Spartan: Total Warrior Preview

There have been numerous attempts in this generation and past generations to create games that allowed you to feel like you were really a part of those “big battles.” The best attempts can be easily seen in games like the Dynasty Warrior series or even others like Drakengard. The makers of the well-received PC game Rome: Total War, Creative Assembly, is now making a console game that may do the best job of helping you feel like a part of those “big battles” this September! So with the guarantee of mass killing battles and over 160 soldiers to do those very battles with, Spartan: Total Warrior indeed looks very promising!

The person you will be taking control over in this game is simply dubbed “The Spartan.” His mission in life right now is simply, take down the Roman Empire! In a live demo tested by IGN themselves, a level on display shows a mission right after the Romans have managed to cook up a weapon of mass destruction. Somehow they’ve managed to capture the mythological Medusa and are using her powers to literally create a “stone cannon.” That means pretty much anyone that is in the path of the beam will spend the rest of their lives on display in someone’s town square. Unfortunately the Spartan and his team have to stop this, so they are forced to go right into the heat of this!

Spartan obviously isn’t alone, he actually has a good few dozen soldiers by his side that will help him get rid of a good number of the opposing Roman army. So if you’ve seen movies like Troy, Gladiator, The Last Samurai, or any other movie that emulates massive battlefield conflicts, you will be seeing virtually the same thing here! The bashing of skulls, the taking of names and the slicing of various body parts will very much take place!

In terms of beginning weaponry, Spartan “sports” a basic sword and shield for his heavy duty battling. He will actually utilize both for a number of combos that will evolve throughout the game. He also has a bow and arrow at his disposal that will allow him to execute safer attacks from a distance, but it’s also far less useful. Think about it, this is a heavy duty melee game, the last thing Creative Assembly wants you to be doing is focusing on long range attacks so you can’t get scratched! Now you may also now be under the impression that this is nothing more than a button mashing hack ‘n slash contest. That doesn’t seem to be entirely accurate, considering there seems to be a plethora of awesome combos that you will have to utilize depending on your “unique” situation in the game. Are you surrounded by 15 enemies that you have to command with multitasking or are there only three that you can simply toy with?

Your shield can actually be used to bash and stun, followed by a nice number of sword melee attacks that can then trigger a nice finishing maneuver! However, that is really only useful for the small stuff, Total Warrior is all about the big battles remember? So the real strategy will cause you to master the technique of “crowd control.” Sometimes your fellow soldiers will need the aid of your battle mastery, while there are always certain members of the opposing army that you may need to really focus on first before they completely obliterate your team.

Now while it’s all good and dandy to help out your fellow soldiers in distress, you can’t be entirely selfless in this game you know? While it’s important to help out your comrades, it’s just as vital to keep yourself alive! Just simply rushing into a fight with your “I can take 50 people down at a time!” ego will quickly earn you a spot underneath the earth. It is actually much smarter to take on your enemies in little bands at a time. Meaning, it’s more efficient to lure out your enemies at various times so you don’t end up becoming overwhelmed by 50+ people. You can even distract some enemies into coming into one of your OWN groups of ambushers so you’re not the only one outnumbering the opposition!