Spartan: Total Warrior

"The Man, The Myth, The Spartan"

This game is hack n' slash at its finest. Not only do you attack hordes of Roman soldiers, but you take on mythical beasts and even the undead. If you're a hack n' slash fan this game is definitely a must own. There are some elements of strategy involved in which you must determine the best way to take on the hordes of soldiers you run into which creates a unique element not many hack n' slash games have.

Graphics: 9.5
The graphics in this game are really solid. There's not a ton of color different colors involved in the game namely because of the environments you fight in. That's good though because it adds to the fact that this is Rome and Sparta, two groups of people who believed in practicality rather than glamour. The soldiers are really well done along with the mythical creatures in the game. The only element I find odd is the amount of blood in the game. Not so much the amount, but the fact that when you hit someone, blood flies everywhere. The graphics are really well done though and the game is great to look at. And one final thing that makes the graphics look great is that in most hack n' slash games, the dead bodies magically disappear. Not in this game. When you kill an enemy, his body stays there the entire time making the game seem even more realistic in the sense that you're actually fighting a real army.

Sound: 10
The way I rate the sound in a game is how well it complements what's going on on-screen at the time. This game does that very, very well. First of all the sword sounds are great. When someone blocks your attack, or vice versa, the clang on metal is incredibly realistic. The voice acting is also very well done. The characters seem to come alive in this game through the voice acting.

Game play: 9
This is where the game blows everything away. This is hack n' slash at its finest. Hacking through hordes and hordes of enemies from barbarians to Roman soldiers to mythical creatures, this game has just about everything you could ask for in a hack n' slash. The game also features four different weapons which each have their own unique abilities and uses. Along with that, each weapon has its own form of god power that can be used to either do serious damage to one enemy, or damage an entire crowd of enemies. Also featured in this game is a leveling system in which you can choose after every level to add skill points to three categories. You can choose to increase your health, the damage you do, and your amount of god power. Though the game isn't free roam, the areas are quite large and there are a ton of secrets to unlock. There's a single missions replay mode in which you can go back and play missions you've already completed and there's a also an arena mode in which, you guessed it, you stand in an arena and fight hordes of enemies. The things that can be unlocked consist of the diaries of Archimedes and arena power ups that help in your quest to defeat all of your enemies. Overall, an outstanding game. The only real problem is that there are some missions that are rather painstaking and take a lot of time to complete and a lot of patience. Fear not though, because there are quite a few checkpoints along the way in every level so if you should so happen to perish, you can always start from a certain point in the level. Overall a terrific game.

Rent or Buy?
Definitely buy. Great game. The blood in the game isn't too bad and it shouldn't turn you off at all. That's the only reason the game is rated mature that I can see. No harsh language and nothing else that would be a turn off. Great game.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/04/06