Tournament of Legends Eurogamer Review

[nuckles87]

I'm concerned over the negative reviews this game would get; so obviously I'm following all of them so I can figure out what I missed when I played it at E3.

With the way you worded that sentence, you make it sound like you didn't know how to judge the game for yourself. How much play time did you get with the game? I remember you writing that you'd be picking up the game yourself when it came out. Did it really blow you away that easily in the amount of time that you played it, or were you carrying too much E3 enthusiasm when you wrote that preview?



That aside, I must admit that the Nintendo Magazine review made the game sound so funny that I might not mind giving it a rental someday... so long as the rental doesn't cost me more than $3.

I played the game for about 45 minutes at E3 before writing the preview. Single player and multiplayer.

I never said it "blew me away". I was surprised that it was actually fun and unique, and had motion controls that worked effectively, and a decent enough move set and variety to be worth the price. If it where a $50 game I would have taken issue with the amount of content, but at $30 it seemed like it would be about right. From what I played I expected the games to get around 7s; the kind of score such a game would usually get. It was shallow, but it worked well for what it was. It certainly wasn't broken.

[MadeManG74]

Sega arent going to pay High Voltage to publish a game like this... I really don't think there was a lot of publishers competeing trying to pick it up but High Voltage NEEDS a publisher.

While yes Sega will pay for distribution marketing etc I think those are costs that are recovered pretty quickly... Pretty sure these kinds of deals work out in Segas favour.

Actually there were apparantly ten different publishers making offers to publish the game:

Really great news. The folks at High Voltage let me know yesterday that since our posting of The Conduit preview, 10 publishers have come calling to bring the game to Wii. I have to think that sooner or later they'll sign on with someone officially and we'll see the title on retail shelves as a result.

http://blogs.ign.com/Matt-IGN/2008/04/23/87599/

The fact is, Sega would absolutely need to pay for development costs in some way. Either through buying the rights to publish for an amount that covers development costs, or by sharing the profits they make with high voltage.

What you're suggesting sounds like High Voltage made the game on their own dime and then just forfeited the profits to SEGA. That's like if if you drew some illustrations and then just gave the rights away to a book publisher for no money. It just couldn't work that way.

But if you take a game like The Conduit that game was made almost completely on High Voltages money... they didn't have a publisher until last minuite.

I don't imagine Sega paying THEM to publish the game... Sega does not need a game like Tournament of Legends in their line up but High Voltage NEEDS a publisher because they can't do it alone.

If this game had a lot of publishers after the rights to publish then I think that only confirms that it's because it is a VERY sweet deal for the publisher money wise. Because I'm sure they could all tell it wasn't going to be an A grade game, thats not why 10 publishers were interested in this title.

I was talking about Conduit having ten publishers, not sure on ToL. The reason that Conduit had various publishers chasing it was because it was getting lots of positive coverage and looked to be a hit.

In any event, please explain what you think happened between Sega and High Voltage, because I'm not sure I get what you are saying. Video games are made by a Publisher paying a Developer to make the games for them, so they can sell them.

Are you saying that High Voltage Software made the game on their own dime, then just gave it away to Sega to take the profits?

If that's the case then surely HVS will be sharing any profits the game makes, AFTER Sega pays for the marketing and other associated costs of getting it to market. There is no doubt that Sega is outlaying money to get this game out there one way or the other.

[Sharky]

In any event, please explain what you think happened between Sega and High Voltage, because I'm not sure I get what you are saying. Video games are made by a Publisher paying a Developer to make the games for them, so they can sell them.

Are you saying that High Voltage Software made the game on their own dime, then just gave it away to Sega to take the profits?

If that's the case then surely HVS will be sharing any profits the game makes, AFTER Sega pays for the marketing and other associated costs of getting it to market. There is no doubt that Sega is outlaying money to get this game out there one way or the other.

High Voltage DID develope the game on their own dime. They had no publisher at all until right near the end of development.

Usually a publisher will contact a developer and fund the project from the Start but High Voltage were seens as a shovelware developer and no developer was going to contract them to make anything BUT rubbish. That is why they funded and created The Conduit on their own.

Yes when Sega stepped in they funded things like printing, cover art and all the stuff that publishers deal with and the profits were shared between them (like all publishing deals) but this was a very good deal for Sega because the development was already done.

I suspect Sega made a profit very quickly on The Conduit and will probably do so with ToL even if it doesn't sell too well.

[MadeManG74]

That's what I've been saying all along though. Sega still has to give part of the profits away (those profits will cover the development cost) to the developer after they've become the publisher.

Usually I believe that the publisher pays the developer in increments during the development process, whereas in this case Sega would be paying them afterwards by giving them a certain share of the income generated by the game. One way or the other though, High Voltage will be getting their money for the development paid back by Sega, even if it's through getting a share of the profits (unless the game bombs so badly it doesn't even cover the costs, but that's probably unlikely).

[Sharky]

You are missing the point here...  Sega did not and will not pay for the development of The Conduit and I suspect this game also.

Yes Sega will share the profits from these games with high voltage... but thats the same with any publisher and developer set up, both Sega and HVS will make a certain % on each game sold.

