Publisher: THQ
Developer: Valusoft
System: PC
Minimum Requirements: Pentium 4 2.0 GHz or equivalent; 1024 MB RAM; 256 MB video memory; 5 GB hard drive space; Windows XP/Vista
Genre: Action RPG
Release date: Available now
Review by: Andrew Clark

The Diablo series left a massive footprint in the mud when it stepped onto PCs all those years ago, effectively setting the standard for all like games to come. The Blizzard chasm stood as a warning that said “Trespass carefully; you are in our territory now.” That didn’t deter the likes of Sacred, Divine Divinity or Dungeon Siege, who bravely dove into the pit, helping to fill the depths closer to the surface. Master Creating, a German developer, thinks it’s also time to do a cannonball into Blizzard’s pre-made game trap. Maybe after all of this imitation it has become easier to make a successful hack and slash loot fest? That is, until the all-consuming Diablo III hits the shelves, right?

In Legend: Hand of God, the hero, Targon is a recruit member of the Order of the Holy Flame, a society tasked with protecting, what else? The Holy Flame. This guarded blaze acts as a stopper for a portal to a demonic world, one which had invaded in the past with catastrophic consequences. If the fire goes out, the demons invade again. Coincidentally, did it just get darker in here?

Targon was just getting his flame keepers license when it was abruptly extinguished, allowing the portal to spew forth a front of nasty demons. Although he rushed to help his comrades, the invaders cornered Targon on a bridge, burning it right out from under his feet and sending him into the chasm below. He awoke hours later on a river shoreline, beckoned awake by the squeaky voiced Luna, a friendly light elf. The two trekked back to the monastery where the flame was kept, and were met with the horror that the portal-fed army had unleashed upon the Order.

Legend: Hand of God puts you in the role of Targon and his quest to recover lost pieces of an artifact called “The Hand of God”, which is said to hold the ability to restore the flame and quell the demons. Joined by Luna, who acts not only as sidekick, but cursor and light source, the player must travel through woodlands, plod over snow capped peaks and muck around in randomly generated dungeons to locate the parted parts of the hand. The usual compliment of beasts, bad guys, goblins, trolls and other fantasy fare will attack you along the way, but the promise of “ye olde phatty lewt” is also here, offsetting the battle and allowing for better equipment and the all-important potion regimen.