Gladiators. They've provided the material for several Oscar-laden blockbusters, and made women swoon at guys in leather skirts, but these so-called warriors have done little to grace the video game world.

Gladius starts off well, with some very stylish cutscenes (a mix of storyboard and watercolour images) detailing the main story: a lengthy war between Imperia and Nordagh is finally brought to an end when the gods intervene after a raid by the Valkyries. All well and good so far. This is followed by more cutscenes. And yet more.

We pick up the story (after more cutscenes, you see where I'm going here) and take in our hands the destinies of Ursula and Valens - two very different warriors who must build up each of their fighting schools and prove themselves worthy of competition throughout the land.

This would be okay, apart from the fact that during the first fifteen minutes of the game, there are only about two minutes of actual playing. Boring cutscenes and unnecessary blocks of cheesy dialogue, wrapped up in corny American accents immediately ruin the experience. Not good.

After an overlong tutorial, you'll have learnt the basics of turn-based combat. When it's your go, position the cursor around the arena, and move, attack or pass. Your movement is limited though, to three squares in total, in all directions. Depending on the type of warrior you've recruited (there are 16 classes), your fighters will have different strengths and attributes. Thus, by pitting your stronger fighters against weaker enemies, you should win hands down, but the random AI means this is rarely the case.

Combat is centred around a swing system - after selecting the appropriate attack (Strike, Range, Magic or Heal), you must stop the marker in the red section of the power bar for the most effective action. Supposedly moving your warrior to the side or rear of an enemy will also result in a more damaging assault, but seeing as they will turn and face you as you approach, this negates the point. Another strategic element is the positioning of your warriors before battle commences, as we're informed this will "affect the tide of war", but as we don't actually have a choice in their positioning, this is also pointless.

On the bright side of things, with countless tournaments, leagues, upgrades and weapons available, Gladius is deeper than a slave trader's pocket, and will take a fair while to work through. There are a couple of nice additional touches too, like the way the crowd's mood significantly affects the performance of your team. However, after an age of tiresome cutscenes and unfair AI, you may not want to see much more. What say ye, Emperor? Thumbs down.

1. Loads of tournaments
2. Tons of upgrades

1. Unfair AI
2. Too many cutscenes that get in the way
3. Unnecessary and tedious dialogue

Power
Cinematics are nice but the slow-paced action hardly tests the Xbox to its limits.

Style
Good-looking environments but combat is uninvolving and tedious with no sense of tension.

Immersion
Takes an age to start playing the real game, and the end result is less than inspiring.

Lifespan
If you do manage to get through the early levels, there's enough here to ensure some longevity.

Summary
Neither RPG nor actioner, unfortunately Gladius lies slain in a pool of its own blood after its first fight.