Tournament of Legends is a fighting game that seems like it easily could have been created by Peter Molyneux because it was an ambitious and overly-hyped project that almost completely failed to deliver upon release. Originally known as Gladiator A.D., we were teased with tough-looking warriors dismembering each other in an M-rated bloody gladiator arena. Looking like something straight out of Frank Miller’s 300 and featuring an in-depth storyline in which the outcome is shaped by your character’s development, the game appeared to provide a realistic and hardcore edge that has largely been lacking from the Wii. To say the least, it was disappointing when it was announced as changing to Tournament of Legends with a strikingly different visual style, toned down violence, and a new story that involves mythological personalities. Deciding to make the game a bit more teenager-friendly is understandable, but the move has left a bitter taste in many mouths. However, this is a review of the finished product and not the original concept, so let’s try not to dwell too terribly much.

Immediately upon starting the game up, it was made obvious that this game was not designed with larger televisions in mind. While it looks just fine on 27″ CRT, it looks stretched and pixilated when played on a 50″ plasma HDTV. These days, a large majority of gamers like to play on larger screens, which is something that should be anticipated. If a game isn’t properly optimized to fit a large screen, we will see many of the flaws in the design. The game looks iffy even on a console that doesn’t support high-definition images. Having grown up with little colored blocks on a black screen, this isn’t something that I particularly take issue with, but sticklers for details will want to be aware of the so-so visual quality. And let’s be honest: it is somewhat indicative of the game as a whole.

The presentation in Tournament of Legends is overly cheesy; as the narrator introduces us to the story within the game, it feels like watching a bad B-rated movie. This is further exemplified in the arena as the incredibly unoriginal characters—of which there are 10—taunt each other with painful one-liners (which change depending on who they fight). It is at this point when I realize that everything about the game reminds me of a generic arcade fighter from the mid-90’s. Almost every single aspect of the game is dated. This is likely to be very off-putting for many younger gamers or those who do not wish to re-live the past, but I personally found it to be somewhat charming and nostalgic. As I played, I was taken back to the days of pumping quarters into a machine, which is something I really enjoyed. Unfortunately, I get the distinct feeling that this was purely accidental and although I am able to appreciate the feeling of this game, it obviously won’t appeal to many younger gamers or those who have no desire to re-live the past.

Despite what I have heard from many others who have played the game, the controls are surprisingly responsive. I was initially weary about playing a traditional fighting game that uses motion controls, but after the first round, I was pleased with how well everything worked and how easy it was for me to string combos together, even if a combo can’t exceed four successive hits. Another highlight is the inclusion of unlockable weapons and buffs that you can equip to your character before each fight. These allow you to try out different styles and figure out which combination works best for you. This will be essential near the end of the game because although most of the characters are balanced well, a couple of them (Bast in particular) have an unfair advantage that can be rather frustrating. My first time playing, I breezed through the game until repeatedly getting stuck on the last two or three fights.

While the game controls well and has some entertaining special attacks, it is significantly lacking from the omission of Motion Plus support, which was originally going to be included. As a result, the basic attack is very basic and the number of executable moves is somewhat limited. This may drive some to play with the Classic Controller in order to avoid unnecessary flailing, but I found it to be a tad boring. For the most involved gameplay, sticking with the basic motion controls is ideal, although you may end up with a sore wrist. But hey, if you’re a gamer, there’s a good chance your wrist is sore anyway.

If you can look past the near-vintage feel of everything, you could have a very solid fighting game here, but High Voltage unfortunately managed to muck it up a bit by throwing in a few extras. The most annoying of which is the camera angle that is somewhat over the shoulder instead of opting for the preferred side-scrolling display. To make matters worse, powerful hits and blocks will result in the game pausing momentarily and then rotating the camera to place you more in the background. In more heated battles, the camera will rotate so much that you may very well end up with vertigo. And let’s not forget that you have to keep track of which direction you are going.

Also, each level has a mythological theme, which has an accompanying obstacle. While in the middle of a fight, you may have to avoid a giant crab, a stampeding centaur, a swooping roc, or some other such creature that decides to interfere with your fight. These are fun at first, but once you’ve gone through them, they become bothersome because of the way they break up the action by momentarily taking you out of the fight to do something else. Besides, motion-based quick-time events have no place in a fighting game…or any game for that matter.

Once the main story mode of the game has been completed—which shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes—it isn’t entirely satisfying or disappointing. I was left with this feeling of “Okay, I’m done. Should I go again or play something else?” This is an issue that many fighting games face, but the more successful ones have an extra special something that makes you want to come back for more. Tournament of Legends has no such draw and it is merely left up to whether or not you are in the mood to have another go and see how the other stories pan out. This is where more unlockables and a fully-realized leaderboard could have been beneficial. There is an enjoyable offline Versus mode that is fun to play with a friend who remembers the old days when people used to play games in the same room, but it’s not likely that it will keep you enthralled for long periods of time.

Overall, Tournament of Legends is fairly generic. It isn’t nearly as bad as Deadliest Warrior: The Game, but it pales in comparison to the game we were all expecting. I can’t help feeling that if we had been given Gladiator A.D., I’d be singing a different tune. From the uninspired designs and characters to the various typos throughout the instruction manual, it feels like High Voltage eventually gave up on trying to deliver the product they had originally promised. It just feels like their hearts weren’t really in it (perhaps due to pressure from Sega?). Still, if you can look past the game’s flaws, there is a good amount of fun to be had without having to pay much money. And you have to give them credit for trying out a new fighting IP in a genre dominated by established franchises. This may not be the game it should’ve been, but I’m hoping they’ve got a few tricks up their sleeves for the future.

Score: 6/10

• Pros:
  • Nostalgic traditional fighter.
  • Responsive motion controls that don’t take much effort.
  • Simple, affordable fun.
• Cons:
  • Feels very dated in almost every aspect.
  • No online gameplay.
  • Poor camera angles.
  • Motion quick-time events break up action.
  • Generally uninspired and doesn’t deliver on the majority of its initial promises.

Tournament of Legends was developed by High Voltage Software and published by Sega. It was released for the Wii in North America on July 6, 2010.