GENRE
	Fighting
	DEVELOPER
	High Voltage Software
	PUBLISHER
	TBD
	WI-FI ENHANCED
	Unknown
	WII EXCLUSIVE
	Yes
	EXPECTED RELEASE DATE
	2010 TBA
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Hardcore Wii owners have plenty to cheer about right now. The Conduit is a great game, and the upcoming Muramasa: The Demon Blade and The Grinder are looking good as well. The funny thing is that two of the three aforementioned titles are from the same developer: High Voltage Software. Well, High Voltage is back for more, with a one-on-one strategic fighter that dates back to the times of ancient Rome.

Gladiator A.D. lets a gamer become a Roman, Persian, Egyptian or other historical warrior, set upon a personal quest strewn with arena battles to the death. For single players, a story mode with detailed backstories will take the selected warrior from the lowest ranks of gladiatorial combat to fighting champions of arenas, if not the Roman Emperor himself: sometimes for fame, sometimes for revenge and sometimes for freedom. The main characters will also have specific relations and reactions to each other when encountered in combat, though we were told that there will be many other combatants in the arenas to fight against aside from the main roster, as well as tigers, lions and other beasts getting in the action, perhaps emerging from the pits we've noticed in the Coliseum stage. Adding an atypical twist to the fighting genre is decisions made (sparing lives, ending them) in the single player mode will lead to different story branches in a warrior's journey.

Whether in single player or split screen two player battles, this is not a fighter about button mashing. Instead, strategic decisions-- both offensive and defensive, must be made on the fly, while the gamer must also customize his weapons, armor and moveset to an optimal combination. In battle, bBy analyzing an opponent's armor and attacks, the gamer must then decide the best way to string together light, heavy, overhead and power attacks. Seeing it in motion, Gladiator A.D.'s slow and methodical, and certain actions will curry or lose the favor of the audience and any spectating champions.

Already eight months in development, Gladiator A.D. looks promising. As with its previous titles, High Voltage is going all-out with detail, including elements normally found in franchises such as SoulCalibur or Mortal Kombat. For instance, if a fighter keeps inflicting damage to an opponent, pieces of the opponent's armor may get knocked off. The regular fighting of the game is very bloody, and characters can do finishing moves, similar to the Mortal Kombat series, which makes battles all the more entertaining. In an interesting tweak to the fatality concept, when able to execute a finishing move, the gamer can choose between distinct options that either humiliate, brutalize or completely execute the opponent in gory fashion, each of which, as aforementioned, may change the story the gladiator goes through. Interestingly, High Voltage did at one time try removing the blood and gore that splashes across the screen both in finishing moves and the moments leading up to them, but testers of the game were much less engaged and interested with the goings-on, so the blood was brought back.

Running on a slightly enhanced version of the Quantum engine that powers Conduit, the fighters and their armor and weapons look crisp and highly detailed. The environments look sharp, too, if a little too in love with the rosy sunset lighting scheme that permeates most of the game's early screenshots. Adding further detail are large crowds of spectators who dynamically react to the goings-on in the battle, even cheering for favored warriors and booing (if not throwing things at) unpopular combatants. Occasionally the game would even cut to a close-up of an audience member, perhaps a member of Rome's ruling class, for a verdict or reaction, though this character model was bland and not as nice looking as the warriors. We anticipate this will be touched up in the many months before the game's release.

High Voltage's Conduit and The Grinder are logical choices to target Wii's hardcore audience with-- shooters have mass appeal. Gladiator A.D.'s methodical arena fighting, however, is an intriguing gamble that may prove rewarding to the developer. There's definitely a lot more polish and enhancements the game will receive in the coming months, and we're excited to see how it will resonate with its intended audience when it releases next year.