Sony Online Entertainment sure has proven it knows what it takes to create sublime dungeon crawling, hack-n-slash action-RPGs over recent years, especially with its relatively new yet quickly blossoming Untold Legends franchise. Despite mostly lackluster press recognition and some obvious flaws, the first game in the series and a PSP launch title, Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade, has gone on to become one of the most popular and best selling games for the powerhouse of a handheld, clearly paving the way for the series to continue on towards a bright and prosperous future in the industry. To no surprise, that promise has come to full fruition, with both the announcement of Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom as an upcoming PlayStation 3 launch title and the new release of Untold Legends: The Warrior's Code for the PSP to prove it. I am completely up in arms with anticipation for Dark Kingdom, and if you want to find out what lies in store for this excellent looking title, check out our two-part interview with the game's Producer, Andy Sites. However, the focus right now is on the impressive and much improved showing that The Warrior's Code brings to the PSP as the second game in the series.

Though Warrior's Code is the follow-up to Brotherhood of the Blade, it doesn't tie directly into its predecessor, instead introducing an epic new storyline to unearth. While Brotherhood was a solid all-around hack-n-slash, there's no denying that its story and presentation were severely lacking, as the developers mainly dedicated their time and efforts to other areas of the game. However, SOE has changed all that with Warrior's Code, by instilling a far greater focus on storytelling - and that's nothing but grand news for fans and newcomers alike. Although the story still doesn't break the mold of typical fantasy-RPG plot conventions, telling the tale of a Changeling hero (who you play) going up against an evil warlord who has invaded the city of Koryn Thal and enslaved the kingdom with his army of dark minions, it is actually quite compelling for a hack-n-slash title, on a portable platform no less. What has improved, and monumentally so at that, is the story's presentation; featuring animated, hand-drawn cinematics, beautiful artwork, in-game cut-scenes, solid voice acting for all dialogue and an orchestral musical score (no more crummy MIDI-sounding tunes here, folks!), Warrior's Code takes on even more of a console action-RPG style and quality.

Also improved is the game's in-game graphics and audio. A colorful and unique new art direction distinguishes Warrior's Code from the usual hack-n-slash RPG fodder, bringing along more detailed and better animated character models, sparklingly boosted particle and lighting effects, and environments that stand out more thanks to the elimination of the random level generator and the inclusion of greater environmental interactivity by way of more objects to smash (though there still aren't a whole lot of crates and barrels to crack open). Along with the jazzed up visuals, fans of the original game should be happy to know that the long load times are now a thing of the past, as Warrior's Code features substantially speedier level and menu transitions, proving that SOE's grasp of how to get the best performance out of the PSP hardware has come a long way since their initial effort. On a slight downside, there are still noticeable smidges of frame rate dips during the most visually active moments, but thankfully these occurrences are few and far between.

In addition to the audio improvements I've already mentioned, the sound effects, as far as dungeon ambiance and the plethora of combat clinks and clangs go, are exceptionally satisfying, as is needed in any good hack-n-slash. What's alarming is how much better the game sounds when using headphones; I'm not sure what it is, but when played with headphones there are subtle audio effects, most specifically quiet background ambiance, that is virtually unnoticeable when heard through the PSP's speakers, but are integral parts to getting the full brunt of the Warrior's Code experience.

Before beginning the long trek through the game's hefty five-chapter, twenty-hour single-player campaign, you'll first need to choose your champion, and in Warrior's Code the class choice has been bumped up from four to five, all of which are completely new. The selection consists of the Guardian, Mercenary, Disciple, Scout and Prowler, but despite the fancier monikers you're still just choosing whether you want to be a melee fighter, ranged specialist or magic user. From there you get to pick out skin tones and hairstyles, but unfortunately the character customization options are extremely limited. I know the game is more about customizing your hero based on the countless weapon and armor pieces there are to buy and collect, but I still think it'd be a huge benefit if more character personalization options were available.

If you've played Brotherhood of the Blade, or any other hack-n-slash title of this ilk (Champions of Norrath, Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance, X-Men Legends), you'll know exactly what to expect from Warrior's Code; the gameplay is all about long, sometimes labyrinthine dungeon crawls, lots and lots of monster slaying and compulsive treasure collecting - and in these areas the Untold Legends formula still excels. The controls are more intuitive than before, with expanded skill hot-keying, a better mini-map and streamlined quest, journal and inventory systems. About the only thing requiring any acclamation process whatsoever is the left shoulder shift system that makes up for the fewer buttons of the PSP - it's still a little tricky to adapt to if you're used to console controls.

The combat hasn't strayed away from the addictive mold from which it was cut, but SOE has spruced up the combat engine with some intriguing new features that generally do make for a more compelling monster-slaying good time. Newly introduced are powerful Charge Attacks, special Attacks of Opportunity that enable you to take advantage of venerable enemies in three different ways, and the ability for each character to transform into their own unique Changeling form for a short duration, after absorbing enough essence from dead foes. The developers also went a step further by incorporating more quest variety on top of the usual item fetching and boss slaying; this time around you'll work with AI teammates quite a bit and solve environmental puzzles, both of which are commendable upgrades (although some of the escort missions can be nagging).

While these additions make for a deeper offering of battle tactics, the game still boils down to copious amounts of X-button mashing, because, honestly, this game really isn't ever as challenging as I would have liked, and that's my only serious gripe with Warrior's Code either. The last few chapters ramp up nicely to keep you on your toes, and the bosses are normally a good test of endurance, but most of the time there's not much necessity in using any of the special attacks or skills, unless you feel like doing so. Simply storming through stages tapping the X button and nothing else will get you by without any sizeable threat, as the enemy AI, although improved, never really does anything more than charge at you full steam or run around you to avoid damage. When you go through the entire game only blocking five times total like I did (various stats such as this are tracked), you know something's amiss. It's still a hell of a lot of fun nonetheless, but a more prominent test of skill would've vaulted Warrior's Code much higher on my list of PSP favorites.

Lastly, and what is assuredly the most important of all of the strides to improvement in fans' minds, is the upgraded multiplayer package. Now featuring Infrastructure support for full-fledged online play, along with Ad Hoc and LAN play, Warrior's Code is sure to rise up the ranks as one of the PSP's most compelling multiplayer experiences. Players can take their created character online to pair with one other person in co-op play through the game's story campaign, or join three others in a deep selection of competitive player-versus-player bouts, including modes like Hunter, Frenzy, Gold Rush, Survive!, Robber, Miser and Capture the Flag, which run the gamut from typical deathmatches and last man standing challenges to games of keep away and treasure hunting (many of these molds feature team-based variants as well). Needless to say, if you have a wireless connection and a copy of Warrior's Code, you'll be in portable hack-n-slash heaven whenever you log on.

Untold Legends: The Warrior's Code is a superior game to the original in every regard, impressively evolving the series further onward before the series truly takes flight in the next-gen era on the PS3 later this year. There are still a couple of flaws and the game doesn't take any groundbreaking strides forward, but in remaining true to the addictive simplicity of the genre and providing just enough new tweaks and additions to the time-tested formula, Warrior's Code finds itself a lofty spot in my diehard hack-n-slash heart, and I guarantee that it will do the same for any action-RPG fan.

Reviewed by Matt Litten for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).