Rage of the Gladiator is a single-player, first-person combat game that is built on skill, strategy, and timing, similar to the famous Nintendo title Punch-Out. Instead of a spunky up-and-coming boxer, players put on the shoes (armor) of a dispossessed prince in the realm of Avalance, who is blamed for his father, the King’s, murder. In a Roman-style arena, he must fight for his freedom and vengeance against a horde of monsters and madmen. Cutscenes and a first-person narrative are used to tell the plot.
The game is played similarly to Punch-Out, with the exception that it is first-person rather than ‘over the shoulder’ 3rd person like Punch-Out. Over three difficulty levels, players compete against a single opponent (referred to as a ‘boss’). These difficulties function similarly to the various circuits of the Nintendo above classic but with the same cast of enemies and an additional character per greater difficulty. To perform successful strikes, the player does not roam about the arena but must carefully monitor and respond to the opponents. This entails studying opponent attack patterns, dodging, and successfully attacking. When a player reaches a higher level, they are not simply presented with a ‘harder’ version of the same opponent as before; adversaries often include new attacks and patterns, requiring the player to modify what they had learned on earlier difficulties. Assaults can be dodged or jumped over, or a shield can be held up to prevent numerous energy assaults.
The bosses, or opponents, encompass many mythical Greco-Roman themes and various fantasy monsters, including an obvious Orc, a Minotaur, and a Beholder. In a game with overall Greco-Roman motifs, the player’s “tutor” (an opponent) has an East Asian appearance and a few other human-like opponents. Each character has a distinct design and fighting style, but the same core premise underpins the action: master the attacks and counter correctly.
Successful battles earn players money and skill points, and skill points can be used to boost attack, defense, and magic, add new combo attacks to their repertoire, or enable the effectiveness of certain perks, such as increasing the odds of performing a critical hit or increasing the level magic builds up. Money can be spent on new skill points, weapons, armor, health and magic items, etc.
Magic is employed broadly because it is gained through compelling battles and attacks. The magic/combo meter has three stages where higher level combo or magic strikes can be added to the player’s arsenal. The magic bar is divided into three sections, each with its unique spell or combo attack.
Players are urged to retry bouts to gain more money and transparent ratings. Battles are ranked from three to one star (best to worst). This is due to a player’s three rounds, or chances, during a struggle. A player who defeats an opponent without losing matches earns extra money and a 3-Star rating. Magicagic and health potions can replenish the magic/combo attack bar or during warhead. A player must successfully defeat an opponent to advance to the next combat. Each difficulty completed develops the plot.
