Well now, here's a game I haven't heard from in a while. Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom was a launch title, after all. And for some news to come surfacing about this game comes at a pleasant surprise. Turns out that one of its trailers just won an award today.

The award was received by Brain Zoo Studios, the guys responsible for putting the trailer together for the developers of the game, Sony Online Entertainment (SOE). The trailer they launched last year was recognized for "Best F/X: Entertainment" and won a platinum Aurora Award. For Brain Zoo, this is their fourth Aurora Award for F/X and animation.

Now just in case some of you've missed the said trailer (or are just too lazy click on the hyperlink in the previous paragraph), we've included a YouTube embed of the award-winner below:

Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) is getting ready to release Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom in Japan through Spike Company Limited. The title is slated for a Japanese release this month, and Spike will be responsible for the marketing, sales, and distribution of the title throughout the region.

"Spike has a successful track record of publishing games in Japan, and we are pleased to be collaborating with them as we bring the next generation of the Untold Legends franchise to Japan," said John Needham, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, SOE. "Based on the positive response that Dark Kingdom received at Tokyo Gaming Show last year, we are confident that it will be a good fit in this market."

Spike CEO Mitsutoshi Sakurai waxed poetic about the licensing and distribution deal. "It is an honor to publish Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom in Japan," he said. "We hope that this will be the start of a strong and mutually beneficial relationship between our companies."

Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom features a heady mix of sword and sorcery action, with an epic storyline by renowned fantasy author Keith Baker. To learn more about the game, check out our QJ review.

And so, Sony Online Entertainment and Electronic Arts are once again prepping up one of the PS3's launch titles, Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom, as the game is still set to make its European debut alongside the console that it will be running on.

Among the latest batch of assets which the publishers and developers have graciously given us would be the fact sheet for the European version of the game, as well as the UK box art, and a set of screenshots for those who wish to check out what this game has got to offer. As taken from the fact sheet, the game will be priced at € 69.99, and is rated 16+ by the PEGI, 16+ by the USK and 15 by the BBFC.

In Untold Legends Dark Kingdom, players will have to battle an entire host of creatures and characters in the quest to restore peace in a kingdom which has been corrupted by dark magic. Players can either go solo, in co-op mode, or with their friends as the game has a full range of multiplayer support.

So, as we wait for the PS3 to finally make its way to European shores, here's some screenshots to peruse.

More screenshots and the UK boxart right after the Jump!

It was just recently when we reviewed Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom from SOE. While some of you mentioned that we are being generous with the game's rating, we still think that it deserves some attention. If only for Zala, we guess we'd always give that game a double take.

Anyway, it suddenly hit us that the game is still not out in Europe and other PAL territories. This announcement then from Electronic Arts comes rather timely. According to the giant developer and publisher, they recently signed an agreement with SOE to publish the game for Europe. Likewise, it seems that Sony has given its full trust to EA. According to SOE Senior Global Brand Manager Christopher E. Sturr:

We are looking forward to working with EA to extend the Untold Legends franchise throughout Europe with the launch of Dark Kingdom on the PlayStation 3 system. Gamers across the continent will be able to immerse themselves into this action-filled, next-gen RPG.

It looks like the pieces for a successful PS3 launch in Europe are finally falling to the right places. In the end, it's turning out that the PS3 isn't a big boo-boo at all; Sony just needed some more time to polish its campaign. Now that our beloved company is moving like a well-oiled machine, it wouldn't be a surprise if it leaves competition baffled and surprised.

While mostly everyone's in an R:FoM boot-strapping mission, I decided to take the road less travelled and pick up SoE's Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom. Yeah, we know it's one of the more un-hyped (some would even say the black sheep) among its generation of PS3 titles, but knowing that its previous PSP installments made a bit of ruckus in the scene, this third title in the series was worth a shot.

Besides, it's been a while since I got my fidgety hands on a hack-and-slash game, and the way I see it, these kinds of games are built like being able to ride a bicycle - once you've learned how to play this kind of game, there's no need for you to re-learn it. It's almost like a pick-up-and-play, but with a lot more frills on the side. It's an action-RPG, after all, so I was really expecting all the levelling up and equipment, menus and spells, save points and bosses.

Just a quick rundown of how the game fared:

Graphics: 6/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Controls: 8/10
Sound: 8/10
Fun Factor: 8/10

Total: 38/50 = 76%

So, on to the fray! More about sliding cut-outs, bullet-time sequences, pseudo-Rumble features, and a billowing cape! Click the "Full Article" link and let the legend be told! We review the graphics, gameplay, controls, and sound, all behind the jump!

