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Great sword-swinging fun!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 39 / 39
Date: January 29, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Gladius is a turn-based tactical strategy game. That is, your gladiators and your enemies each take turns moving and attacking in a grid-based arena. Gladius is very deep and can be complex if one does not take the time to learn how to really play it. I had this game for a month before I really discovered how great a game this is. I would reccomend the strategy guide as well, to help you spend your gladiator's earned Skill Points more effectively.
There is so much customization and character development - it is great! The gold you earn from battles is spent on better Weapons, Shields, Armor, Helmets, and Accessories. The graphics are very good, and the "paper doll" representation of your character looks great as you try on all the different equipment. Just like in Japanese RPG's, your character stats change colors, red or green, to indicate if the equipment will help or hinder your chance of success in the arena. You can also customize the color of your character's hair, skin color, armor, and clothes. They also have four different styles of outfits you can choose from for each character - you can make all your gladiators the same color (i.e. team colors) or just make them all individually completely different. It's really cool.
As you earn more Experience, your Level or stats goes up - Hit Points(HP), Defense(DEF), Power(PWR), Damage(DAM), Accuracy(ACC), Initiative(INI), Constitution(CON), and Move Rate(MOV). As these abilities go up, the better your gladiator will perform in the arena. Different equipment will also change these a bit. For instance, a certain sword might increase your DAM by 2, but reduce your DEF by 1 which might be good for your offensive-heavy Samnite, whereas your Archer might prefer a weapon that increases ACC but decreases MOV, or whatever. That's just two examples, but the customization is limitless.
Your gladiators are divided into 5 classes - Light, Medium, Heavy, Support, and Arcane . Combat works on a paper-scissors-rock style. Light beats Heavy, Heavy beats Medium, Medium beats Light. Support and Arcane classes are best used from a distance (arrows and lightning bolts, obviously.) As you go up in Level, you also earn Skill Points. These are used to customize your fighters even more! Each character has dozens of different Skills to potentially learn, but you will never earn enough Skill Points to learn them all, so you must select few that complement the gladiator to your liking the most. Once again, I recommend the Gladius strategy guide to help you choose the best Skills for each Class - there are so many branches to develop your character, it can get daunting and hard-earned Skill Points unwisely spent.

The Swing Meter is what keeps the combat from getting boring and static. Just like in golfing games, it's a meter at the bottom of the screen. You have a normal hit(yellow), critical hit(red), and miss zone(blue). It's not too terribly difficult to score critical hits on a semi-regular basis, but it makes you pay attention and be involved in how your fighters do in battle. Enemy A.I. is actually OK. During the fights where the object is something other than all-out combat, (i.e. Points Battle, Barrel Break, Defend the Statue, or King of the Hill) the computer will do some dumb things, but during true battle the computer will stomp you if you don't employ the right tactics and appropriate gladiators (luckily, you can preview who your opponents will be beforehand, so that you may assemble your team with the best advantage.) You are the leader of a gladitorial School, so you are able to recruit a large variety of fighters to choose from.

This game is HUGE. It will take a long time to go all the way through it. You must travel with your School through 4 different lands and compete in numerous Leagues and Tournaments, with the ultimate goal of being able to take on the best Schools in the High Tournament in Caltha.
Each land you travel through (Nordagh, Imperia, Windward Steppes, and Southern Expanse) all have an average of 3 to 7 towns. In each town, there are numerous Leagues and Tournaments to compete in.

Please give this game a try. If you enjoy deep and involved games that can quickly consume hours of your free time, this is a game for you. I hope this game does well, so that we might be able to look forward to Gladius II.

An extremely addictive game!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 13
Date: December 16, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I've had more trouble pulling myself away from this game than anything since Gauntlet Dark Legacy. It is really more of an RPG and a strategy game than a fighting game. You lead a gladiator school in a long series of battles throughout 4 different lands. The fascination comes from the endless possible combinations of gladiator types, weapon types, different skills and moves, and other factors such as terrain and strengths/weaknesses. One of the many great things about this game is that it's good for a lot more hours of play than other games. Before starting this I was in the waning interest of a 4th complete run-through of Dungeons & Dragons Heroes, a good game that is way too short. I've spent more time on Gladius than in my 4 times through D&D, and I'm still only a little over halfway through!

I thought it was fun that the lead character's voice was done by Michael Rosenbaum, who plays Lex Luthor on the Smallville TV show. I didn't recognize any other voices.

There are a few minor flaws with Gladius. I'll just summarize them, although none has decreased my enjoyment of the game very much. The comments from the characters during battles are limited to a small number of phrases such as "For the Glory of the School!" Those same comments are repeated over and over, which does get annoying. Fortunately there is an option that lets you turn off the voices. I thought the graphics were pretty good, but there are some flaws, such as the very wooden and fake facial expressions and mouth movements when characters are speaking during the boring dialogue cut-aways. Also, there are times when the characters fall during battle and their bodies fall right through or into boulders, crates, etc. (instead of falling on top of them)! Last, there were many times where I wanted to intentionally have a "wilderness encounter" in traveling between towns. The encounters are good for experience points and loot. But the game makes it hard to have a wilderness encounter. You have to make your character wander around for several minutes before an encounter happens.

