Dave Vague enjoys a bit of Roman slashing and learns to do magic better than David Blaine - Gladiator gets the Vague treatment.

I like to watch people doing magic, so I wanted to learn how to do magic, so now I've got Acclaims new slasher Gladiator, I can do magic.

Urruntius holds the throne, Urruntiun mad men run riot and crazed Gladiators bleed and the F.M.V., sharp though it is, has an ability to disturb, three boys in a tree. What the hell is that all about?

This is a really good looking beat 'em up, with big knives and swords and rivers of Roman blood set to transcendental yogic keyboard pads and chanting.

You spend a lot of time fighting the 'Jason and the Argonauts' skeletons which is lots of fun but they don't bleed, so flesh based kills are the most satisfying.

Dave enjoys the gore factor in this beat 'em up.

You look on from above as our hero, who has no name, since he was ripped from the arms of his mother, walks through a graphically pleasing 3D environment with great lighting effects.

Usual objective. Find the odd key, solve the odd puzzle, but keep cutting people up.

The magic comes in as you perfect special moves. You start off like the great supprendo and end up like David Blaine (Ed: so let me get this right Dave, you start off as a hideously obese magician and end up as a completely pretentious one?! -shazam!) as you graduate through the levels. The more kills you make the more magic you can do.

Yes, you can do magic too.

This game suffers from that starting really too easy and getting really too hard really too quickly problem, which will either improve its longevity or frustrate the custard out of you.

I am not the sort to buy this kind of game. It's not really my thing, But with its slick graphics and slick control I've enjoyed playing it.

So if you do like this sort of thing you're going to come to the decision to buy it as it equals the best in the genre, at least the best of what I have seen.

I'm off for a slash.

7/10

Dave Vague