Gladius

Written by Andrew Fitch  on December 05, 2003

Full Review: One of my friends said that Ralph Nader is Уlike that guy in Gladiator.Ф Yeah, I don't know where he got that, either...

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While I'm definitely a longtime fan of the tactical RPG genre, I can't help but notice a certain trend about these games. From the Super NES to the PlayStation 2, from Vandal Hearts to Disgaea to Dynasty Tactics to Final Fantasy Tactics, they all essentially have the same basic template, and same basic gameplay. Oh, and one other thing: they're all Japanese-made.

And that's where Gladius is different -- its origins lie on this continent, and that's actually one reason, I think, why it's a great game. While I tend to prefer Japanese-designed games in general, they do seem rather prone to ripping off a successful formula. For example, Koei's Saiyuki: Journey West essentially was Final Fantasy Tactics, but with characters from the Chinese legend Journey to the West instead of FFT's Ivalice. This is just speculation, but I think the developers of Gladius knew that because they were entering such a Japanese-dominated genre, they'd have to do something a bit different in order to succeed and be taken seriously. There are definitely elements of the best tactical RPGs in Gladius, but it's mostly a new experience.

As one might expect from its name, Gladius tells the tale of a world inspired by the gladiatorial contests of ancient Rome. But that's far from the only familiar thing, as the game is divided into four main areas that correspond very easily to our own history: Nordagh (equivalent to our old-school Odin worshippers), Imperia (ancient Rome), the Windward Steppes (Genghis Khan-type people), and the Southern Expanse (ancient Egypt). Your goal is to become a champion in each of these four areas for the right to compete at Caltha, the legendary home of the Imperial High Tournaments (and the equivalent of the Roman Colosseum).

And unlike many tactical RPGs, you'll actually have a choice as to who you want to pursue this goal with. Option one is Ursula, a УbarbarianФ princess from Nordagh, while option two is Valens, the son of one of the most famous gladiators in all of Imperia. Their paths will intertwine, which gives the game a good bit of replay value, as you'll want to see the story unfold from both sides. You'll probably want to start with Ursula's game, as it's designed as a УbeginnerФ quest (though it's by no means easy!). In Valens' tale, you'll get thrown to the wolves a bit more (even though you'll actually encounter more wolves with Ursula's game in Nordagh!).

As I said earlier, Gladius is a bit of a departure from most tactical RPGs. To begin with, combat is a bit more realistic and fluid than stuff like Final Fantasy Tactics. For example, a favorite move of most tactical RPG veterans is to constantly move to an enemy's back, where his/her/its defenses are lower, and hack away. But what kind of warrior would just stand there while an enemy waltzed up behind him and plunged a sword into his back? A dead warrior, that's who! In Gladius, you can only attack a foe from behind if they're already engaged in battle, which makes logical sense, and also increases the amount of strategy and planning involved. Movement is also a bit different than you might be used to -- you select the spot on the battlefield that you want to go, and you'll eventually advance there over several turns. I like this feature, as it makes the battles seem more like real-time affairs, and thus, more like real gladiatorial contests.

But probably the biggest difference in Gladius from other tactical RPGs is the УSwing MeterФ -- this is something you'd normally see in a sports game, not an RPG (but I guess, technically, this kind of is a УsportsФ game...). By pressing the designated buttons at the correct time, you have control over the amount of damage you can deliver to an enemy. Some of these moves are a bit more difficult to execute than others, but you do have the option to turn the meter off. While this feature sounds like it'd be out-of-place, it (mostly) works quite well -- you feel like you're actively participating in the battle, rather than just watching from a distance.

And since Gladius is based around gladiatorial combat, it only makes sense that the crowd should be brought into the mix. And indeed, the game does feature a Crowd Meter -- this also brings something new to the table, as you'll be fighting not only to win the match, but to please the crowd. For example, while the most effective move might be to attack someone from behind, the patrons in some arenas won't approve of such dirty tactics.

