The best way to describe this game is "forgotten gem".
Even before the reboot everyone, even the developers, was too fast to shove it under the rug as the "stupid, immature game", but it's much more than that.
The combat, while it appears simple, hides a layer of depth, thanks to the fantastic grab system. Bring a Minotaur to the air and chain throw him, grab a soldier and use it as a projectile to hit other enemies or use your kit in a clever way to "ring out" foes.
All of this while exploring an incredibly well designed set of levels with superb pacing, with a game designer that seems to perfectly know when to put you against a gauntlet or make you cool down with a puzzle or a set piece. Setpieces that work well because they never strip you of control, and even when deviating from the standard combat, having you scale a wall or climb a rope, they still reinforce the fundamentals of its design.
The way the game lends itself to challenge runs, mainly no upgrade runs, wraps everything up.
The game definitely has its problems, first of all the uninspired bosses and some underwater sections, but I urge you to rediscover this forgotten classic, you will discover that it goes way beyond it's "square, square, triangle" infamy.
Even before the reboot everyone, even the developers, was too fast to shove it under the rug as the "stupid, immature game", but it's much more than that.
The combat, while it appears simple, hides a layer of depth, thanks to the fantastic grab system. Bring a Minotaur to the air and chain throw him, grab a soldier and use it as a projectile to hit other enemies or use your kit in a clever way to "ring out" foes.
All of this while exploring an incredibly well designed set of levels with superb pacing, with a game designer that seems to perfectly know when to put you against a gauntlet or make you cool down with a puzzle or a set piece. Setpieces that work well because they never strip you of control, and even when deviating from the standard combat, having you scale a wall or climb a rope, they still reinforce the fundamentals of its design.
The way the game lends itself to challenge runs, mainly no upgrade runs, wraps everything up.
The game definitely has its problems, first of all the uninspired bosses and some underwater sections, but I urge you to rediscover this forgotten classic, you will discover that it goes way beyond it's "square, square, triangle" infamy.