As I said earlier, though, my complaints with the game are minor. Overall I can't get enough of Gladius!

pure goodness

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 11
Date: November 02, 2003
Author: Amazon User

this is a great game in the tradition of oger battle and final fantasy tactics but a step up from these games. Gladius is a blast to play and is not the same boring thing over and over again. there are several kinds of matches from a regular kill em all type match to king of the hill. The depth of this game is another great factor. If you enjoy a thinking mans game this is the one for you.

Outstanding Strategy RPG

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: November 20, 2003
Author: Amazon User

My first thoughts playing this game were how repetitive it seemed. Admittedly, you will spend you first couple hours getting to know the combat system, and learning how best to use your main characters. If you can get beyond the training battles and allow the variety of the world to work its magic, you will find this game to be a wonderful diversion.

I highly recommend this game to anyone that enjoys strategy over a fast pace. Combat is turn-based and actual attacks are carried out through timed button presses. At first this seems daunting, but the timing can be learned quickly. Any variants upon this routine are fully explained as they arise.

The battles themselves can range anywhere from straight head-to-head all the way to points battles to king of the hill. This variety, coupled with the enormous array of fighters and styles lends a ton of playability. Learning the strengths and weaknesses of your warriors and those of your opponents is a never ending struggle. Just when you think you know how to handle them, they pull out a new skill that changes everything.

Overall, Gladius is a well rounded way to burn away hours and hours of your day. If turn-based strategy RPGs are your thing, this is definitely for you. If not, then definitely stay away from this great game.

GLADIUS! WHOOP WHOOP!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: April 23, 2005
Author: Amazon User

THIS IS BY FAR MY FAVORITE XBOX GAME!!! I bought this soon after I got my Xbox, and even after buying best sellers(such as Tony hawk Underground; Halo 2; Splinter Cell; Jedi Academy; 2 James bond games; Rainbow six; SW Battlefront etc...) I still find myself comeing back to this game! I've had it for like a year and a half... But it never gets old. The graphics are WONDERFUL and the gameplay EXTREMELY in depth. There are countless "easter-eggs" and secrets, well over 2 dozen side quests, and It is different every time. You get to manage you school of gladiators each by name. So if you win the game and start over again, you can still re-recruit your same dudes. There are like a million cities and a billion Random Encounters. You can never Truly be finished with the game. There is always a higher goal, ie get all dudes to highest rank; complete every city ; etc... You will attach yourself to this game like you never thought possible! There have been times when both me (15 yr old guy) and my sister (17 yr old girl) have litterally cried over losing a gladiator. You begin to feel on a personal level with your commrades.

This is a timeless classic and ANYONE WHO RATES IT LOWER THAN FOUR STARS IS A CRAZY LUNITIC!!!!!

Based on Demo

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 8
Date: July 07, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Like the others, I have only played the demo so far. Nonetheless, I see this game as having great potential. It is based upon this that I am rating it. The gameplay shows an insightful process for combat and character progression. Assumption: the rest of the game will complete and round out the demo.

In the final version, I look forward to building a "school" of talented warriors and advancing my characters' ability, storyline, and wealth. The demo does not include shops to buy new equipment, which will also add value to the completed game. The goal of the demo is only to complete a few gladiatorial combats, but the game will have a full scheme of advancement with multiple and, I assume, sometimes divergent goals.

Cool turn based gladiator team battles!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 7
Date: June 09, 2003
Author: Amazon User

After playing the 3 Level demo featured on the Official XBOX Magazine, this game shows some excellent promise for a genre in need of a massive infusion. I really enjoy turn based RPG's and Gladius is blending that with some real-time elements that create a fresh sense of combat strategy. The player gets to pick a custom team of Gladiators with a mass of different abilities from weapons, to melee, to magic skills. As with any turn based RPG, strategy and planning is of the utmost importance which can take the brain power of a chess player to master.

Hopefully, the final game will be well balanced to accomodate players who aren't that skillful and still step up the challenge to give the most mindful player a run for their money. This game so far is fun, engrossing and could very well take many days of your life....

Good fun....for the first while anyways.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 7
Date: September 06, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I am not into giving a detailed review of every element of a game, so here's the short and sweet:

Great RPG game, but it gets a bit repetitive, and you have to be in for the long haul if you want to finish the game, especially if you hope to get through every "arena." The game starts off great (and continues to play great- if you like turn based RPG's), with plenty of weapons and "spells" to use with the characters. But after awhile the incessant whining by some of the characters, combined with a sloooowww progression of the plotline, leave it to the gameplay to carry the game. And again, it's great initally, but after awhile it gets to be the same thing over and over. Then to boot, you find to get past a number of the arenas, you almost have to remake your gladiator school at times, requiring hours more playing to bring new characters up to speed.

