Gauntlet - Arcade Classic Reboot

Couchpotato · March 18, 2014

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announced today they will be releasing a modernized action RPG version of Gauntlet this summer on Steam for PC.

Reboot of Arcade Classic Is Lead Game in “WB Games Vault” Made-for-Digital Portfolio

BURBANK, Calif. — Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment today announced Gauntlet, a completely modernized action RPG version of the celebrated dungeon crawler, will be available this summer via Steam for PC, offering full support for SteamOS and the upcoming Steam Machines shipping the second half of this year. The game will lead the launch of WB Games Vault, a direct-to-digital portfolio that will deliver paid games based on popular Warner Bros. and Midway brands, plus original IP, across multiple digital networks.

“With Gauntlet we combined the arcade style of the original game with an entirely new look and feature set that includes emergent, local and online four-player gameplay,” said David Haddad, Senior Vice President, Digital Games, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “Gauntlet will be the first title in the WB Games Vault portfolio, which will provide us with an opportunity to access emerging talent within the game development community and match unique skills and experience with our extensive library of properties.”

Gauntlet, developed by Arrowhead Game Studios, innovates on past titles while staying true to the brand’s legendary format. Players select from four classic fantasy-based characters: Warrior, Wizard, Valkyrie, or Elf. Each character has its own unique strengths and weaknesses. For example, the Warrior does the most damage in melee combat, the Wizard has the most powerful magic, the Valkyrie has the most armor and the Elf moves the fastest. Distinctive play styles, procedural dungeons and an impressive art style keep the gameplay fresh.

“To us at Arrowhead, Gauntlet is one of the most defining games from our childhoods, and it’s amazing to be able to work with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment on a brand new version,” said Johan Pilestedt, CEO of Arrowhead Game Studios. “Gauntlet is one of the original and best known video game properties and we are looking forward to creating a fresh, yet true to the original, take on a multiplayer masterpiece.”

Upon selecting a playable character, the gameplay is set within dungeons where the object is to fight through the chambers slaying evil creatures and completing challenges. An assortment of special items can be located in each dungeon that can restore the player’s health, unlock doors, and shift the odds in the player’s favor with magical relics which can aid the player in surviving longer in the Gauntlet. The enemies are a vast assortment of fantasy-based monsters, including ghosts, grunts, demons, spiders, sorcerers and skeleton warriors.

More information.

rikus · March 18, 2014

for me, its amazing. i was just thinking of garrison the old amiga gauntlet game, and also "get medieval" which was a cheerful remake of gauntlet.

now there is only hoping they'll release a demo, because gameplay value isn't much of a factor with big companies.

JDR13 · March 18, 2014

I loved the arcade version of Gauntlet when I was a kid, but I don't see this being much more than a simplistic action game.

forgottenlor · March 18, 2014

I am sad to say I agree with JDR13. Gauntlet was an amazing game at its time. But everything Gauntlet did, Diablo and Dungeon Siege did better, not to mention Torchlight, Titan Quest, and many of their subsequent clones. Technology has evolved so much from the time of Gauntlet and I don't think it included any interesting elements which current isometric hack and slay games lack.

TheMadGamer · March 18, 2014

JDR13 said:
I loved the arcade version of Gauntlet when I was a kid, but I don't see this being much more than a simplistic action game.

The popularity of games like Fruit Ninja and Angry Birds have communicated one simple message to many devs/pubs out there… the masses WANT simplistic action games.

