Gladius is a tactical role-playingvideo game developed and published by LucasArts. It was released in 2003 for the GameCube, Xbox, and PlayStation 2video game consoles.

Gladius is a tactical role-playing video game developed and published by LucasArts. High school escape 2 level 7 pictures 2016. It was released in 2003 for the GameCube, Xbox, and PlayStation 2 video game consoles. Gladius is a 2-player card game. It simulates gladiatorial combat in a Roman arena. Each Player takes on the role of a gladiator. There are 7 types of gladiators in the rules: Secutor, Retiarius, Thracian, Murmillo, Dimachaeri, Samnite, and Postulati. Players share a common deck of 56 cards. There are unique for each gladiator in play.

Overview[edit]

The game allows the player to build a school of gladiators and take them into battle against opposing schools in a quest for fame and glory. The plot focuses on several of the main characters and slowly affects the decisions of the group, eventually leading to a final large battle that tests the skills of all members of the school. Upon starting the game, the player can choose between a school in Imperia, home to a strong military mentality and soldiers who consider their northern neighbors uncivilized and bullish, or a school in Nordagh, where witches and woodland beasts dwell, and who in turn detest the Imperials for their desire for greater conquest.

The gladiators have the opportunity to travel through four distinctly different regions on their road to the ultimate championship. Depending on the player's school choice, they begin in either the Northern lands of Nordagh (Barbarian school), which has a culture similar to that of 'Nordic' lands, or Imperia (Gladiator school), an Imperial Roman land. Upon completion of these two stages of play one proceeds onto the Windward Steppes, a grasslands region dominated by archers and beasts, reminiscent of the steppes of Asia, followed by the Southern Expanse, a desert region filled with spellcasters, nomadic warriors, and insects. The latter is an area reminiscent of Ancient Egypt; the main insects of this region are beetles, which held a high importance in Egyptian mythology, and scorpions, a staple arachnid in any desert region. The conclusion of the game takes place in and around the large central arena of Caltha in the Imperial Region.

As in many role-playing video games, players outfit their characters with gear to increase their abilities, and as they win fights, they gain experience which allows them to don new equipment and undertake new quests. Additionally, winning certain hidden or difficult contests allows the players to recruit unique character classes such as yetis, minotaurs, and the undead.

Fighting in Gladius uses a turn-based mechanism, but with a twist. There are 'swing meters' - like those found in many golf games - that determine the accuracy and effectiveness of strikes. The meters can be disabled in the options menu.

This game did not appear in the Canadian version of Xbox Exhibition Volume 3 as advertised.

Heroes[edit]

The storyline focuses on one of two heroes, although both storylines merge for a significant portion of the game. Ursula, voiced by Linda Cardellini, is associated with the 'beginner' path, although the main difference is in which land the player first competes in. Valens, voiced by Michael Rosenbaum, has an additional hero as a part of his school for the first half of the game.

The main characters of these storylines are automatically made members of the school. There are six heroes total, but players will never have more than five in their school at any one time, and eventually two will drop out, leaving sixteen remaining slots to fill by the end of the game. The other main characters are generally of the recruitable categories, although they frequently have special abilities of their own. Their participation in battles is, on occasion, mandatory. These other heroes include Urlan (Ursula's brother), Ludo (Valens' best friend), Eiji (an archer), and Gwazi (a secutor). Both of the main heroes, as well as Ludo and Urlan, are considered medium gladiators.

Gladiators[edit]

Gladius employs a rigid rock paper scissors approach to character classes and combat. There are three main classes of characters: heavy, medium, and light. In the same pattern as rock-paper-scissors, heavy beats medium, medium beats light, and light beats heavy. Barring a large level gap or terrain advantage, this pattern usually holds true in most one-on-one battles. There are also the support and arcane classes, which are neutral in the class relationship. Finally, there are several affinity classes, such as the Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Dark, and Light.

Swing meters[edit]

To determine the effectiveness of an attack, the game employs two types of swing meters. Most swing meters consist of three segments: blue, yellow, and red. Blue denotes a 'miss', resulting in an attack that either misses completely or causes very little damage. Yellow results in a standard damage attack that may still be avoided, depending on the chance to hit given. Red results in a critical hit, which cannot be avoided or blocked and does much more damage. The secondary form of the swing meter is a yellow bar with a small green insert, used for mainly for status-affecting skills. Here, the goal is simply to aim for the green, which will make the skill function properly.

Depending on the swing meter, the player will either be required to press a specific key once to stop the meter on a color, press two buttons in rapid succession to move the meter to a color, or press a specific series of buttons before the meter runs out. Combo meters act in the same manner as the former, but are lined up next to one another, thus requiring the player to repeat the process up to five times.

