Ever in the mood to assemble your very own school of gladiators and take on all comers? Have I got the game for you!
Our story begins with a tale about heroes of yesteryear vanquishing the Dark god. Sound cliche? As luck would have it, that's not really the focus here, though it does see some play in the second half. You're given a choice of hero/heroine right at the start, but it's really a mostly cosmetic choice outside of your starting area, a small bit of the story, and a single character that you can have in your school, depending on which main character you select.
Your task is to form a competent and well balanced school of gladiators and find success and glory in the Games; a series of various different modes of combat.
Visuals - 8
For the most part, Gladius is great in this department, especially for a fairly early PS2 game. Character models are almost all very nice and the animations are smooth and entertaining as well. Large battles with big crowds can cause you a bit of slowdown, but a simple rotation of the user friendly camera is an easy remedy. Armor and weapon depictions, which do change based on a character's equipment, make a nice bonus for those who watch for such things.
As mentioned above, there are a few character models that look poorly done, are out of proportion, or are simply crummy, but thankfully, they are few and far between.
Music, Sound, and Voice Acting - 8
The title screen soundtrack is catchy, and time frame/subject matter appropriate. Battle music tends to be edgy and dramatic, though the world map music is totally forgettable.
The sounds of Gladius are nice, but way too oft repeated. Many of the classes use the exact same sounds for attacks, hits, and movement. If only they'd recorded more sound bites, this could have been a nice high point. Outside of variety though, the effects really are pretty nice, if perhaps a little tinny.
Voice acting is a mixed bag. On the on hand you have the 5 lead characters which is split 3-2 in slight favor of decent to good VA's. On the other hand, the supplementary voice acting is pretty good and the battle quotes are usually delivered with some spirit and verve.
Story - 6
Don't expect Gladius to blow your skirt up when it comes to storyline. In fact, the story doesn't really even come into play until you've finished nearly 2/3's of your total play time.
On the plus side, it does feature an interesting end game (though a rather poor ending), several very likable characters, some nice settings, and some good background information about the different cities you visit. All of this though is not enough to pull the score up on a rather bare story.
Gameplay - 10
Here is where Gladius really shines. Building your school is a simple task which isn't always easy to accomplish. There are, perhaps, 20 or 25 different classes for you to choose from when it comes to hiring new gladiators. There are also several very powerful characters you can only acquire through side quests.
Once you've assembled your motley band, the real fun can begin. Combat is turn based, and turn order is decided by an initiative statistic (small, light units tend to go before, and much more often than big, heavy units). This helps to balance out the combat when you might otherwise be quickly overrun by more powerful units.
Actual combat is based on a rock paper scissors system where Medium class units are strong against Lights, Lights are strong against Heavies, and Heavies are strong against Mediums. Also involved are various magic users who do everything from healing to casting damage spells to summoning monsters to your aid, as well as archers, animals, and monsters.
At the end of battle, experience is divied up to all participating Gladiators. As you level, you gain both stat increases and skill points which can be used to further upgrade your unit, gain a special ability, or gain a more powerful attack.
Your performance also affects crowd favor. If you perform well, your Crowd Favor Gauge will increase, netting you temporary stat and initiative bonuses. Conversely, a poor performance will both decrease your gauge and increase your opponent's gauge.
I really can't say enough about how fun and varied the combat system is in this overlooked gem.
Final Score - 7.85, though I'd score gameplay higher if I could, thus my adjusted score is an 8.5.
Any strategy or RPG fan should be able to find something to enjoy about Gladius. There's a collection aspect, a planning aspect, a grinding aspect, and a superb combat aspect. To top it all off, it's a bargain bin title now; no more than $15 anywhere I've seen it. Do yourself a favor and give it a whirl!
Total Time to Completion - Approximately 55 hours.