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Giving the task of entertaining a multitude of people and races, I could only come up with few ideas, of which three include a pack of cards and half naked women. However Arxel Tribe decided to take the strategic essence of command and conquer and crowd pleasing violence of the classic SmashTV, put these two together, add a state of the art arena incorporating species from all over the galaxy and you’ve got the newest smash hit The Gladiators.
Set in the 1970’s, the American military is working on a top-secret space shuttle project which goal is to study the “black hole” phenomenon recently discovered by western scientists. Basically, the shuttle is hit by an asteroid field and taken further into the reaches of an unknown solar system, hunted down by a colossal spaceship, hell bent on making you its new TV show.
The idea behind Gladiators is new and innovative, it’s never been done before on a grand scale; other games have toyed with the idea of an interactive death bowl but never based the game solely around such an idea.
At first, the graphics on The Gladiators struck me as a little basic; it wasn’t playing the game further that I realized that’s the way they are meant to be. It’s based on comic-like textures that really complement the surroundings and maps. Not too much detail has been paid to making the characters in the game life-like at all, which is a good thing, as it all adds to the effect that the game is trying to create. Even the in game cut scene and animations are all based around the same idea, which really ties into the game's appeal.
The levels are beautifully created and rendered, given that you can move your view in a full 360-degree angle making the hills and trees seem lifelike from every angle. My only concern regarding the angles is although you can rotate in a 360 angle, you are still stuck with a close bird's eye view, which at times can leave you a little lost as you can hardly see what is going on around you let alone when you are trying to fend of a horde of knife welding creatures hell bent on your destruction.
Progressing through the vast levels can be tricky, but coming to your aid is what looks like an all out military attack, including missile launchers, grenade launchers and a whole host of arsenal at your disposal. You also get aid from the reluctant princess, who at times guides you on your way informing you as to where you friends are held and when to watch out for enemy attacks. Most games choose to go for the mandatory training levels, which are featured in this game. But if you would like to jump start all that and head straight into action you will not find yourself completely lost, the controls are easy to manage and once you play for a while they become quite fluent.
The accompanying soundtrack is amazing; offering a whole host of tunes from your average hack’n’slash theme, to the laid back shoot from far track. In the midst of battle is when it really captures you, once the music and gameplay kick in, you better duck and hope for a miracle, as you really get drawn into the game without realizing it.
The Gladiators is a fresh game with a new concept on strategy, and believe me you are going to need it. It is far from an easy game, at times not even giving you enough time to think as to what your next move is going to be, which is not so much as a bad point just one we’d like to see improved. The camera zoom angles however did cause me much grief even when at maximum zoom-out. Overall however, The Gladiators is a fast paced, all out action game that engrosses you in immense scenery and gameplay, while providing and excellent soundtrack and good graphics.