Definitely for the in-depth/long-game palyer, not the "I'm looking for 20-30 hours of fun" gamer.

Et Tu Gladius

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: April 15, 2004
Author: Amazon User

OK! I have waited long enough to sing the praises of what I consider to be one of the best console game I have ever played. What makes a great game great, you may ask. It is when you keep coming back to it month after month (long past its initial release date) even while continuing to acquire and play the myriad of games that are flooding the market. No matter what "hot" games I am playing (and truly enjoy) - like THE SUFFERING, RESIDENT EVIL OUTBREAK, MANHUNT, MAX PAYNE 2, HALO, FIGHT NIGHT 2004, FIREFIGHTER, THE SIMS - I keep coming back to GLADIUS. Maybe it is my fondness for gladiator movies of my youth. Maybe it is the sight of muscular, sweaty men in skimpy outfits. Maybe it is the mythological aspects. Or the fact that beautiful and sexy women could hold their own in combat. Or maybe it is something much more Freudian. All I know is that this is one of the most enjoyable games I have come across! And I cannot praise GLADIUS enough! A few of the reasons:
* The turn based combat (where your careful acquistion of skills and weapons and gladiator placement can make the difference between victory and defeat)
*The ability to enlist specific gladiator types to join your school and compete by your side to win fame and fortune
*The chess-like strategy you employ to help win in the competitions
*The ability to customize your warriors
*The use of a "swing meter" to determine the power of your attacks
*Good enemy AI
*Good voice acting

The only negatives (and they are very minor): A gladiator game should be bloodier - it should have attempted an M rating (guess the T is a Lucas-Arts influence). Also the graphics, while good, could have been even better.

Other games may be flashier, and more polished, and more exciting and have more bells and whistles....but GLADIUS, like the gladiator movies of my youth, will always have a special place in my heart. After playing the latest and greatest, it is nice to have a comfortable place to keep coming back to.

Gladius: Staring the voice of Michael Rosenbaum

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: February 08, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This is a very well developed, and thought out game. I'm very much into RPG's and I know a thing or two about good and bad one's. Let me give you details: You start off picking wich character to play the game with. There's Valens son of Munio gladiator in-training, along with his best friend Ludo. You will find out pretty early that he and his father were ambushed. His father was killed, and Valens nearly dead. But the affinity gods spared him. Thus he then begins training at his father Munio's shcool. Then there's Ursula the daughter of the barbarian king of Nordagh. She possesses mysterious magical powers, along with her over-protective broter Urlan whom she wishes to prove herself to. Her father wants to protect Ursula, so he keeps her sheltered in his castle. Both of their destiny's will eventually be to defeat the dark god.(More details on the dark god at WWW.Gladius.Com . Both of them start out in their own shcools wich teach you the basics. Both of the shcools main goals are to compete and win in the tournaments. So after you pick your character you learn how to play, and then continue on to the high tournaments in each of the four main towns. The gameplay is very fun and keeps you interested all the way through. I'll explain some of the massive gameplay. First there's the world map. This is where you move from small town's to shops.(Each town has its own shop.) In each town you will find leagues and small tournaments. You will need to earn a certain amount of golden cups (wich you will receive when you win leagues) that will then unlock the tournament in that town. This is the basic cycle of the leagues and tournaments. Also in the world map you will sometimes engage in random encouters. But beware in random encounters you can permanetly lose hired party members.(But they can often times be hired again.)But this only happens if you lose. Now for details on some of the battling, weapons, party members etc. The battles are turn-based. In battle's each of your party members get to take a turn, in wich you control each of your party members on their turns telling them what to do. You can command them to do lots of different things. They can move, attack , charge something for your next turn to use, use magic attacks or magical defense powers and many other things. You can unleash combos or special attacks on your opponets. For example: You have a light class Bandit going against a heavy class Centurion. Your light Bandit just happens to be very effective against heavy units. So you move up to him and then attack. You decide to use a special attack called incapasitate heavy.Which means you can literally paralize your heavy oppenent for a short while! ( Of course in that time you can get in a number of attacks while he can't move or counterattack.) Thus ending your turn. That is just a small taste of the wide variety of attacks and such you can use. There are six classes of warriors. These consist of: Heavy, Medium , Light , Support ,Arcane , and beast. These are all effective against others. Example: Heavy's good against Medium. But light's good against Heavy. Also inturn Medium's good against light and so on. You can also buy (and sometimes have to) equipment such as weapons, armor, and accessories. There is almost no limit to the customization this game allows. You can also customize your main character and party members. What I mean is that you can actually change the color of the armor, skin, hair, clothes and other things. Sometimes you can even change the outfit. There's so much customization in this game you'd have to replay it almost more than one hundred times (That's an opion of course, but it is a very large game.) to be able to see it all. So I know this is getting pretty lengthy, but in conclusion this is a very indepth, large, awesomly cool, RPG! I highly recomend getting this game, and I hope I could cover enough information.

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