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Thanks to the success of the epic film Gladiator, interest in the ancient Roman fighting spectacle is at an all time high. Lucasarts is hoping to capitalize on this phenomenon with their new turn-based action RPG, Gladius. Offering nearly 40 hours of play in each of the game's two story lines, Gladius will take players on a challenging journey across four diverse geographical regions. Each land contains a variety of warriors that players must recruit and train. Battles occur throughout the game's 20 arenas and 12 other locations. A successful fight will earn victorious players highly coveted certificates and the approval of the Emperor. With each certificate collected, players move one step closer to unlocking the next region. Players control a school of gladiators that can come from 16 unique classes, including the powerful Imperial Legionary; the witches of the Galdr class, who can sing magical songs and chants; and the javelin throwing Peltast class. In all, the game offers more than 100 customizable character types, hundreds of skills, and over 400 unique weapons, helmets, shields, and other accessories with which to equip warriors. The game focuses on the story of two gladiators in particular, Valens or Ursula. Valens is the son of one of Imperia's greatest gladiators, vowing to return his father's school to its former greatness. Ursula, from the northern land of Nordagh, is the daughter of a great barbarian king. A bloody conflict between their two lands gave rise to a dark god who was defeated at a great cost. Now, by training new fighters and engaging in new adventures, both of the protagonists have to stop another attempt to revive the dark god and prevent darkness from engulfing the land once again.
Gladius lets players control a group of gladiators in turn-based combat. There is a twist to the turn-based genre by adding real-time swing meters once targets engage each other on the battlefield. With careful timing, players can execute devastating combo attacks and unleash powerful spells. Much of the equipment and many of the character classes did exist during the gladiatorial games in ancient Rome. But early in the design process Lucasarts decided against being constrained by the limitations of history. Although they have used portions of Roman history for reference, certain topics, such as magic, wouldn’t be possible in an accurate historical context. Gladius will be available on PlayStation 2, Xbox and Nintendo Gamecube.
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