Wow. Simply put, I think Untold Legends: The Warrior's Code is the best looking game on PSP. If you want to travel back in time and make the proud, new owner of a PS2 hang his head and cry, take your PSP and a copy of this game. Portable, looking this good? I really marvel at how far we have come. I also reel at the thought of a sequel being...well, a quality production? But it is! Just goes to show that quality sequels aren't limited to Lethal Weapon movies.

Everything in The Warrior's Code looks good. The cut scenes are nice, as are the story cinematics played out in the game's engine. What blew me away was the level of detail in the little things throughout the game. Walking through water sends ripples across the surface... Water falling down from above sprays into a thousand particles... Just equipping items, especially magical items, can create different visual effects in the game. I loved seeing how different equipment looked on my character, and while some might complain that the view on the field of battle is a little far away, it's a tradeoff for being able to see more of your surroundings.

Orchestral strings and rousing music that would fit well into any movie starring Russell Crowe in a toga, and great sound effects during battle from monsters and your character are what you'll find here. I definitely reached for the volume dial on those monster/character sounds, but the music never got old. The Warrior's Code is immersive, and part of the way you'll be sucked into things is through the great soundtrack and "What's around the corner?" visuals.

Untold Legends: The Warrior's Code is a hack-and-slash RPG that shares many features with the original Untold Legends installment on PSP. Players who found the first game lacking in depth, but who wanted an action-packed RPG, will appreciate all the new additions. What instantly makes The Warrior's Code more playable is the improved look. A larger selection of character classes and deeper options for customization make this a superior game in every way. The storyline is interesting, and follows outcasts from a broken society as they attempt to overturn an awful dictator. Both in conversations with NPCs and through in-game cinematics, the story plays out and you discover your place among the conflict that is building.

After choosing one of the five character classes, you start customizing to your heart's content. Typical of most RPGs is the selection of character attributes and assignment of spells. During the course of the game, your character will level up and buff attributes as well as adding great equipment and stronger spells. Unlike typical RPGs, there is an element of magic behind every character class. After gathering the "essence" of defeated enemies (a la Soul Reaver), it is possible to morph into beast form and go on a rampage. Other magic ability is customized by selectively upgrading, and allows for each player to create a character that is unique. It's hard to beat the replay value, also.

If the single-player dungeon grind isn't your cup of tea, The Warrior's Code features an amazingly comprehensive suite of multiplayer options. Because too few games feature a really full-blooded online mode, I wasn't sure what to expect. Logging in through a wireless access point, you can join games online, which ensures that fans of the game can keep playing long after the challenge is gone in the offline game. I liked the co-op campaign mode online, but the 4-player battles were awesome as well. The lobby of the online space is well designed, and it's easy to see who is joining a game and the parameters of each game. It's ridiculously easy to host a game, and there seem to be lots of people playing The Warrior's Code online, which is a good sign.

The curve is fairly flat for difficulty in Untold Legends: The Warrior's Code, which was a common complaint in the first game. Because turn-based battles in RPGs tend to have more strategic depth, it's easy to disparage the real-time fighting in a game like this. What I see is a system for gradually improving each character's stats while keeping the level of challenge flat enough to reach even casual gamers. Because battles can be avoided in some cases, and also because there are plenty of opportunities to use healing potions or spells, fighting doesn't quite rise to the fore as it should. Controls may be part of the problem, since button mashing takes you a long way in The Warrior's Code.

Keeping track of the buttons where you've mapped special attacks is difficult. The ability to customize controls is welcome, but remembering what everything does is a pain. I would have liked to have seen leveling special attacks be an easier process, but then to limit special attacks to one or two per round, so that controls would be consistent. The reason the strategy that is here works is that having multiple attacks helps adjust to different styles of play or different enemies. The enemy A.I. is good, and at the same time, you have to travel a ways to find worthwhile opponents. If you go online, you'll find plenty of challenge, from characters 30-40 levels ahead of you and ready to taste blood.

To help create stronger characters, there is a nice merchant early on in the game who sells progressively better items. You also find material as it drops in the dungeon, split between items you can use and those you can sell. A system that reminded me of the "materia" from Final Fantasy 8 allows you to choose gems with special qualities that you add to open slots on weapons. There are also "runes" that are equipped like anything else, and add status effects, bonuses, or handicaps. Leveling seems quick, but distributing points may seem a bit cryptic to RPG newcomers. Especially because these character classes aren't the usual suspects. The character you build is the character you take online, so putting some thought into your build pays off once you're in the arena. The battle modes in multiplayer aren't all the same, with different objectives like holding onto treasure longest, and the perennial "Capture the Flag" game. The Warrior's Code also supports ad hoc multiplayer, with networked PSP's that aren't connected to the internet. Either way, there's huge replay in these multiplayer modes.

I can't imagine a better hack-and-slash RPG on PSP than Warrior's Code, but I'm sure there are more good titles on the way. Players who tried the first game need to come back for the new features and gameplay aspects. The people who respond to a good RPG will love the story, but may end up with more action than they want. In the middle are people like me who love RPGs and also support experimentation with the form. The Warrior's Code lays down a huge gauntlet for the next game in the mix, and all I can say is that I wouldn't want to follow this act!