Spartan: Total Warrior

"An outstanding hack 'n slash that surpasses dynasty warrior."

Spartan: Total Warrior is one of the best new hack ‘n slash games available. Taking place during ancient times, you are a spartan defending his city from the romans. Along the way you will face many other threats. Like dynasty warrior, you will see many units on screen slaughtering each other, both enemies and allies. You control a sword wielding warrior. The game has many great mechanics and it will have you playing it for months after you make the initial purchase.

Game Play: 10

The game play for Spartan is great. The action is far more fast paced than that of the dynasty warriors series, yet plays in the same manner. You can interact with lots of things in your environment and the attack system works well. There are quite a few attacks you can use, though some may become obsolete quickly, as you will almost always want to use attacks that damage more than one enemy. Some parts of the quests you undertake will be frustrating but the things you partake in are very fun and a few could even be said to be epic game experiences. Much in the same fashion of god of war, the creators of spartan really tried to make everything as big and extreme as possible. The game is quite long and you will never be left bored. After completing each level, you get tokens to place into skills such as health and power. You even get more weapons and armor as you go along.

Graphics: 8

The character models in the game are far form perfect, but they are certainly nothing bad to look at. The most impressive feature of Spartan is the sheer number of units you will see on screen at once. You can literally see over 100 guys battling at one particular point, and the more enemies there are to fight, the more of the nice looking blood you get to shed. Another impressive feature that they added was the fact that the bodies of your fallen allies and enemies remain on the ground throughout the whole level. The environment s about as good in any you would see in a dynasty warriors game, though they are more interactive.

Sound: 7

The sound in the game has its pros and cons. The effects themselves are fine; You will hear people screaming, swords clashing and units shouting out orders. Some of the voice acting was a bit over done (Elektra) but for the most part it is convincing. The music is good at times, but you will notice funny DJ sounding music that totally ruins the feel of the game at some parts and you wonder why they would put it in the game.

Replay Value: 9

The game is long and you will definitely want to make it through the whole game at least once, and in most cases, twice. There is never a dull moment and each scenario is pretty unique. The only repetitiveness is in the slaughter of thousands of men. But that never gets old, right? You will enjoy the game a lot, and there are also extras to unlock and a challenging arena mode to keep you playing for a while.

Rent or Buy:

Buy. The game is fun, and you will not have enough time to satisfy your thirst for blood by simply playing the game for 5 days. There is too much to admire about this game and you owe it to yourself as a gamer to pick up this one.

Over all: 8.5

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/19/05