Whatever the theme of the event or the mood of the crowd, ultimately gladiators lived or died depending on their fighting skills. When you think of gladiators, you probably think of Ridley's Scott's romanticized movie version of the life of gladiators, the aptly titled Gladiator. The movie was romanticized, but well researched, and it succeeded in capturing the intensity of gladiatorial combat. You may also have seen HBO's Rome, which also featured some intense, gritty gladiatorial combat scenes. That era is the focus of this game. Do you have what it takes to survive as a gladiator?

Gladius2 gives you the opportunity to be a gladiator in the Roman arena. You play through a brief tutorial, and then you will be free to pursue single-player missions against computerized opponents or head to the arena and battle dangerous animals like lions and bears. You earn gold and silver by breaking crates. Gladius2 has open player versus player (PvP) features-that means other players will openly attack you. If you've already played other MMO games like Seafight, or XBlaster, Gladius2 will be easy for you. They all share a very similar interface as well as very similar game mechanics. Bear that in mind if you master Gladius2 and are looking for a new challenge.

This newly introduced MMORPG features action packed battles in historic arenas. It is a mix of 2d and 3d features, and offers a selection of maps and environments in which to do battle. You can choose from one of three gladiators to take into the arena. You have a fair selection of weapons to choose from as well, as you prepare for battle. If you become a premium user and pay for your account, you will get extra options. These extra options include a feature, which enables you to edit arenas. You can then invite your friends to come join you in this arena and do battle! This game is rare as far as flash browser based MMORPGs go, in that you have the option to expand the field of play to full screen mode. Full screen mode enables you to fully immerse yourself in the game, the way you would in games that are not based on a web browser.

I am a big fan of classical history, Ancient Rome is one of my three favorite historical periods, and the other two are ancient Greece and China during the Three Kingdoms period. It is exciting to see MMOs break out of the usual, well-trodden path of endless swords and sorcery games. The game is fairly rich in historical detail, and succeeds fairly well in bringing the Ancient Roman world to life.

The game offers you three cookie cutter characters to pick from. Unfortunately, these characters aren't terribly customizable. There is no real way to make your character unique. Once you pick your character and log in, you will have a hard time being able to tell if you are the only character in the arena. I had not given too much thought as to whether the characters in the arena were other players or non-player characters. I didn't' find the combat experience to be terribly exciting. I found combat to be extremely slow. I also found combat to be somewhat uneventful.

The games sounds aren't all that interesting and are actually somewhat annoying, but then I'm no fan of game noises and soundtracks in most cases. It is rare that a game developer puts the same effort into the sound effects as they do for the visuals; storyline and animation, so I tend to turn the sound off unless it is crucial to game play. The graphics are somewhat bland and colorless, which wouldn't bother me too much if it was not intended to be a very visual game.

The missions, overall, were quite satisfying. You must fight animals or complete certain assigned tasks in the arena. I found it somewhat difficult to use the controls and navigate through the menus, although the menus look great.

Gladius2 is fairly enjoyable for a browser-based game that you can play for free. When I played the game it was still in testing, and they most likely still are, so they may appreciate your feedback if you decide to give this game a try.

The combat is real time, and the theme is ancient Roman gladiatorial combat-that makes for a unique MMORPG, even if the game play isn't always as exciting or varied as it could be. There tend to be lots of players online, around 1,500, giving you plenty of battles to choose from.

May 22nd, 2009