But as Sega only had to pay for things like printing, box art and such and didn't have to pay for the development of the title at all Sega will very quickly make back what they spent on the publishing side from their % of game sales while HVS might not make back the development costs as quick.

It's a good deal for Sega.

[MadeManG74]

No I get what you mean now, I think the phrasing was what set the confusion (It sounded like you were saying that Sega spends no money and keeps all the profits is all). Having said that, we don't know what the deal was and if Sega pays an advance on the royalties or not, but either way there is certainly less risk than Sega outlaying the money first.

It would be interesting to see what the percentage split is like for Sega/HVS though.

[nuckles87]

Joystiq's got a review up:

Tournament of Legends was originally conceived as Gladiator A.D., a fighter hinged on stylized gladiatorial combat. But the concept -- and, as it turns out, its potential -- was later scrapped in favor of the shallow SoulCalibur imitation we're now left with.

The real tragedy here isn't the lack of any real depth or character. No, the tragedy is how a seasoned developer managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of potential victory and turn what, at one point, appeared to be an inspired historically-influenced brawler into a forgettable mess.
Tournament of Legends (E3 2010)

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Shucking its former self, Tournament of Legends adopted a limited cast of mythical yet generic brawlers. The lone exception: a gladiator mired in the 10-character mix, the last vestige of the game's historic roots. Even the group's most interesting fighter, a steampunk golem called Volcanus, feels tired and uninteresting, indicative of the dearth of personality in the entire class. Lets just say assembling a cadre of weird and wooly brawlers from all corners to do battle for a nonsensical reason has been done better a few times before.

In Tournament of Legends, fighters pummel each other for their shot at battling Greek god Thanatos and claiming his power. And while this meager thread would be enough "narrative" for any fighting game, the handful of available moves ensure fights become laughably predictable long before you get a shot at the god of death.

Each fighter has a normal attack, launched by swinging the Wii Remote, as well as two distinct special moves (assigned to Wiimote buttons) that draw from a glowing gauge at the bottom of the screen. Once your arms tire, you'll also be happy to find that the game also supports the Classic Controller, which gives the game a more traditional -- if not more enjoyable -- feel.

In addition to your natural abilities, you'll also collect new special powers and weapons as you climb the ranks. But don't start thinking Tournament is channeling its inner Mega Man. Few of these collectables stand out as different from the next, making what initially comes across as another layer of depth just as shallow as the rest of the package.

    The handful of available moves ensure fights become laughably predictable long before you get a shot at the god of death.


When knocked out or between rounds you are given the opportunity to repair armor and health through "mini-games." I wouldn't describe the tedium of shaking the remote up and down or wiggling control sticks incessantly against the clock as "fun" by any standard. In fact, if these awkward exercises can be considered considered games -- "mini" or otherwise -- then I dare say I may have found myself invested in the wrong hobby.

The real crime here is that, technical foibles notwithstanding, High Voltage would have likely captured my interest far more easily with its original, historically-grounded vision. At least then this game could have potentially stood along fighters like Bushido Blade that, while flawed, attempted to forge new territory.

Instead, Tournament of Legends is mired in its own sameness with countless other "me too" brawlers riding on SoulCalibur's gilded coattails. It's been done before, and without even competent mechanics to lean upon, it seems fated to cross the River Styx into the Bargain Bin Underworld.

1.5 stars. Looks like the 7.0 reviews, and my own personal opinion of the E3 demo, are the outliers.

[MadeManG74]

I have to agree with one thing they said, I liked the realistic Roman Gladiator look a lot better than the fantasy thing they got going on now.

[Shigs]

Hmmmm... Nux, I think we should wait until we have the full game in our hands before writing up any kind of review. I think part of the reason we enjoyed the game at E3 and had very good first impression is because we fought together in a on-on-one match that was very close and had a fun, arcade feel to it. BUT, outside of that, I have no idea how well the full game during an extended period will be. I guess we'll find out later this week.

[crackdude]

no game with local multiplayer support should get less than 5/10. If the score is anywhere close of being based on fun, any game is fun with friends.

[Shigs]

I got the game. First impressions.....

This game is.....fun!! Very fun and comical. It doesn't take itself too seriously and is very tounge in cheek. Also, with the motion controls, it plays to the Wiis strengths instead of against them. Whoever gave it a 1.5 is batshit crazy!

It is a bit of a shallow fighter with only a dozen characters, so a $29.99 price tag is about right. Right now I'm playing as Marcus and he's real arrogant and funny. Also, he talks about each fighter differently each match so there's a fair amount of dialogue. It takes a wee bit of getting used to the basic attacks, but specials are very easy to pull off. Also, there are mini-game that may or may not happend in each arena depending on what you are doing. It's very fun and has an arcade quality to it. I really wish it was online though.

[Berto]

SEGA Talk #105: Tournament of Legends (2010)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q84dQXfVdBM

Today on SEGA Talk we discuss the Tournament of the not so Legends, as we discuss an overlooked High Voltage Software Wii exclusive fighting game.
Let’s have a look at the humble beginnings of the title to what it became and the fall out.
All this and more on SEGA Talk!

Link : https://segabits.com/blog/2022/10/11/sega-talk-105-tournament-of-legends-2010/