But to keep from being totally cynical, if this game has a great 'arcade' vibe to it, it still could offer some mindless fun… maybe…

rikus · March 19, 2014

forgottenlor said:
I am sad to say I agree with JDR13. Gauntlet was an amazing game at its time. But everything Gauntlet did, Diablo and Dungeon Siege did better, not to mention Torchlight, Titan Quest, and many of their subsequent clones. Technology has evolved so much from the time of Gauntlet and I don't think it included any interesting elements which current isometric hack and slay games lack.

not entirely so. here are a few pointers where it is different from the diablo genre-
first of all the fact that it was completely top down, and they are trying to be loyal to that.
second its more of a zombie game, where masses of enemies narrow down through a door and pour in while you manouver yourself. its more like a top down shooter avoiding those hords of alien spacecrafts. in diablo the action is much more slower.

third, its supposed to be, i don't kjnow what they are planning yet, much more simpler in gameplay. again-similar to a shooter, rather than diablo. meaning much less weight on skills per level. its a a game of manouvering and precision.

vurt · March 19, 2014

Absolutely hated it when i was a kid, even for its time i thought it was bad both graphically and gameplay wise (i played it on the C64, i think). Seems like most of my friends has the same experience with it.. Never understod its greatness and i've always considered it as the most overrated game ever created.

JDR13 · March 19, 2014

vurt said:
Absolutely hated it when i was a kid, even for its time i thought it was bad both graphically and gameplay wise (i played it on the C64, i think). Seems like most of my friends has the same experience with it.. Never understod its greatness and i've always considered it as the most overrated game ever created.

I probably would have hated it too if I had played it on a C64. All the ports of Gauntlet that I ever saw were vastly inferior to the arcade version.

vurt · March 20, 2014

I bet, arcade versions were always far superior, especially graphically.

DArtagnan · March 20, 2014

It will depend on execution. I could see it being pretty fun as a cooperative experience, if they do enough to freshen up the formula.

rikus · March 22, 2014

I guess I'm the only one who played an arcade conversion (mame32), and the cool amiga remake garrison 2.

and get medieval is an amazing gauntlet remake.

it was actually the first diablo game..

Pessimeister · March 23, 2014

I was never a huge fan of this series back in the day; but you can certainly see the echoes of the action and looting concepts in the likes of the mid period rogue-alikes and even Diablo.

I do recall having a jolly good time with my brother playing Gauntlet Legends on the Ps1 some years ago. The co-operative experience as DArt alludes, is definitely a big part of the charm of the game.

xSamhainx · March 25, 2014

slightly interested

Alrik Fassbauer · March 25, 2014

ChienAboyeur might like it.

Lucky Day · March 25, 2014

JDR13 said:
I probably would have hated it too if I had played it on a C64. All the ports of Gauntlet that I ever saw were vastly inferior to the arcade version.

I remember sitting around the NES with my friends playing that port. It was pretty good but it emphasized the problem of porting arcade games:

Without the need for quarters there wasn't enough challenge. A lot of "quarter sucker" type games (games you can't finish without continually paying for it) were that way.

CrazyIrish · March 26, 2014

I remember they had a machine at an arcade I frequented when I was but a tiny fella. It might have been Gauntlet 1 or 2, my memory fails. At the time (late 80s) I thought it was incredible. Of course it is funny how much time and age difference distort your perception of coolness.

xSamhainx · March 26, 2014

Gauntlet

ark Legacy for the xbox was pretty good, so far the lineage has been fairly decent for this game. I get good vibes from what Ive seen so far of this

blatantninja · March 28, 2014

JDR13 said:
I probably would have hated it too if I had played it on a C64. All the ports of Gauntlet that I ever saw were vastly inferior to the arcade version.

biggest disappointment of the 80s. You see some arcade game coming out on your home system, but it never was anywhere as good

xSamhainx · March 28, 2014

i recently scored the NES version, and sequel. I was wondering why they were so cheap, once i got home, cleaned them, and plugged them in, i saw what a truly awful old game looks like.

There's some NES games that really stand the test of time, the NES Gauntlet games appear to have sucked even back then!

JDR13 · March 29, 2014

xSamhainx said:
There's some NES games that really stand the test of time, the NES Gauntlet games appear to have sucked even back then!

It did… at least the one I played.(Pretty sure it was Gauntlet 1)

The only good thing about it was that, unlike the arcade version, the NES version actually had a final boss and an ending. I don't think the arcade versions had a final level… although I could be wrong about that.

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