Get Medieval

Loving tribute or shameless ripoff? That's the question Gauntlet fans will ask them-selves upon loading Monolith's new fantasy action game, Get Medieval. It's a beautiful re-creation and update of Atari's classic coin-op, but at the same time, well...Monolith needs ideas--badly.

From the opening cinema, however, you'll realize this is not your father's hack-n-slash adventure. It's a hilarious Mystery Science Theatre 3000-style send-up of sword-and-sorcery games, complete with snarky commentary by the game's four characters: Zared the Barbarian (a dead ringer for Ah-nold); Levina, the evil, oversexed sorceress; Kellina (rhymes with Xena), a feminist warrior; and Eryc, the egotistical Robin Hood-hating archer. Throughout the game, you'll hear them spout off--boasting about their skills, yelling "What are you-- blind?" to attacking bats, and kvetching an exasperated "Who keeps putting these switches on the floor?"--and you can't help but snicker.

But beyond the cool character development, Get Medieval uses Gauntlet's gameplay, with added spit and polish--you run around 40 maze-style levels from an overhead view, slay beasties, open chests, collect power-ups, and kill, kill, kill. Up to four players can quest together on the same screen (with responsive and highly configurable controls) or go the network route. The hi-res graphics, majestic soundtrack, random dungeons, and downloadable level editor offer further proof that this is classic gameplay with a modern touch.

Since there is no official home version of Gauntlet for the PC, Get Medieval should be welcomed with open arms. It's derivative fun, but fun nonetheless, packed with tons more style and humor than Gauntlet ever had.