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In Total Warrior, players take the role of an un-named warrior simply known as The Spartan to defend Sparta from the onslaught of the Roman Empire. The events of the game are based on history—sort of; well, for one thing Ares the God of war serves as both narrator and a guide, urging you on to spill more Roman blood as you go. Actually, there are also hydra-like creatures, undead skeletons and zombies, and lighting you can shoot out of your fist. So although the story takes a few liberties with reality and historical accuracy, the narrative remains surprisingly well done and stays relevant to the game, with plenty of story-based mission objectives to keep you engaged between all the killing.
As The Spartan, you may not have a name but you do have some formidable combat chops. Actual melee combat is rather simple, with only the X and O buttons performing one-man attacks and radial hits, respectively. The variety comes into play when the shield (L2) button is used in conjunction with either single or multi-enemy attacks, which knock either one or all surrounding enemies back a few steps. Your ‘rage meter’ in the upper-left tracks repeated hits, and after getting several slashes in in rapid succession, you’ll have access to the ‘rage attack,’ unleashed via holding down the R1 button and either attack button. Rounding out the combat are the godly power moves, activated when your blue mana-like ‘power’ meter fills up. Fill up the meter and hold down R2 while pressing one of the attack buttons to let loose some divine fury onto the battlefield.
If the free-for-all style of combat draws the player in, the varied mission objectives keep him there. Action-centric titles like this can’t avoid repetition, and the dreaded feeling of sameness does creep in on occasion, but Spartan’s developers have done a great job keeping tasks new and different. One mission might have you defending the walls of Sparta by pouring burning oil on the Roman invaders while launching catapults and fighting man-to-man, while another has you sprinting around a crowded courtyard in search of assassins trying to kill a valuable ally.
For all the straightforward action, there’s a hint of an RPG element to Spartan. In between levels you’ll have the choice of leveling your warrior up in three different areas—health, damage (of melee weapons), and power (aka spells), and while your choices aren’t that significant, they provide just enough customization to connect you to the nameless warrior.
However, a few elements don’t fit in well with the rest of the game, and instead detract from the immersive experience. First off are the occasional scripting errors. Although certainly rare and not a common problem, every so often an ally will forget to attack the enemy right in front of him, or will get stuck on some level geometry. It’s not a game-breaker, just a minor bug that didn’t get squashed. The way healing is handled is a little annoying as well. Health shrines are found all over the levels, with healing accomplished by kneeling in prayer while your character is healed slowly in real time. Yet this can be burdensome as arrows will continue to fly and opponents’ swords will swing, making health recovery a nudge harder than it needs to be.
Lastly, some of the aural elements can undo the spell of immersion. The majority of the music is fine stuff that accompanies the action well, but every so often there’ll be a jarring piece done with contemporary instruments that breaks the mood. However, the chief offender in the sound department is the electronic beep that sounds whenever a major objective is met. Why the designers couldn’t find a gong or bell that fits the time period better is curious indeed. Aside from the music, the sound is otherwise great. Battle cries, explosions and the sickening sound of blades whipping into unarmored limbs are implemented well, and work to elevate the chaotic action.
There’s no multiplayer component to Spartan: Total Warrior, but there is an Arena Challenge mode that sets you against increasingly difficult waves of foes to dispatch. There’s also a Single Mission Replay mode for reliving specific encounters, and an Extras mode for unlockable bonuses like concept art. Aside from the odd mood breaker, somewhat sluggish load times between menus, and occasional repetitive gameplay, Spartan: Total Warrior manages to bridge the familiar RTS brand to the console world through its silky-smooth framerate, very respectable visuals, and deviously violent gameplay.
