Avalon Legend is a twin stick shooter with a twist, you can control two characters independently with one controller. Is it a marriage made in heaven or already time for a divorce? Read on to find out.[singlepic id=1267 w=320 h=240 float=center]
The game is set in a post apocalyptic word with a legend of King Arthur theme. You play in a survival arena style game, killing or avoiding the waves of enemies. You control Kay who can call upon robot incarnations of the Knights of the Round, namely King Arthur, Lancelot, Guinevere and Merlin. You can choose to play together to combine your powers, or split apart and fight independently.
The four characters can be quickly changed between by tapping their respective controller buttons. A tap of the bumper button will split or rejoin the two characters, when split the characters become independently controllable. Your main character Kay with the left joystick and the chosen Knight with the right. The control system is a great idea and works very well for a single player game. King Arthur provides a shield when joined with Kay, when split he turns into a deadly spinning blade. Lancelot provides shooting abilities, Guinevere sets the world alight with flames and explosives and finally Merlin has an ability to draw enemies to him.
[singlepic id=1268 w=320 h=240 float=center]
I mention each players ability because it becomes an important strategy to game. Knowing when to use or change to another Knight is essential as it can help defeat enemies more easily, especially if things start to get overwhelming. For example, if Lancelot’s guns are not quite fast enough to take out a large swarm of enemies, Guinevere’s explosives will wipe them out in one go.
If things really get on top for your character you can use a magic ability. Each knight has their own, for example King Arthur has a shield which protects and kills enemies when they touch it. You do however a have limited usage of magic, but it can be replenished by collecting the shards which dead enemies drop when killed only by a split attack. There is a good dilemma created by the shards, do you run the risk of splitting up to collect the shards, or play it safe and stick together but with no chance of replenishing your energy.
[singlepic id=1269 w=320 h=240 float=center]
A comprehensive tutorial introduces you to the game and is a must try for first time players. The game itself has three difficulty levels, the Easy difficulty starts you with only King Arthur available to use with the others made available when a score is reached. The harder difficulties start you with all four Knights and throws you straight into the action with harder enemies.
The Easy level gives you a time limit of 500 seconds to survive and collect as much score as possible. The other levels have an infinite time limit and this is where the problem lays. After 15 minutes of playing on the harder difficulties, it becomes too repetitive as there are no more new types of enemies. By this time you are well versed with the game to cope with any further spawns. I would have liked to have seen more enemies and maybe different arenas to play in to give the game some more variety.
[singlepic id=1270 w=320 h=240 float=center]
The game is presented well, the tutorials are very helpful and a journal and gallery is included which is unlocked via an award type system such as defeating a number of enemies, gaining scores and using knights. Graphically the game is good, the sprites are drawn well and the game copes with a large number of enemies on screen. Music is unfortunately lacking with a drum themed tune that gets repetitive very fast, made worse with no option to switch it off.
Avalon Legend costs 240 :MSPoints: which is a fair price for the game. The Easy difficulty is perhaps the more fun mode to play as there is a goal and is great for short bursts. If you have more time then the other difficulties are there, but I think you will die on purpose to end the game rather than be killed because of the difficulty. The trial version of the game is well worth playing, if you like the trial you will definitely enjoy the full game.
You can find more information as well as download the trial and full version of Avalon Legend on the Marketplace.
0
