Pale imitation of the Gladiator genre

The tagline for Gladiatus is “If you aren’t afraid of the dangers of the wilderness, if you can proudly enter the arena and you are able to defeat everyone who challenges you – then enter the merciless world of Gladiatus!”

But while the description promises brave new challenges, in reality Gladiatus is a poor attempt at recreating a Gladiator style strategy game. The emphasis is definitely on strategy although not a great deal at that. When you sit down to a game that’s about Gladiators, you want to slash a lion to pieces or go up against some big brute sent out to maim you by Julius Caesar.

There’s little action – your victories are based on how well equipped your Gladiator is by pumping up his stats by buying extra armor and taking on bigger and more dangerous strategical challenges like raiding temples and barbarian villages. The graphics are delicately drawn at least recreating a realistic old Rome but this does little to compensate for the rather limited and painstakingly slow gameplay.

Russell Crowe it ain’t but if you’re a real history buff and love your Roman Empire themed games, you’ll at least enjoy the scenery.