The Legend Lives!

Baf's Guide

Set in the same world as the Unnkulian series, but centuries later, in a world with computer networks, space travel, and the Akmi Corporation as the galaxy's major power. The protagonist is a graduate student who stumbles across a terrible secret: a computer virus that's taking over the net, and with it the world. Could this be the revenge of the ancient and forgotten Unnkulians? A richly detailed game, with lots of interactive gadgets to play with, but also an ambitious work of art, with some quite lyrical prose and an interesting combination of the silly and the serious. One major experiment is the use of lengthy sections of non-interactive text at key points in the plot, sort of like the cut-scenes and cartoons found in graphic adventures. Opinions about this vary. Adaptive hint system built into the game. Slow on some systems. Knowledge of the Unnkulian saga helps in understanding events; consider playing them first.

-- Carl Muckenhoupt

SPAG
[...] _Legend_ was not so highly anticipated just because it's another game in the popular Unnkulian series. It was billed as an experiment of sorts, an attempt to see if the interactive fiction medium can be used to do more than just provide entertaining puzzles -- to see if IF can be used to make a statement, convey a message, really get inside your head and make you think. In this, _Legend_ succeeds admirably. The emphasis here is clearly not on the puzzles (although there are plenty of those) but rather on the experience: the atmosphere, the writing, the message. (Molley the Mage)

The "create a world that'd be fun to explore" approach clearly rules here; the player is taken through a number of vastly different worlds -- from a computer centre to a rural backwater, from a crowded supermarket to jungle -- and yet, all of them feel like parts of a whole. Furthermore, the author cleverly uses the opportunities provided by the futuristic technologies (in particular, matter moving) to consequently continue the war against linearity he declared in Unnkulia 2. For instance, Legend can't be mapped out in principle -- only the separate areas of it, because you travel from one area to another via matter movers. (Valentine Kopteltsev)
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SynTax
The Legend Lives works, at one level, as an interesting and challenging adventure with some cracking puzzles, fluid writing and great dollops of humour. On a more serious note, however, it is a comment by the author (who is a Ph.D. candidate at the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory ) on the way in which technology affects our lives and how our future could be jeopardised through the misuse of science.
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Xyzzy News
The descriptions of many of the game locations are highly engrossing and impart a genuine atmospheric quality to that portion of the game. You'll get caught up in the shopping frenzy of the crowds at the Barfee outlet, the hackers' activity in the Data Den, and the hordes of smiling, benevolent Duhdists at Kuwl Starport. I was so disturbed by the descriptions of New Hell and the Watchmen I couldn't get out of that area fast enough. As you meet new characters, such as Jax O Pax or Timon Sketch, additional screensful of text appear that propel the narrative forward. You may frequently need to scroll up several screens to read or reread this prose, which is a minor annoyance. Literal-minded players who like to search or examine every object in a room will find themselves in for a looooonnnng game session.
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Home of the Underdogs
The Legend Lives! is a masterpiece in every sense of the word. The game broke new grounds in adding many "cinematic" scenes to the usually dry world of IF, and imbuing its characters with lifelike agenda and personality (although unfortunately many characters are left unexplained or not fleshed out-- perhaps intentionally to leave room for sequels). With a great story, a coherent, detailed gameworld, and many wry humor and abundance of sci-fi trinkets, The Legend Lives! is a must-have. Three thumbs up!
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