by peter - February 22, 2005

After a period of turmoil, Rome is finally starting to settle down under the rule of its new emperor, Julius Caesar, and the much-anticipated period of peace�the Pax Romana�is seemingly close at hand. One night, while on his way to the Senate House, Caesar is suddenly killed and Rome is in shock. Who would do such a thing, and why? One of the more notable senators has found a perpetrator and claims that he witnessed the act, but is this the truth? Agrippa, a Roman Centurion, finds out that his father has been tabbed as the killer and returns to Rome. Octavanius, Agrippa�s friend and Caesar�s nephew, decides to do a little investigating of his own. Can Agrippa and Octavanius solve this mystery and save an innocent man?

The Gameplay's The Thing!

Shadow of Rome allows players to unravel this mystery behind Caesar�s assassination via alternating action sequences and stealth sequences. The action sequences follow Agrippa, a centurion soldier whose father has been tabbed as Caesar�s killer and looks to be headed for execution. The stealth sequences, meanwhile, follow Octavianus, Caesar�s nephew. In theory, it�s a nice idea to put these two types of gameplay together in order to add some variety; unfortunately, the stealth sequences prove to be too frustrating and don�t measure up to the game�s rather exciting hack �n slash action levels.

Agrippa�s stages are all-out action, with a lot of enemies to kill and some skill involved in order to dispatch them. These stages take place in several different areas, although most will find Agrippa playing the part of a gladiator and pitting him against some impressive foes. Agrippa must arm himself with whatever weapons and items he can find and try to survive, much to the delight of the crowd. The weapons have a finite usage span and will break over time, meaning that players will be switching weapons regularly. Many salvos-- different attack moves and combinations-- are possible, which earn Agrippa points and praise from the crowds. Most stages have a set parameter of salvo points that Agrippa must earn before it ends in order to progress, and there are different tiers for mastery: gold, silver, and bronze. Aside from the standard enemy types, there are also a good number of boss encounters. These boss encounters are challenging, but with a bit of pattern recognition and practice, they�re not ridiculously difficult.

Conversely, Octavanius� stages are all stealth. Players have access to a handful of sneaky moves, like wall creeping and hiding in jars. Octavanius can also eliminate enemies, but only via limited methods. He cannot fight hand-to-hand, so he needs �weapons� like rope, vases, and banana peels. The banana peels are especially amusing as players can simply watch enemies slip on them and knock themselves out of commission since they never look down. Unlike the Metal Gear Solid series, the enemies in these stages have unbalanced AI and while being blind to Octavanius one minute, they�re literally on top of him during the next minute. There�s no feel for the enemies� cone of vision, which makes it impossible to tell how safe Octavanius is�especially during the later stealth sequences that spell failure at any point in which he is spotted. What these sequences boil down to is a lot of trial and error, and with many players eager to return to more action with Agrippa, they just become a necessary nuisance that will leave some players wondering why they should even bother continuing after being spotted for the umpteenth time.

For those players willing to stick it out through Shadow of Rome, there is a handful of secrets to be unlocked, such as an art gallery, new game modes, and more. There are also a fair number of salvo moves to be discovered, and it may take a few playthroughs in order to find them all, thus extending the replay value a bit further for those who can deal with the stealth stages.

The Beauty Of Rome

Visually, Shadow of Rome is fairly impressive. The game apparently takes cues from Ridley Scott's Gladiator for many of its backdrops and does a decent job of bringing them to life on the PlayStation 2. Locations such as the Coliseum, the Senate House, and Syracuse Prison all look remarkably good. The character models are fairly detailed and they animate well. As with many action games, the camera does require a bit of manual adjustment during Agrippa�s sequences; however, it�s nothing fatal and can easily be done on the fly as needed. The same can be said to a lesser extent for the stealth stages, although players have more time to adjust the camera as needed while out of sight of enemies. The frame rate is also mostly locked in at a consistent 60 frames per second, despite the presence of a lot of enemies or a huge boss onscreen. Be warned that the action stages feature some of the most graphic violence around. Aside from gallons of blood being splattered everywhere, enemies can also lose their heads and arms and have even been known to wet themselves on occasion. While this may be unsettling to some, it�s also right on cue with Gladiator.

The Glorious Sounds of Battle

Shadow of Rome�s sound is mostly quite good. The music is very representative of the time and is epic when it has to be. Sound effects are sampled cleanly and stereo separation is impressive�especially in the Coliseum, when players can literally hear the swell of the crowd surrounding them after especially satisfying kills. The voice acting is better than average for the most part, although there are the occasional William Shatner-like pregnant pauses which simply aren�t needed. The game does support Dolby Pro-Logic II, and this is recommended for the best possible aural experience.

Alas, FunFactor, The Value is Average

Shadow of Rome is difficult to pin an exact number on, in terms of FunFactor. While the action sequences are great, the stealth sequences suck a lot of life out of the game. Instead of artificially jacking up the difficulty by making Octavanius weak or by auto-failing players for being so much as spotted in some stages, it would have been better for Capcom to focus more on the action stages and instead leave the stealth in as a minor diversion.

Et tu, PlasmaFactor

An extra point is given in the PlasmaFactor department, mainly because of the interesting story and the plentiful variety of Salvo moves that Agrippa can pull off. It's also hard to deny that I give a little extra tilt to a game that has potential for the right kind of game player.

Caveat Emptor

In the end, Shadow of Rome gets mixed results. The action sequences are seemingly worth the price of admission, as they contain some of the best hack �n slash action that the PlayStation 2 has to offer. The unfolding story presents an interesting tale surrounding Caesar�s infamous death, which can initially entice players. The visuals are impressive, and the sound is of equal quality. The ultimate failing of the game lies within its stealth sequences, which basically stand as interruptions of the game�s action and rapidly become frustrating and annoying. It�s too bad, as the action sequences by themselves could have carried this game. Rent this one, if only to experience the beautiful brutality of Rome, be for those prepared to pay full price, I say� caveat emptor.