Circus Maximus: Chariot Wars

"there are far to many problems with this game..."

I'll admit that I did buy this game on impulse after reading only one or two reviews for it. I decided to go on my gut instinct that this game would turn out to be a fun experience. Unfortunately, my gut failed me.

Graphics-6
The graphics in this game are fine. They portray the characters as they should be, but other than that there is little detail or texture in any of the characters. The same goes for the backgrounds, although there is a bit of scenery, so it's not quite so bad. The problem is that the X-BOX is capable of churning out graphics at least three times better than these, so it's a pretty big disappointment.

Audio/Sound-4
This game doesn't have much sound, and the sound that it does have is quiet, generic, and repetitive. Once you hear one warriors 4 or 5 taunts, and jeers, they start to get on your nerves really fast. Also, is it just me, or is the background music way too quiet? It literally gets drowned out by the chariot's wheels and the horse's hooves, which, unless I'm mistaken, can be heard throughout most of the game. This means you can almost never hear the music. That's a bad thing.

Story-4
You are a chariot gladiator team, and you must prove yourself worthy in a number of different arenas against a number of different opponents before you are deemed worthy to participate in Circus Maximus. This kind of game doesn't
really require much of a story, but come on...these guys aren't even putting any thought into it.

Gameplay-4
First you must pick your chariot team(which includes a driver, fighter, horses, an a chariot). Then you select a stage. You are now about to enter the fantastically monotonous, and downright boring world of chariot racing. You can choose to drive your chariot while you fight, which is kind of difficult, or you can set the A.I to drive for you. The problem is that the A.I doesn't drive well at all. More often than not, your computer driver will lose the race for you. Too bad.

The controls are fairly simplistic. The driver can whip the horses(accelerate), or pull the reigns(slow down). The driver also has the ability to turn. The fighter has 4 attacks, but in most cases, only two will be very useful to you. The fighter can also block, and duck. The fighter's job is to protect the chariot from the other fighters. After a while either job will become more of a chore than an exciting thing to do. During the race there are powerups to pick up. Yay. After you beat the game there is no reason to replay, unless you want to play for the 'fun of it'. There isn't much fun in it though, so this most likely wont happen.

Two player mode get's just as boring after a few run throughs, and the steep learning curve means your friends can't just pick up and play the game very well, especially if they are going against you.

Buy/Rent - Rent it if you must
Certainly DON'T buy this game. If you must give it a try, you may find that it will provide you with a weekend's worth of fun. Even then, you'll probably be all to happy to bring it back to Blockbuster.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 10/07/02, Updated 10/07/02