As the player purchases higher-level skills, using the meters becomes progressively more difficult. While scoring a critical hit using a standard attack is fairly simple, the strongest skills have swing meters which can be quite difficult to use, thus making the points spent to gain them a gamble. Another point to consider is the state of alertness of the player. Given the reflexes necessary to consistently and accurately use the swing meters, and the consequences of missed hits, a tired player will inevitably fare poorer than an alert one.

Pit kingdom against kingdom in this popular tower defense strategy game developed by Supercell!Clash Royale is a card collection + tower defense meets multiplayer online battle arena game that’s all about picking the right power cards to best bring down the opponent’s kingdom. If you enjoyed Clash of Clans, Hay Day, Boom Beach, or League of Legends then Clash Royale PC is right up your. Clash royale pc.

The game has an option which will run the swing meters for the player with the most common outcome a normal strike. This can make combat much easier or more difficult depending on the skill of the player and the abilities of their school. A player skilled with swing meters can often defeat higher-leveled opponents by capitalizing on critical hits, while a player not using them must rely more on strategy since their fighters will be less effective in battle.

Multiplayer[edit]

Two game modes are offered here: co-op which allows up to four players to play in the story mode and complete the game side by side. The first player controls the movement throughout the world map and also the menu screens. Once player one engages in battle, the other players can enter and control the gladiators of their choice from the school. The other mode offered is the Versus mode. Here, up to four players can compete in an exhibition battle. The PlayStation 2 version of the game only supports up to 2 players at once.

Reception[edit]

The game received 'generally favorable reviews' on all platforms according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.^[20][21][22] It was rated as one of the 'best Xbox games most people never played' by Official Xbox Magazine.^[23]This game did not appear in the Canadian version

References[edit]

1. ^ ^abcEGM staff (December 2003). 'Gladius'. Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 173. Ziff Davis. p. 185.
2. ^Kato, Matthew (October 2003). 'Gladius (GC)'. Game Informer. No. 126. GameStop. p. 130. Archived from the original on March 13, 2008. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
3. ^Reiner, Andrew (October 2003). 'Gladius (PS2)'. Game Informer. No. 126. GameStop. p. 116. Archived from the original on August 6, 2008. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
4. ^Zoss, Jeremy (October 2003). 'Gladius (Xbox)'. Game Informer. No. 126. GameStop. p. 137. Archived from the original on April 9, 2005. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
5. ^ ^abcFerris, Duke (November 2003). 'Gladius Review'. Game Revolution. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on September 29, 2015. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
6. ^ ^abFour-Eyed Dragon (October 27, 2003). 'Gladius (PS2, Xbox)'. GamePro. IDG Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 12, 2005. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
7. ^ ^abcKasavin, Greg (October 27, 2003). 'Gladius Review'. GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
8. ^Meston, Zach (November 26, 2003). 'GameSpy: Gladius (GCN)'. GameSpy. IGN Entertainment. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
9. ^Meston, Zach (November 7, 2003). 'GameSpy: Gladius (PS2)'. GameSpy. IGN Entertainment. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
10. ^Meston, Zach (November 7, 2003). 'GameSpy: Gladius (Xbox)'. GameSpy. IGN Entertainment. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
11. ^Surette, Tim (November 19, 2003). 'Gladius - GC - Review'. GameZone. Archived from the original on September 27, 2008. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
12. ^Lafferty, Michael (November 4, 2003). 'Gladius - PS2 - Review'. GameZone. Archived from the original on December 30, 2008. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
13. ^Hopper, Steven (November 10, 2003). 'Gladius - XB - Review'. GameZone. Archived from the original on May 22, 2009. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
14. ^Irwin, Mary Jane (October 28, 2003). 'Gladius (GCN)'. IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
15. ^Irwin, Mary Jane (October 30, 2003). 'Gladius (PS2)'. IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
16. ^Irwin, Mary Jane (October 29, 2003). 'Gladius (Xbox)'. IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
17. ^'Gladius'. Nintendo Power. Vol. 174. Nintendo of America. December 2003. p. 139.
18. ^Baker, Chris (November 2003). 'Gladius'. Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. Ziff Davis. p. 130. Archived from the original on January 15, 2004. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
19. ^'Gladius'. Official Xbox Magazine. Future US. December 2003. p. 154.
20. ^ ^ab'Gladius for GameCube Reviews'. Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
21. ^ ^ab'Gladius for PlayStation 2 Reviews'. Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
22. ^ ^ab'Gladius for Xbox Reviews'. Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
23. ^McCaffrey, Ryan (November 2, 2007). 'The 20 Best Xbox Games You Never Bought'. Official Xbox Magazine. Future US. Archived from the original on July 30, 2013. Retrieved July 22, 2019.

External links[edit]

• Gladius on IMDb
• Gladius at MobyGames