Shadow of Rome – Review

No, it’s not for the PC and no, it’s not an RTS despite the thoughts that may enter your head upon hearing the title. Shadow of Rome sees Capcom go stealth-em-up come hack’n’slash-em-up murder mystery in their latest outing set in pre-Christian Rome. Sound odd? Yes, it does, but it works in such a glorious way.

+ Gore, Gladiators and History Lessons…
In true Capcom fashion we are warned of the impending “scenes of explicit violence and gore” right from the get go… Excellent, if you like that kind of thing. The opening FMV sequence sets the scene for the game, it explains no story. Just lots of flash FMV that looks amazing and gives us a brief explanation of the Roman empire of the time, which happens to be 44 B.C. We learn that the empire has expanded so far that it was difficult to maintain peace and the Roman soldiery was exhausted defending her borders from hostile nations. Queue Julius Caesar who is held up as a great hero and leader… Okay, so it sounds a bit ‘meh’. However, this history lesson is expertly mixed with scenes of gladiatorial combat to keep the interest of the bloodthirsty among us. This kind of compromise is reflected in the actual game play. Oh, yeah… Caesar gets assassinated at the end of the FMV.

+ All Roads Lead to Rome…
Who would have thought a game called Shadow of Rome was set in Rome? Well, it is and it isn’t. As the game is played from two perspectives, we alternate between fighting and stealth using Ex-Centurion Agrippa and his Noble friend Octavianus. Think of them as a Roman version of Snake and Ottacon of the Metal Gear series. As Agrippa we tour the empire with a stable of gladiators in an attempt to win the tournament to seek out revenge for your executed mother and the opportunity to execute you father because then you can save him from being wrongfully executed for the assassination of Caesar. While Agrippa travels the empire taking on insane odds in crazy gladiatorial games his friend Octavianus sneaks around Rome from the Foro Romano to the Senate following leads without being detected. It sounds complicated but let’s face it; the game not only demands your full attention but deserves it.

+ Let The Games Begin!
Obviously most of Agrippa’s action takes place in the gladiator pit although there are a few levels played retrospectively. The action is often thick and fast. The gladiator games are varied and fun to play. Battle Royale, team matches, one on ones and rescue missions keep a simple format fresh while progressing through the levels, new weapons and objects are made available for your disposal. As you could have guessed having a weapon at hand is essential for survival and gee, are we spoilt for choice! Maces, scimitars, halberds, shields, bows, slings amongst other marvels provide hand-held devastation, of course you can punch and kick but it really is useless. Heck, if you want to punch and kick the Capcom gods provided man with Street Fighter so feel blessed.

Playing as a gladiator means your sole purpose is to entertain the blood thirsty crowd. As you maul your opposition in various wild and wonderful ways the crowd’s insatiable bloodlust builds you Salvo meter. When full a press of X and O will put you in the “Roman Spotlight” and the crowd will throw you a powerful weapon capable of cutting whole bodies in two! Gross? Well, yes but very cool nonetheless.

Alas, it is in the arena where the game shows its first minor flaw. Yes, the dreaded “button bashing” monster rears its ugly head. It is all too easy just to hold R1 (lock target) and while away the time by pressing X, holding it in every now and then to spice things up if the action gets stale. Fortunately you won’t get away with it for very long if you find Agrippa surrounded by the various types of enemy. (From tiny mini-men to 7 foot bit shrickhouses.) If that’s the case a hasty retreat is in order! The second flaw lasts about 3 seconds. If you die as Agrippa you will witness the most disgusting, naff, poorly thought out James Bond style blood ooze down the screen. The abysmal rendering of this merely adds insult to injury.

Another touch that was interesting is the salvo list. It is like a checklist of the ways to attack and kill enemies. A few of my favourites include: “Big Roman Balls” (The ultimate in stupidity/macho… Choosing to enter a fight weaponless) “Fire Fighter” (attacking an enemy whilst on fire, very noble) and the wonderfully descriptive “Juicy Tomato” (to earn this one you have to mash an opponents head to a bloody pulp.)

+ When in Rome…
As Octavianus your aim is to sneak around Rome picking up clues of who truly murdered Caesar but why focus on that when there are better things to be doing… Shopping. Yes, forget about the Roman JFK Conspiracy for a moment and relax, buy a rug and decorate your room with coins you pick up off the street (because that’s the actions a Roman noble takes). As odd as it seems it adds a nice distraction if you feel you’re moving through the game too quickly. However, when it comes to Octavianus doing some stealthy action it’s pretty standard. Walk, edge along wall, knock guard out with vase, and change clothes. It’s nothing that special. In fact, it feels a little limited as to what you can do. There is no stealth dive/roll, no jumping or climbing unless a note saying ‘action’ pops up. Also, getting through the stealth missions come down to little more than trial and error that can get tedious. I often found myself thinking “come on… Back to the real action!” Don’t get me wrong, I love stealth-em-ups it feels, though, that Shadow of Rome lacks a certain something when it comes to the stealth portion of the game. It does redeem itself by being the portion of the game that actually tracks the story.

+ So, What about the Girls?
The very nature of the game is geared toward men. It’s a macho revenge saga! There is only one female character and she isn’t very significant at all… She just helps you escape a nasty situation or two then refers you on to her brother who owns a gladiator stable, but she is made handy in the cut scenes providing some unnecessarily provocative leg shots. However that’s not to say men aren’t exploited in the course of the game. Heck, Agrippa’s dad is a patsy and the whole basis of gladiatorial combat is exploitation, albeit non-sexual. The girl gamer who likes to hack off men’s bits and then hit them with said bits will thoroughly enjoy this title!

+ Overall
Graphically, the game remains outstanding throughout with well rendered characters and scenery alike and frame rates tend to stay constant.

The sound is also very good although some of the voice acting can be a bit hammy at times. Sound effects are great, especially when munching on food to regain energy. The game’s soundtrack compliments the situations very well and doesn’t get confused amid all the action. Subtitles by default are on so the hard of hearing can enjoy the opening FMV without having to go to the trouble of turning subtitles on then watching the introduction. As far as I could tell there are no closed captions which means “ARG!” wont come up as you throw some poor sap off a tower. However, subtitles will come up as Octavianus eavesdrops during his clandestine operations. All in all meaningful dialog will come up in subtitle.

Unlockables keep the game fresh and the salvos get the player’s sadistic imagination going as they are forces to dream up wicked ways in which to punish the pitiful fools who dare stand against them.

Shadow of Rome is a brilliant, violent, involving, well thought out piece of work and is what we have come to expect from the glorious Capcom. Unfortunately the stealth portion of the game is a little bit of a let down and brings the game’s score down. For the most part though, the pros outweigh the cons and it is with this in mind Shadow of Rome receives 4/5.

Review by Gary

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