Although not an official licensed product of 2002's Oscar-laden film, Gladiator could easily be a continuation of the epic - it shamelessly rips off and incorporates elements of the movie.

We pick up the story as Thrax (Maximus), the greatest gladiator ever, gets ready to defend his title. The evil new Emperor, Arruntium (Commodus), has turned much of Rome into a combat area in the bloodiest games to date, and is intent on global domination. He's enlisting the help of evil gods, and the games are just a trap for murdering our valiant hero.

Things kick off with the mandatory tutorial level. Combat is introduced via simple two-button combos which serve you throughout the game: up/down slash and left/right slash, with countless permutations of these resulting in various linked attacks, and the triggers used for locking on to nearby enemies. Everything's looking good at this point - nice graphics, atmospheric lighting, and there's no sign of slowdown, even with multiple enemies on screen. Every hit results in a satisfying spurt of blood, and the combat's smooth and fluid.

After an untimely, unavoidable death, Thrax finds himself in Elysium, the warrior's afterlife, complete with long grass, tranquil atmosphere and soothing classical music. We soon run into two little brats in theatre masks, apparently the sons of the gods, who set us on our quest of delivering mankind from evil. And so begins an adventure around lost islands of the dead, mysterious temples, and violent encounters with mythological creatures. By undertaking time challenges, the player can upgrade Thrax's stats, making him quicker and more powerful.

Unfortunately, things head downhill from here. A dodgy camera seems to dog so many third-person actioners and, sure enough, it rears its ugly head here. There's limited camera manipulation - you can only zoom in and out - which prevents the player attacking hidden enemies around corners, but proves very frustrating when the game requires you to carry out specific tasks. Need to smash objects in a particular order? No way José - with no directable attacks you'll be left floundering next to the object, then you'll automatically move to lay into an enemy halfway across the room. After repeated attempts, and getting ironed out for your troubles every time, this really irks.

Problems like this prevent Gladiator from being a more solid title. Everything's presented well but, for a free-roaming adventure, the action's pretty railed. The lead character dies after the first act, and regrettably Gladiator does the same. No mercy!

Power
Fast-paced action with a good framerate and no slowdown puts Xbox through its paces.

Style
Atmospheric lighting and bone-crunching sound effects, plus a Sean Pertwee voiceover!

Immersion
Gladiator's combat is dead easy to master but the challenge levels will infuriate.

Lifespan
Expansive levels but unfortunately the dodgy camera hinders long-term progress

Overall A generic hack 'n slash that's well presented but is ultimately let down by fundamental camera flaws.

1. Nice graphics and sounds
2. Sean Pertwee!

1. Terrible camera
2. Frustrating challenges
3. Overblown cutscenes