Gladius
Score: 86% ESRB: Teen Publisher: LucasArts Developer: LucasArts Media: CD/1 Players: 1 - 2 Genre: Strategy/ RPG
Graphics & Sound: Gladius boasts a nice 3D atmosphere while keeping things solidly rooted in a mostly 2D world. The view of the world you get when traveling from location to location is nicely detailed with plenty of landmarks and distinctive regional looks. There are 4 different regions in all, each with a unique look to it. The arenas, on the other hand, are usually plain looking, with a sandy or rocky ground and a couple of boxes scattered around. There are exceptions, however, and these arenas will definitely leave a lasting impression with you after a fight. The sounds in the game aren't all that commanding of the ear, but are also not so poor as to ruin the experience. Better sounds of battle have been heard in the past, but worse will surely come in the future. The music takes much the same track, but makes up for some of its flaws when you travel to different regions. The sounds, like the visuals, are very distinctive and give the game completely different feels in different areas.
Gameplay: At first glance, Gladius seems like an homage to movies like Sparticus or Gladiator. However, there is no mention of Rome at all in the game, or the rest of the world for that matter. It takes place in a totally fantastical realm where different regions backgrounds are influenced by various historical areas. In this world you take the role of one of two main characters, each with a different story line. One, Valens, is from Imperia, the Roman-like country where his father was a premier gladiator until his untimely murder. The stories are well laid out, but not all too original as you can see. The other plot line follows the tale of a barbarian princess with strong ties to the magical gods that govern the lands. Either way you go, your task is to manage a gladiatorial school where you recruit new warriors and outfit them with the earnings you make in the games. Each of the four regions in the world have their own championship, and in order to even take a shot at that, you must first win the tournaments of all the local towns. The core element of Gladius is the gladiatorial fight. Every town you go to will be offering different fights you can partake in, each with its own requirements and prizes. To win these you must manage a well-balanced school of warriors, and then deploy them skillfully in combat. The more you win, the more you earn, and in turn the more you can buy. Gladius offers literally hundreds of these unique fights you can partake in, but not all of them have to be completed in order to win the tournaments. This is a good thing, as the fighting can become a little repetitive at times. There is a lot of variation in the fights, but occasionally completing these fights seems more like a chore.
Difficulty: The difficulty of Gladius is altered between the two main story lines. The girl's is easier than Valen's, but both have a slightly steep learning curve at the beginning of play. The hardest part is learning how to manage your team of gladiators, who to hire and from where. Most of all is deciding on which towns will be the easiest to defeat first. You can usually pick and choose in no particular order from the fights you want to tackle, but this is harder than it sounds. A lot of the beginning of the game will be trial and error before you can find out what you're capable of taking on.
Game Mechanics: Two main types of gaming encompass Gladius. The first and less prevalent of the two is the World mode where you run around in real-time from town to town. No fighting is done here, but you can get tangled up in random fights where the gameplay switches to its other motif, which is turn-based fighting. The turn based fighting is governed by an RPG system, much like others you've undoubtedly seen in the past. Plenty of stats and equipment will dictate how well your warriors will do in combat, as well as the stats and equipment of your foes. Leveling up in the game works much the same as other experience based systems. The personal flare that this game gives it is the ability to purchase new skills with job points that you get every time you level up. You'll never be able to buy every skill for all of your warriors, so this element takes some strategic planning as to which skills you will save up for and which you will forego for others. Gladius is a decent Strategy/RPG with a theme that is becoming more popular in the entertainment industry. Though it doesn't offer anything revolutionary, it is still a solid game with some very deep gameplay elements to it. If you're not a fan of turn-based combat, Gladius is not the game for you. However, if you're in the mood for something fresh in the RPG realm, it's definitely worth checking out.
-Snow Chainz, GameVortex Communications AKA Andrew Horwitz
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