Game music is something that never goes away. From the memorable Aeris Theme in Final Fantasy VII to the insane opening music for the Katamari Damacy games, music helps to define the game you play and the emotions you feel while playing in subtle, entertaining ways.

That's why it was an interesting surprise to hear about the soundtrack for Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom. Laura Karpman, musical composer for EverQuest II's soundtrack and Steven Spielberg's "Taken" miniseries, helmed the production of this game's score.

Karpman even decided to take an interesting reference for their game. The game's score features lyrics adapted from a piece of medieval poetry and performed by the FilmHarmonic Orchestra and Choir. Better still, the poem used was "William Wallace", the source of the Braveheart legend that spawned a movie and a lot of melee battles featuring huge swords and men in kilts. Talk about an action piece with a heroic score.

Of course, we're hoping our PS3 game would get shipped to us already so we can play the game. Better still, someone can play the game while the rest of us close our eyes and listen to some hero music, imagining ourselves running into battle with a giant hammer. Sweet. Now, if only Sony would come out with a soundtrack for sale.

If you're a fan of the genre, then you'll like this game. If you're not, then you'll be skeptical. So let's go over some of this skepticism before we get to the videos of SOE's Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom.

The first video proves that the graphics are simple. Ah, yes. What most next-gen fanboys look at first. The graphics. Yes, the graphics are simpler than something you'd expect from a PS3 game ("It looks like a PS1 game ported to the PS3," says some people). But if the first thing you look at in an RPG is not story, roles, gameplay or whatever - if the only thing you consider is graphics - then RPGs probably aren't for you anyway. This is what a classic RPG like Diablo or Neverwinter Nights should have been - of course we didn't have the technology back then.

The second video shows that this is RPG hack-and-slash like it's never been done before. The pace and speed of the action is nice. Watch the second video (the multiplayer trailer). We like it. We like how the cape flows. We like how responsive the camera is.

Some valid complaints. They could have gotten better voice actors or better-written dialogue. Some of these people sound like they're embarrassed to say their lines. Although it's possible it's not the game that's at fault. It could just be a poorly-made trailer - you know how trailers take what is a dramatic line in the context of the story, but when taken out of context in a trailer, it just sounds silly and melodramatic.



We hid the first video behind the jump. Just click on the Full Article link below to see it.

SOE gladly announced today that the hack and slash RPG Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom already went gold. The master copy of the game has been completed and is now being readied for mass production. It will then be later shipped to various retail stores all around the country within the launch window of the PlayStation 3.

With this developments, we are quite sure fans won't tolerate any more delays. The game is one of the mostly anticipated launch titles, along probably with Lair and Warhawk. Aside from classic monster slaying and tyrant king deposing, the game will feature a well-thought character progression as well as a co-operative online gameplay. Add these then to special effects, magic spells, graphics and storyline, and you have a rock solid title.

That's it for now for Untold Legends. As far as the characters go, we're kind of excited playing as Zala. We, here, are like silly, little boys with a silly, little crush. But that's just us. Oh well, ciao!

Okay, so you want some clear-cut definition of how the Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom's online system really works? Here's what we found out. The game's online co-op feature will definitely be using the PlayStation Network. So if you want to play with your buddies from across the country, you'd obviously have to sign up for it. Prior to this confirmation, it was all very speculative as to whether or not the game would be using the propriety online services of SCE, along with the Xfire software, or if Xfire, by itself, will power it.

And what is the Xfire exactly, you might want to know? It is actually a bonus addition to the current set-up of the PlayStation Network. What it does is to allow you to create your friends list separately from the default SCE-buddy list. So there you go. However, if you'd want to test it out, you might want to wait until a little later, because supposedly, the PS3 test units have their network compatibility features turned off for now.

Anyway, while we're at it, check out these new screens.

  

Out with the chauvinistic ideals of male aggression and female docility, because contrary to what most people think, women DO have testosterone in their system. And again, contrary to popular belief, it's not testosterone that increases aggression, in fact it's the other way around. So what do all these hormone lessons have to do with Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom?

See the woman in the image above? That's Zala, our twin swords-yielding, ass-kicking, hacking and-a slashing femme fatale whose role you can take on in Dark Kingdom. But, as things always go, men inevitably come into the picture and won't let themselves be left out. So, the other characters you can take the role of are hammer-wielding Golan Zor and the arcane-slinging mage Malakesh.

All three characters offer their own unique skills and abilities that you can use in this action hack and slash RPG. And to give you a glimpse of the three in action before the game comes out on November 11, check out these screens we have for you today. We will be keeping you guys posted on anything and everything about Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom, so make sure you check back with us for updates. Now, on to the screens!

Pre-order: [Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom]