Review: Shadow of Rome - PS2

This newcomer franchise is worth a look.

Monday, February 14, 2005

No doubt that many have no idea what Shadow of Rome is or that it has been released. Which is too bad, because Capcom has done some things in this game that no other action/adventure game has done. The depth and variety of gameplay is really what this game’s about, even if the gameplay is not executed to perfection.

Shadow of Rome takes place during the time when the Roman empire was beginning to decline. Society is corrupt just as the government is. You play as two characters: Agrippa, a general in the Roman army, and Octavianus, the niece of the Caesar and a good friend of Agrippa. Turns out that someone has assassinated Caesar, and Agrippa’s father is the prime suspect. Agrippa learns of this and rushes back home where he must become a gladiator in order to uncover the truth behind the assassination.

The story here is a pretty simple one. It will keep you entertained to an extent. It’s also really hard not to say that "Gladiator" inspired this story. Once you watch the first cut scene of the first major battle, I guarantee you that "Gladiator" pops in your head. Also, the fact that a general of the Roman army becomes a gladiator, Caesar is assassinated, and the successor to Caesar looks a bit like Joaquin Phoenix doesn’t help the case that this isn’t a "Gladiator" retread. However, the story is presented well with cut scenes I’m sure you’ll enjoy.

The game implements a pretty cool durability system for weapons and armor. As you go from encounter to encounter with enemies, your weapons or armor will break. Picking up new weapons or pieces of armor can solve this. The durability of each weapon is displayed on screen with a meter, and if you’re thinking about picking up a new weapon, that durability gauge is displayed when you walk over the considered item. The variety of weaponry is pretty neat as well. Heavier weapons are harder to use and take more time to take a swing, but they are much more powerful. Throwing weapons at enemies is really fun, but it’s a bit ridiculous. The characters basically throw these weapons with perfection and never miss. It’s pretty funny sometimes, actually -- you’ll see Agrippa launch an axe and nail someone 50 yards away.

Like I said before, this game lives off gameplay variety. There are a lot of different elements you’ll experience: sneaking, fighting, engaging in duels, chariot racing, etc. This variety centers on the character switching. When you play as Agrippa you will engage in action-heavy sequences. As Octavianus you will be sneaking and tracking certain people. This splits the game between action and stealth. The concept works out great as splitting time between the two heroes helps the story unfold.

There is a weakness in this, however: the actual gameplay is not well done at all. “Clunky” is the only way to describe it. It just doesn’t seem as smooth as it should be, especially in battles. When you are battling with other enemies, you’ll have lots of problems of delayed actions and enemies in locked into invulnerability when they are getting up from being knocked down. The camera doesn’t help, either. The camera is just slow in staying behind the character so this makes it pretty hard to see what’s going on. You’ll be resetting the camera position a lot, and this takes a while to get use to. Even after perfecting the camera system, you’ll still find some times where you still get frustrated with it.

The sneaking missions don’t suffer from these faults since they feature a slower pace. The camera isn’t an issue because you don’t have to make quick turns or anything like that. The battling issues aren’t in affect here because you don’t battle. Now this doesn’t necessarily mean that the sneaking missions are more enjoyable because they really aren’t. These missions were meant to be like Metal Gear and they are. There’s an evasion type meter, and you will be sidling along walls, peeking around corners and hiding in gigantic vases. The enemies even utter sounds like in Metal Gear. The problem is that these missions are too easy because the AI is pretty weak. Getting away from lerted guards is too easy and sneaking by them is as well. There are also missions where you have to follow a certain person that are not that difficult either.

The game’s artwork is gorgeous. The Roman cities and coliseums look great, and the textures on the building are definitely grade A for the PS2. Even though the fighting can be clunky, at least the animations stay true. Facial animation work was a nice plus as games are using this more and more. The outside environments aren’t as nice as the city ones just because you don’t get to see the architecture of the buildings. The forests are plain, and luckily you don’t spend that much time there. There is one problem and that is the buildings and other city surroundings do show a lot of jaggies. It’s pretty noticeable and does affect the beauty of the texture work on the buildings.

The music is well done, as I would describe the tracks in the game as modern versions of Roman scores. It fits well. The effects are nothing too great. Just simple weaponry and armor clashes. It would have been nice to hear a different sound when a giant axe hits armor than say a simple Gladius (Roman sword). The voice work is pretty top notch. No complaints on cheesiness or overacting.

The production values of this game are high, and you can tell by the presentation. It really is a joy to watch the cut scenes and watch the story unfold, even if it’s not a jaw-dropping one. I wanted to absolutely love this game, but I just couldn’t get over the clunkiness of certain parts. I would just get frustrated, angry, or both. There’s still a lot of entertainment value in the game, though.

Overall it is fun, but perhaps keep it at rental distance because you probably will be able to beat it with one rental cycle. The unlockable mini-games are pretty fun to play, but do get old. If I ever do purchase it, I’ll probably wait when it drops price down to the $20 range. Give it a shot because the variety really is cool and something you shouldn’t miss.

Graphics: B-

Sound: B-

First Play: B-

Last Play: B

Gameplay: B-

Overall: 81% B-

Opening: "Short Stories," by Dave Loewenstein :: A collection of paintings featuring imaginings of places, spaces, and people along a familiar route through Lawrence—little one-act plays and flights of fancy. Opens in conjunction with "Unsung" (artists age 30 and under) ... More info

More of today's events

< Previous month | Next month >