Those PC
gamers that have sunk their teeth into the massive battles of Rome: Total War
can tell you that the massive battles are quite an addictive joy so when
word got around that the makers of the game were designing an action-packed hack
and slash game you can bet we just had to take a closer look.
Total
Warrior puts
you in the sandaled feet of a Roman Era Spartan soldier that goes up against
massive armies without even batting an eye. The first level we got to preview
has our armor-less Spartan charging across a battlefield filled with lightly
armored yet well-armed Centurions. One of the game’s most noticeable and
distinguishing features is the fact that there’s up to 190 soldiers on screen at
once. That’s including soldiers fighting on your side as well as the armies of
the enemy. The other good news is that despite the number of people battling on
screen the framerate seems to stay at a steady 60 fps.
Much like
Dynasty Warriors, the gameplay is pure hack and slash action with combo
moves and you can also power up your thrust by holding the attack button and
unleashing a massive blow to multiple enemies. Aside from the fact that you can
impale a soldier you just knocked down, the Spartan can jump and block blows
with his shield. Meanwhile all around you soldiers battle all around you. If
you’re worried about dozens of bodies piling up on the battlefield don’t be
because there’s no unnecessary clutter. The game showed off the fact that there
are catapult attacks and the armies can let loose a shower of arrows.
So far
Total Warrior’s action feels challenging enough but with sparsely
detailed graphics, okay voice work and the fact that it has the all too familiar
feel of Dynasty Warriors are some of the things that might turn off
gamers that aren’t into this genre. Then again, with an impressive recreation
of armies knee-deep in bloody battles, Total Warrior might just renew our love
for some hack and slash fun.
We can
expect Spartan: Total Warrior this fall. It will also be released on the PS2
and GameCube.