Gladius is also different in that heal potions -- and healing in general -- are not a part of the game. Some characters do have УhealingФ skills, but it's not something that you should expect to rely on like you do in Final Fantasy Tactics. Gladius is also different in that a loss doesn't mean УGame OverФ -- far from it. Just select the match and try again! The only dangerous encounters are in the overhead world, where characters can actually die, but they're not very common at all. And this is another good aspect of the game -- in other tactical RPGs, you'll be travelling across the world map toward your goal, only to be waylaid by fights at seemingly every turn, slowing the game's pace to a crawl. In Gladius, you fight who you want, when you want, and I think it works well.

As with any tactical RPG, you'll need a good stable of warriors to succeed in these rugged contests. However, very rarely is someone УforcedФ into your party, so you have great freedom to recruit exactly who you want. There are tons of classes available, be they human, animal, or even monster, such as Satyrs and Yeti. And while Gladius is mostly a work of myth and fiction, this is one area where there's history thrown in as well (well, aside from the Satyrs and Yeti...), as real Roman gladiatorial classes are included. I'm not the world's foremost expert on such things, but they certainly look authentic. And not only do you have control over who's in your party, but you also have control over how everyone looks! You can customize most characters' hair color, skin tone, outfits, etc., which is a rarity for an RPG.

One thing that's nice about Gladius is that you don't have to complete the game in any sort of set order. We've all been frustrated at getting stuck in a particular fight in a tactical RPG, unable to advance (and of course, I'm looking at you, Battle with Velius in Final Fantasy Tactics!). Gladius is different -- you're free to complete the game in (mostly) the order of your choosing. If one fight in a particular arena is too tough for you, there will usually be another available that's more suited to your own unique band of warriors.

While Gladius' gameplay is outstanding, sometimes you have to wait a while to actually get to it, as УNow LoadingФ screens are commonplace. Every time the game loads, a gladiatorial sword appears in the lower-right corner of the screen -- trust me, you'll become very familiar with this sword. Go ahead and give it a name if you wish -- you'll get know it that well! Now, if the game was a fast-paced action title, this would be somewhat annoying, but because this is a more cerebral affair, it's something I can live with.

Gladius' music definitely has a УgladiatorialФ feel to it -- it'd definitely be at home in an NFL Films production! However, the music is pretty much the same throughout, whether you're fighting in Nordagh, Imperia or the Windward Steppes. I'd have preferred it if each area had its own distinctive music with a local Уflavor,Ф for a bit more variety.

Gladius' voice acting is a mixed bag -- some of it's great, but some of it's cringe-inducing. Thankfully, there's far more good than bad. Kristoffer Tabori is particularly good as Usus, Ursula and Valens' guide in their adventures. He's a veteran gaming voice, having played HK-47 in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.

Ursula and Valens bring the biggest Уstar powerФ to the table, however: Michael Rosenbaum, who plays Lex Luthor on Smallville, voices Valens; Linda Cardellini, who played Velma in last year's live action Scooby-Doo movie, lends her voice to Ursula. Rosenbaum is definitely the stronger actor in this game -- and that's to be expected, as he's done plenty of voice work in the past. This is Cardellini's first voice acting job, and it shows at times. She's certainly not horrible, but her delivery could use some work in places. Also, there are a couple of shopkeepers who sound like they were just brought in off the street, but you won't have to suffer through them for very long. The dialogue itself is very good, though. Well...one character does exclaim, УLet's get this party started!Ф -- I don't think such a phrase was ever in Spartacus' vocabulary, but that's about the only shake-your-head moment I can think of. Most of the time, the script delivers the right amount of drama, tension and (intentional) humor.

Surprisingly, there are quite a few errors in the text itself, such as missing commas and incorrect capitalizations. With a Japanese game, these problems are somewhat expected -- however, Gladius was written in America by native English speakers, so it didn't have the extra hurdle of a translation to deal with. There are 36 people listed as testers in the game's credits, so logic would seem to follow that at least some of them were assigned (or should have been assigned) to check text. Now, if the game was terrible, I'd be a lot less forgiving of this aspect -- however, I will definitely take a fun game with a few grammatical errors over a dull game that's impeccably written! Plus, I'm a bit of a Grammar Nazi, so this probably bothers me more than most people.