An intriguing combination of hyper-violent gladitorial combat and stealth missions that's a must-play for all.

User Rating: 8.8 | Shadow of Rome PS2
Shadow of Rome proves history (though fictionalized a tad) can indeed be fun. Sneaking around, hacking and slashing, and chariot races combine to bring the feel of ancient Rome to your PS2 in a very fun package.

The game follows the immediate aftermath of the assassination of Julius Caesar. You play as two people: Agrippa, whose father is accused of the crime, and Octavianus, nephew of Julius Caesar and Agrippa's friend. Agrippa plays the gladatorial games, where the prize is to execute the accused, hoping this will let him find a way to save his father. Octavianus does stealth missions, trying to uncover the truth behind the assassination, and clear the name of Agrippa's father. Gladatorial events take place in several preliminary rounds before heading back to Rome for the finals, with over 25 different stages in all. Stealth missions all involve sneaking and disguising throughout important Roman buildings. Through some convenient end-game plot twists, the truth behind the assassination is revealed and a boss-filled quest to bring the ultimate perpetrators to justice fills the game's final act.

The sheer number of different gladitorial events is a huge plus, as it keeps the game fresh the whole time. While there are plenty of more traditional free-for-all 'Battle Royale' events, twists like rescuing a hostage, assaulting a makeshift castle to kill one specific target, and a chariot-based preliminary round keep you on your toes, ensuring there's never too much of the same thing. And even with that, the gladiator events are broken up with switches to Octavianus' stealth missions, further keeping monotany at bay. More advanced weapons are also slowly parcelled out, so as enemies both toughen and increase in number, you've got what you need to keep up. The 'Salvo' system, which awards points for nearly 200 combat moves, makes you want to come back for more to get them all, and adds a touch of humor as some have catchy names (think 'Im-Pressed' for crushing people). Even after the game's been completed, there are the typically silly minigames Capcom throws in to add a little spice and reason to play more.

The widely varied difficulty is sometimes tough to reconcile. You may take hours to get through a given event, and the next one you'll easily pass your first try, leaving you never quite knowing how good your skills at the game really are. High ledges have 'invisible walls,' so hits that knock people back on solid ground oddly won't push them over a ledge, though some ferocious hits and special moves can eject enemies. Still, that applies to you getting hit as well, so it's at least an even trade. The lock-on button often is a detriment, as it has a nasty tendancy to sometimes turn you around to face an enemy behind you, when you really need to be hitting that giant in front of you, about to take a swipe with their halberd. Sadly, there's no multiplayer--in a world filled to the rafters with gun-based multiplayer games, they missed a great chance for a physical combat multiplayer that's not quite a Street Fighter sort of combat. Some dialogue is laughably trite, and during stealth missions some enemies may lose you, even though you're right next to them.

Aside from the locking issues, controls are generally responsive to your needs. Graphics are more than adequate, but not spectaculat, and some facial models are sort of odd. You'll also see some occassional issues with apendages popping through solid objects. The sound works well, and in surround sound the whirr of a weapon soaring from the crowd and into the battlefield is pretty neat, and the overall sound of heated battles very much evokes your better gladiator movies. You can easily squeeze 40 hours just playing through once on Hard mode, counting mission replays to earn better cups (bronze/silver/gold) for each event. Though the concept of stealth and gladiators may seem counterintuitive, Capcom's Shadow of Rome does a great job of making the game be the most important thing of all: fun.