Tournament of Legends

Gameplay

Tournament of Legends has ten playable characters based on Graeco-Roman mythology. The gameplay is described as a hybrid between traditional fighting games and the alternative puzzle-based gameplay of Punch Out!!. Players gesture using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk to initiate horizontal and vertical attacks. Button inputs allow the character to dodge, block, charge and use special attacks. To win a match, the player must defeat the opponent three times in two 90 second rounds. Breaks are allowed for fighters to regenerate armor and health.

The game does not have online multiplayer and features offline split-screen multiplayer instead.

Development

Tournament of Legends uses an updated version of High Voltage's Quantum3 engine in use in their games The Conduit and The Grinder, which was also presented at E3 2009 alongside Gladiator A.D..

Originally, the visual style of the game was greatly inspired by the film 300, including the use of slow motion during power attacks. The game was aiming for a highly realistic and mature look and contained high amounts of blood and gore, including bloody finishing moves. The game was also set to utilize Nintendo's Wii Motion Plus peripheral.

In February 2010, it was announced that Gladiator A.D. had secured a publisher, Sega, and had its name changed to Tournament of Legends. The visual style was changed to feature mythological features instead of the highly realistic look the game had originally. The amount of blood and gore was also apparently greatly reduced as the game's look was altered to aim for the ESRB's T rating, rather than the M rating Gladiator A.D. had been aiming for. Wii Motion Plus control was also dropped, inexplicably, and the game can now be played with the Classic Controller.

At E3 2010, High Voltage confirmed that they were looking into the possibility of bringing the game to the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Reception

The game has received generally unfavorable reviews, with a Metacritic score of 45 based on 38 reviews. GameSpot awarded the game 4.5 out of ten and said "... unresponsive controls are the first thing you'll notice". Official Nintendo Magazine awarded it 40%, and remarked "this is just insulting". There were however positive reviews. Destructoid gave the game a 7.5 and said "[Tournament of Legends is] a good little fighter that makes good use of the console's interface and truly brings back the feeling of playing a fighting game in the nineties." Similarly, GamingCritics also praised the game's tone for being reminiscent of classic 90's fighting games and stated that "...both fighting newcomers and seasoned vets can get enjoyment out of the formula here" and awarded the game an 8 out of 10