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Ancient Rome, AD 106. Warrior Slave, and Gladiator champion
Thrax must challenge fierce warriors and wayward gods of terror
to a fight to the death in order to win his freedom. The
Roman Empire is in terrible decline. After the untimely death
of the much-loved Emperor Trajan, the despotic Emperor Arruntius
has bled the once powerful Rome to its knees. Arruntius has
destroyed large portions of the city of Rome to create the
battleground for the bloodiest gladiator event ever staged.
This is your chance to win glory for yourself in the arena
of Rome...
Ridley
Scott's movie Gladiator is obviously the inspiration
behind Acclaim's latest offering. Gladiator: Sword of Vengeance
takes several elements of the movie - not least being the
death of the great Emperor who would have given Thrax his
freedom if he hadn't died. His replacement despises Thrax
and want's to see him dead - for reasons not made perfectly
clear. Also there is, like the movie, a otherworldly scene
where our hero is in a cornfield. The graphics in this sequence
are truly amazing - with the wind blowing the corn in a realistic
fashion.
Ray
Harryhausen might be interested to learn that his animated
skeletons', from Jason and the Argonauts, live again.
While these pixelated versions are not quite as menacing as
the originals, they look fairly impressive.
There
are many flaws in the game. Firstly the fixed camera angles
are annoying and it is sometimes difficult to work out in
which direction you are going. While you can't change the
angle, you can zoom in and out. The choice of combat moves
is limited. It's simply a question of hitting the two combat
buttons repeatedly and ducking out of the enemies way - if
you feel like it. And occasionally you can, when the enemies
health level is low enough, perform a savage death blow -
slicing your poor victim up like meat at a butcher's.
As
you progress through the levels, you get the choice to change
your weapons and fine tune your combat skills.
If
you are after blood, guts and beautiful scenery then you'll
lap this up. But, if you want a little more from your gameplay
you would be best to look elsewhere.
Mindless
fun - nothing more, nothing less.
Nick
Smithson
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