Gladius .. ready
LucasArts unleashes gladiatorial combat
LucasArts continue their flood of new product announcements in the run-up to E3 with the unveiling of Gladius, a "turn-based action role-playing game" all about gladiators. Taking on the role of a young Roman lad or the daughter of a barbarian king from somewhere up north, you must recruit and train a team of savage warriors to fight for you in the arena, with the fighters honing their abilities as they gain combat experience. This being a role-playing game of sorts, there are naturally hundreds of skills to learn, weapons to master and accessories to buy, as well as a wide range of character classes to choose from, including everything from Imperial Legionaries to Galdr witches. In addition to the expected exhibition battles and four player co-operative bouts, the game also features an expansive story mode which will take you across the mighty Roman Empire, with each of the four regions you visit along the way bringing with it a new selection of warriors to purchase and arenas to fight in. All in all LucasArts are promising about 36 hours of gameplay for each of the two characters. Gladius is due to appear on the PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube some time next spring, but no doubt we'll be hearing a lot more about it come the end of the month and the ubiquitous E3 trade show in Los Angeles. Related Feature - Gladius screenshots
