Rage of the Gladiator (Wii)
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Rage of the Gladiator is a single player, first-person combat game based on skill, strategy, and timing along the lines of the classic Nintendo franchise Punch-Out!! Instead of a plucky up-and-coming boxer, players enter the shoes (armor) of a deposed prince in the land of Avalance, blamed for the murder of his father, the King. He must fight for his freedom and retribution in a Roman-style arena against a horde of monsters and madmen. The story is told through cutscenes and a first-person narrative.

The game is played in a manner largely identical to Punch-Out with the exception that it is entirely first-person rather than "over the shoulder" 3rd person as in Punch-Out. Players face off against a single opponent (referred to as a "boss") at a time over three difficulty levels. These difficulties operate as the different circuits of the aforementioned Nintendo classic, but feature the same line of foes and with an additional character per higher difficulty. The player does not move around the arena, but must carefully monitor and respond to the opponents in order to deliver successful attacks. This involves learning opponent attack patterns, dodging, and attacking successfully. Upon reaching higher levels, players are not simply treated to a "harder" version of the same opponent as before--enemies tend to feature new attacks and new patterns entirely, which requires the player to modify what they had learned on lower difficulties. Players can dodge or jump over attacks, or hold up a shield which blocks many energy attacks.

The bosses, or enemies, cover a variety of mythical Greco-Roman themes and other fantasy creatures, ranging from an apparent Orc to a Minotaur and a Beholder. Perhaps curiously in a game with overall Greco-Roman themes, the player's "tutor" (also an opponent) is of an East Asian characterization. There are a few other human-like opponents as well. Each character has it's own very distinct design and style of fighting, though the same basic concept defines the gameplay throughout--learn the attacks, counter appropriately.

Players earn money and skill points with successful battles, and skill points can be used to increase attack, defense, and magic, to add new combo attacks to their repertoire, or to increase 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, new weapons and armor, health, or magic items.

Magic is used in a more generic term, as it is built up through successful fighting and attacks. There are three tiers to the magic/combo meter, wherein higher level combo or magic attacks can be added to the player's arsenal. The magic bar is separated into three segments, each with it's own assigned magic or combo attack.

Players are encouraged to replay fights to earn more money and to earn higher clear ratings. Battles are rated from three (best) to one (worst) stars. This stems from the three rounds, or chances, a player has during a battle. Completely defeating an opponent without losing any rounds nets a player more money and a 3-Star rating. Magic and Health potions can be used during battle to either build up the magic/combo attack bar or to heal. A player must successfully defeat an opponent in order to move on to the next battle. Each completed difficulty advances the story.

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