LucasArts’ gladiatorial tactical RPG is finally out, and the game provides an interesting mix of RPG strategy (a la Final Fantasy Tactics) and gladiator combat. Gladius is an extremely deep RPG game that gives you a bevy of options and tweaks that you can make to your group of fighters. However, the gameplay is pretty sluggish at times, and the story is a bit poorly paced. However, if you can get past these issues, you will find Gladius to be a deep and engaging RPG.

Gladius takes place in the fictional empires of Imperia and Nordagh. As these two nations were fighting for superiority, an evil god was unleashed, awakened by the battle. This Dark God laid siege to the land until the Affinity gods finally managed to contain them and an uneasy peace settled over the land...

You have the choice of playing as two different characters: Valens or Ursula, each with their own storylines. As Valens, you must take over your murdered father’s gladiator school and restore it to its former glory. As Ursula, you enter the gladiator games in order to prove to your father, the king of Nordagh, and your twin brother that you have the strength to compete in the games, while discovering a secret power within yourself that could either save or destroy the world.

The story is told mainly through cutscenes. While the story gets better as the game progresses, the cutscene dialog can be quite redundant and the story loses pace in parts due to this.

The gameplay is a deep blend of strategy and RPG and feels a bit like Final Fantasy Tactics. During the battles, you control your group of fighters across the playing field, guiding them to enemies or higher planes to get a better shot or swing. The turn-based action is quite fun at first, but as more and more characters get onto the field, the times take longer and longer and the battles grow sluggish.

As the game progresses, you will gain a hefty amount of gladiators to fight for you and will be able to buy new weapons for them. The gameplay requires you to pay close attention to your character’s Affinity as you purchase new weapons and armor. There are four elemental Affinities (Earth, Fire, Wind, Water) and two born from Mankind’s desires (Light and Dark). These Affinities are inherent in certain weapons and characters, and utilizing their magic is important to gaining footing against your enemies.

The warriors in the game are also divided into separate classes: Heavy, Light, Medium, Support, Arcane and Beast. Each of these has power over another, so if you fall into an inferior class, then you must use more than a straightforward approach to defeat your enemy.

The graphics, while quite nice and clean, aren’t really the best that the Xbox has to offer. The character models are well-animated and the environments are detailed. However, the overall presentation is lacking a real attention to detail or much in the way of special effects.

The sound is very good, as to be expected from a LucasArts game. The score is full and sweeping, like something you’d see in an epic gladiator flick. The voice acting is also pretty good, although some of the battle lines are written a little cheesy and can get repetitive.

Gladius is a deep turn-based RPG with some really cool qualities and can be quite fun, aside from some relatively slow pacing on the gameplay front. Anyone looking for a solid tactical RPG on the Xbox should give Gladius a rental at the very least.

Gameplay: 7.9
The gameplay in Gladius is very deep, giving a ton of options and ways to customize your group of gladiators. The interface is kept pretty simple, and allows newbies and RPG beginners to easily get into the game. However, the battles can feel a bit slow and cumbersome at times.

Graphics: 8.5
Gladius’ graphics have a clean and smooth presentation, but lack overall detail. While not bad, it doesn’t represent the best the Xbox has to offer.

Sound: 8.8
The sound is done very well, on par with most other LucasArts titles. The score sounds great, mirroring in style any number gladiator films. The voice acting is also nicely done, but some of the lines were written a bit on the cheesy side.

Difficulty: Medium

Concept: 8.5
The game is very deep, yet pretty easy to get into if you’re new to the genre. The story is quite good, but the cutscenes can be a little redundant and unnecessary at times.

Multiplayer: 8.0
The game allows for up to four players to either fight together in a co-op mode or against each other in a versus mode.

Overall: 8.3
Although the action can be a little sluggish at points, Gladius is still a deep tactical RPG that will appeal to hardcore fans of the genre, yet still approachable enough for newbies to get into the game.