Legion began development back in 1999, before the release of the PlayStation 2. The developers at 7-Studios planned on including such welcome features as multi-player modes and completely developed role-playing elements. Three long years later, these plans have been scrapped and sent to the place where good intentions go to wonder "what if."

L:LoE's main strength is its setting. As one might guess from the title, the game takes place in the time of Camelot, calling forth memories of the stories of Merlin, Guinevere, Percival, and, of course, Arthur. Thankfully, all of these legendary figures are present in the game, and the player gets the privilege of controlling Arthur. The object of Arthur's quest is to stop his murderous sister, Morgan le Fay, from taking over the kingdom after the killing of their father, King Uther.

Arthur's adventures span thirteen missions, complete with high quality cut scenes. These missions run the gamut of possibilities, from attacking to defending to escorting. Each mission contains two sets of objectives, primary and secondary. In order to pass the level, all primary objectives must be completed. The secondary goals are optional and potentially add replay value for a second play-through.

Legion's gameplay is interesting in that it is a dungeon crawler with combination attacks. Once the player acquires a sense of timing for the sword swings, it is possible to combine multiple attacks into a powerful combo. Where the gameplay falls apart is in the character switching. As Arthur progresses along the path of his destiny, he begins to pick up allies, complete with their own battalions. The player can control up to four of these characters at once, turning the game from a Gauntlet-style hack-a-thon into a haphazardly executed real-time strategy game with some of the worst AI ever pressed to a disc. Players will soon find themselves switching back-and-forth between groups, trying to figure out why some troops are doing what they are doing. Apparently, Arhtur's allies are not the best leaders, because their troops seem to listen only when convenient. Picture Command and Conquer with a couple of your tanks on an AWOL joy ride, and you have a good idea what you'll see here.

The quality of Legion's aesthetics are, at best, on par with its play mechanics. One look at the in-game graphics will remove any doubt that the game began development back in the twentieth century. In fact, Legion could almost pass for a PSone game with the PlayStation 2's texture smoothing turned on, if not for the lighting effects. Considering some of its competition, like Baldur's Gate, this level of visual failure is unacceptable. The game's sounds are not as repugnant as its graphics. In fact, they are so forgettable that they leave no impression whatsoever.

Legion: The Legend of Excalibur is a bucket full of good ideas that each went south in its own way. Combination attacks, multiple playable characters, and the backdrop of Camelot would seem to pave the way for success. However, it seems as though the developers' ambition outweighed their attention to detail, dooming the game to be less than the sum of its parts. What players are left with is a game that at a high level feels like spinning around in circles. They won't know what they are, everything will be blurry, and sounds will be distorted. The end result in spinning and in playing Legion for too long is the same: nausea.

· · · Yoshi