Death By Degrees, Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero and Mortal Kombat: Special Forces are failed attempts at taking a popular fighting game and trying to do something more. The latest try from Namco Bandai, Soul Calibur Legends, fares much better than those games, but it's not nearly as exciting as its fighting counterparts.

In Legends, you initially control Siegfried, who seeks out the power of the Soul Blade to save a doomed kingdom. He sets out on a journey that adds members to his group, including the voluptuous (and dangerous) Ivy, the swift Taki and several others. You start out only playing as one character, but as the game continues, you add a second member to your party, switching off between the two at any time. This is useful, particularly if one character runs low on energy without a chance to refill it.

Never mind the story. It's pure backwash, a flaccid tie-in to the stronger story elements from previous Soul Calibur games. Your job here is to travel from room to room, clearing the bad guys dwelling inside it and moving on. This is one of Legends' biggest flaws, as very little happens to stir up the in-game action. On occasion, you'll run into a tricky platforming segment, along with a spectacular boss fight or two. Outside of that, you beat up the same groups of baddies, solving sporadic puzzles and repeating the process throughout the game.

That's sad, as the gameplay holds a great deal of promise. You attack using the Wii remote, swinging it different ways to execute combo attacks. You can also jerk the Nunchuk around for evasive maneuvers, which works well against combo heavy enemies. The lock-on system could've used more efficiency, as sometimes it's hard to switch between targets during a fight. Past that, though, the controls are solid, even if the mundane rhythm of Legends' design isn't.