Issue 1: Escaping Life
By Rascal Stallion

Gladius Review

Today, I am a gladiator.I roam my homeland, traveling from arena to arena. Accompanied by my band of fellow warriors, I will whip any man, woman or creature who dares to face me. My blades are swift and my vengeance is furious and I will not be deterred as I lead my school to a championship in the high tournaments.

What is it?
Gladius is a turn-based rpg that went mostly overlooked on the deluged XBOX market. It follows young warriors Valens’ and Ursula’s quest to lead a school of gladiators to glory. The path to the emperor’s High Tournaments is not a straight one and with every turn a new series of adventures awaits. Gladius features a very expansive group of recruitable characters as well as a seemingly limitless supply of gear with which to outfit them. Particularly enticing are the mystical affinity weapons that allow you to rain down devastating levels of destruction on your opponents. With every battle you gain experience points, which when enough have been accrued, you level up and gain (guess what?) level points that can be used to purchase superior fighting moves and abilities. Level up enough and you’ll feel like you could take on a T-1000 all by yourself.

Gladius features four distinctly flavored lands that must be conquered before you can advance to the next, each one home to its’ own indigenous creatures and fighting styles. Imperia is the center of the civilized world and is home to many warriors who bring to mind the gladiators of Rome’s past. Barbarians inhabit the Sloan Forest region while archers dominate the plains of the Windward Steppes. The harsh desert terrain of the Southern Expanse is home to Whirling Dervishes (and also some big-ass scorpions.) Additionally, each land offers its’ own unique arenas, challenges and quests, some of which are obvious and others that are quite well hidden.

What sets it apart?
With quality voice work led by Smallville’s Lex Luthor, Michael Rosenbaum and Freaks and Geek’s Lindsay Weir, Linda Cardellini, the movies and cut scenes are at least passable. The storyline is a bit convoluted but not so much that it can’t be followed easily enough. Who really cares about the plot, anyway? Not me, I just want to bash an Amazon with my Minotaur.

Will I ever want to play it again after I conquer it?
A myriad of hidden quests and goals give the game a surprisingly high level of replayability and the multitude of characters you can add to your school allows you to add a level of freshness to each new game.

If you really want to exhaust all this game has to offer, set aside at least 80 hours. Gladius isn’t Morrowind deep but it’s still got quite a bit of content hidden away for the tenacious gamer to discover (or the googler who’s content to just look up all the hidden stuff.)

Final thoughts
Gladius came out in 2003 so you can find it pretty cheap. The price, coupled with the fun, expansive game play makes it a no-brainer purchase. Sure, some folks are turned off by the slower nature of a turn-based fighting system but let’s face it, those people are idiots.

Look, if you’re anything like me, you’ve whittled away countless hours daydreaming and debating with your friends about what would happen if a club-wielding Sasquatch fought a bear and an ogre inside of a volcano. Well my friends, put those arguments away and pick up your XBOX controller to settle the debate once and for all…inside the world of Gladius.