demonic ne’er-do-wells and doing it with up to four people, that’s the go here.

Alternatively, we could just say it’s basically Diablo. Which was kinda inspired by Gauntlet, but we’re derailing again.

Story? Erm, something about a dead king brought back to life by a fairy with an unpronounceable name (we’re guessing it’s ‘Frerzpernijhdfgjusvgflaq’) so she just uses ‘Celeste’. Anyway, you’re basically a zombie ruler slashing through hordes of similarly undead peeps - which is pretty fucked up if you read more into it than's actually there.

Vita’s touchy-feely screens are supported, but usefully, rather than gimmickily. As such you pinch to zoom in or out, and use the backside as alternate fairy ordering-about. You can also shake the thing on occasion, either in frustration or to do stuff. Four player (online or local) is somewhat chaotic, and dumbly you've only three character types to select from, so you’ll always have doppelgangers doppelganging around doppelgangerily.

Amongst all the waffle above you should get the idea; this really is Gauntlet-meets-Diablo with some Golden Axe hurled in, so if they load up your woody then enjoy. It can get repetitive though – hack, slash, repeat - and respawn points can be arduous – traipse for ages through a previously cleared dungeon before hitting new action - but then we never really clicked with Gauntlet. Erm, or Diablo.

take me back to the start...

 



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ALL WRITTEN CONTENT COPYRIGHT © AMY FLOWER 2008-2018. GAME IMAGES COURTESY OF RESPECTIVE GAMES COMPANIES.