Shadow of Rome (PS2)

The story is a good and compelling one; Julius Caesar has been murdered and his killing is framed on the father of a soldier fighting in Germania, Agrippa. On returning to Rome to see his mother executed, Agrippa becomes a gladiator in order to face the man who killed her. His friend, Octavianus, nephew of the late Caesar, goes on his own private investigation to prove Agrippa's father innocent. The two storylines gives home to the fact that Shadow of Rome has two different types of gameplay - combat and stealth.

The combat is extremely bloody and brutal, yet totally compelling. There is a certain satisfaction you get as you cut your foes down. The arsenal of weapons you get is impressive, ranging from scimitars, to maces, to halberds, to morning stars. With your primary weapons, you can also get shields, helmets, daggers, torches . . . the list goes on and unravels as you continue to play. Although I was unsure of it at first, I have grown to think the combat rather amazing. It's so varied and there's countless ways of killing your foes. You can snatch their weapons from them, use fight combos, throw them into pits full of spikes, smash their skulls, severe limbs . . . which you then can beat them with. The more brutal you are, the more the audience will love you and even help you by throwing weapons into the arena, which can be a godsend. There's a whole range of tournaments, varying the levels - some of the first levels are even set in the Germanian forests and a fort. In many ways, this game is highly influenced by Ridley Scott's Gladiator, even some of the lines are similar. But it's all good and a fine work of a game.

At the other end of the spectrum, is the stealth in the gameplay. Octavianus, a young boy, advised by an old man, sneaks throughout levels. This isn't exactly Splinter Cell. It's easier, sometimes quite good and Capcom have clearly tried to vary the gameplay which is a good idea. The storyline you're uncovering in the assassination of Caesar is thoroughly compelling and dark. Sadly though, the stealth gameplay is linear - there's only one route to your objective. However, you can silently dispose of enemies, take items and even their clothes. Sometimes it even looks like the Hitman series. Although flawed and slightly weak compared to the combat engine, personally I did like this side of it. It's almost like a calm after the storm.

Shadow of Rome is a game that could be in an arcade, but one of the highest quality. It's fast paced, crushing and maintains its historical essence from start to finish. If you like violent, mildly realistic combat games and enjoyed games such as Ominushia and Dynasty Warriors, this really is for you.

Shadow of Rome is one of the most brutal combat games around, and your screen will literally go red with blood. Shadow of Rome also successfully packs plenty of story and alternative stealth levels, which make this game more than just a mindless bloodbath. Although the stealth is not as good as the combat in the arena, they're not bad, and fans of games such as Splinter Cell and Metal Gear Solid will easily get into. However, these stealth sequences do not offer the same depth as the other games mentioned, and the artificial intelligence of the guards can idiotic to the point of being ridiculous, such as looking for you one second and completely forgetting you were ever there the next. Plus they all seem to fall for the same old banana peel on floor trick one after the other.

The plot looks at the assassination of Julius Ceasar from an interesting angle, and even leaves story open ended for a possible sequel. Shadow of Rome evolves round two characters, the centurion Agrippa who has biceps the size of Eastbourne, and the polite and sneaky Octavianus. After Ceasar is murdered Agrippas's father is falsely accused. Agrippa then becomes a Gladiator to stop the champion executing his father, Octavianus also goes behind the scenes to uncover the conspiracy. Shadow of Rome does seem to contain many features from the Ridley Scott film I mentioned earlier, such as a battle in Germania, a high ranking roman becoming a Gladiator, an unworthy emperor getting to power, and a fight with the emperor in the arena. I'm surprised that Mr. Scott and the boys at Universal haven't sued.

As mentioned earlier the battles in the arena are the main attraction of the game. The combat system you will easily pick up, however mastering combos will take time. The fights are violent, and often you will face several enemies at once. With the variety of weapons, match types, and the combos that can be unleashed, there is a real sense of chaos in the battle arena and you will never have the same fight twice. Even though the combat is easy to get into it is still a challenging game, which will make you want to see each fight through to the end. The graphics are great and the frame rate never slows down for a second. The sound is also impressive with good voice acting and the clashing of weapons making the combat all that more enjoyable.

If you can stomach it, Shadow of Rome is a great combat game, with some stealth for variety. Capcom again could have created yet another successful violent series, which could easily get the thumbs up.