The original Untold Legends game showed a lot of promise but ultimately failed to deliver an enjoyable and epic adventure, so I was a bit skeptical when I made an appointment with Sony Online Entertainment to play the sequel, The Warrior's Code. In fact, I wasn't all that excited about seeing the game, but now that I have a playable demo I can't put it down. Having adequate time to develop a truly immersive and rewarding fantasy experience, the developers have really done an excellent job crafting what'll no doubt become one of the PSP's best games, and if you've been complaining about the lack of quality adventure titles on the platform like I have, then you need to pull out the calendar and place a big red circle around this one's March 7th release date.

The primary reason why I'm so enamored with this game is because everything that plagues the original Untold Legends has been improved upon and new features have been added. For example, there's now a pretty solid story that revolves around an evil warlord that's taken over and corrupted a once peaceful city by slaughtering his half brother, who was the former king. Legend said that the warlord couldn't be killed, but a single strike landed by the king during their epic battle instilled the land with hope, so you play as one of five changelings that have the power to destroy this evil tyrant and restore order to the kingdom. Not the deepest of plots, but it's certainly a welcome change of pace from the almost nonexistent narrative in the prequel. Plus, SOE's added two different types of cut scenes, ones that use the in game engine and feature dialogue between characters, and these truly gorgeous paintings (still images and ones that feature light animation) that are complemented by well delivered voiceovers. The art work is just outstanding and really instills this game with a wonderful sense of class. It's so good, that no matter how cornball some of the dialogue may seem, I can't help but respect the job that the developers have done.

Another key improvement is the removal of ghosting. In the previous Untold Legends, all of the characters feature an ugly, blurry trail that follows them wherever they go, and in general, the game becomes distorted when things are moving about. But such is not the case in The Warrior's Code. Instead, the graphics are crisp and extremely clear. Actually, the graphics in general are quite impressive. The character models, various special attacks, and the diverse mix of environments feature interesting things to look at.

Upon booting up a New Game you're presented with the following five warriors to choose from, each featuring a distinct combat style, varying levels of speed, and different weapons:

Guardian: This guy's the all around great character. He's a big muscular type who brandishes a giant sword and shield. He's just returned to the battlefield after 18 years of doing god knows what, so he's eager to start lopping off heads.

Mercenary: A slender and attractive female that's a bit quicker than the Guardian but not as strong. But her dual sided poleaxe and saw blade launcher can take apart any foe.

Disciple: Clearly the Gimli of the group, this short and stocky fellow moves slower than anyone but his strength more than makes up for his lack of speed. In addition to his giant axe he's packing a shotgun.

Scout: Fast as hell and extremely cunning, the Scout cuts down her enemies with lightning speed. Twin daggers and a repeating crossbow are her toys of choice.

Prowler: This character looks like a total bad ass which is why I enjoy using him the most. An assassin, he's pretty quick though not as much as the Scout. But his dual blades and his cesta (he chucks a steel ball at ludicrous speeds) make him a cool guy to play as.