Shadow of Rome

by Capcom

Product Features

• Agrippa and Octavius each face different quests -- use Agrippa's fighting skills and Octavius' stealth abilities to absolve Uesnius
• Face numerous Roman-era challenges, from chariot races and gladiator matches to tournaments and death duels
• Learn to fight and kill with ancient Roman weapons, from spears and swords to slings
• Explore the venerable city of Rome, completely reconstructed in full 3D -- from the bustling marketplace to the gigantic Coliseum
• Colorful cast of characters -- interact with real historical figures from the era

Product Details

• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B0002A6CPA
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches ; 8 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: September 8, 2006
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,920 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #26 in Video Games > PlayStation 2 > Strategy

Product Description

Game Informer Review

Generally, games that try to bunch together multiple gameplay types fall prey to a handful of frequent issues – illogical control schemes, lack of depth in a particular gameplay mechanic, and/or unbalanced coolness between the main characters. Capcom's Shadow of Rome still loses steam in certain areas because of these common pitfalls, but does do an exceptional job of avoiding them on most occasions.

The premise, for those who haven't been following the title, is to set players in the time immediately following Julius Caesar's assassination. Frequently, the game will switch back and forth between two characters: Caesar's nephew Octavianus, who handles the stealth side because he's kind of a weenie, and Agrippa. This character's father has been accused of the murder and his mother was killed because of the scandal. He has turned to the life of a gladiator in hopes of saving the father and avenging the mother. It's heady stuff, and the friendship between these two is the main reason that players will want so desperately to be successful – we'd really like to make them both heroes.

While Octavianus' covert portions of the gameplay mix work well enough, distracting the guards through whistles is never really a sure thing, and the level design doesn't really help to make these sections more compelling or rewarding. Most of the segments are a welcome relief from the intense action (more on that later), but lack the finesse shown in the combat portions. Climbing down from a box shouldn't require a hotspot-enabled action button press. Overall, they aren't bad or broken, but they do suffer from some dull spots.

While Octavianus is creeping around, Agrippa (a military muscleman) is recruited as a gladiator. This is where the game soundly earns its mature rating. You will beat men to death with their own arms, you will burst heads like ripe melons, and when you've caused enough spewing blood, you will cheer for the crowd and they will shower you with affection. And all of that is mighty fun – not entirely because of the gore, but also because gladitorial combat is much more complicated than one would first guess. Simply beating enemies isn't the hardest part of a bout, appeasing the crowd and fueling their bloodlust is. With that in mind, Capcom developed the Salvo system, which rewards players and gauges the crowd's response by setting certain moves at a higher value. More often than not, it's much harder to entertain the morally bankrupt spectators than just survive.

While this is historically accurate, there are few games in memory that caused me such a moral dilemma. It's a blast, and the combat is a great balance between a wrestling and a fighting game, but I felt like a terrible human being. I guess that's the price you pay for being a gladiator.

Concept:
Mix gladiatorial combat, stealth action, and a quasi-historic look at ancient Rome

Graphics:
Really sharp and nicely colorful – characters pop off of the screen

Sound:
The music is pretty subdued and I feel like it could have made more impact during the gladiator combat, but the voice acting is generally good

Playability:
Switching control schemes between gameplay types is done well, with each having their own quirks and strong points

Entertainment:
A blood-spewing good time, if you can bend your moral code a bit while you play

Replay:
Moderate

Rated: 8.5 out of 10
Editor: Lisa Mason
Issue: February 2005

2nd Opinion:
Beating foes with their own limbs to the crowd's roar made every demented cell in my body scream with joy. But man cannot live on death alone, and Shadow's stealth is fun in its own right. However, killing the weak and stealing from the dead in battle is your true love. The fact that weapons break makes you constantly adjust your playing style. The phrase: "Don't make me break a sword off on your ass" was coined in Rome many years ago. I would like depth through character upgrades and a better targeting system, but then again you are just a gladiator – you will kill on command and you will like it.

Rated: 8.5 out of 10
Editor: Matthew Kato


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Product Description

The year is 44 B.C. The grandeur of the Republic of Rome has been tarnished by political corruption and society has been overrun by unruliness and violence. Julius Caesar advocates for drastic reform but he is met with opposition and murdered. The horrific news finds its way to the ears of one soldier, Agrippa, whose father is accused of the murder. Unfortunately, time is running out for Agrippa as his father is to be publicly executed by the winner of the next gladiatorial event. Venture throughout ancient Rome with the help of Agrippa's best friend, Octavius, and a female gladiator named Claudia. Shadow of Rome will automatically switch between Agrippa and Octavius, each of whom have their own area of expertise, to rescue Agrippa's father and uncover the truth.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars INTENSE, FUN & Addictive, March 16, 2005

By 

Chris Kennison (Jefferson City, Mo United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Shadow of Rome (Video Game)

Wow! I have to say, this game has kept my growing by the second rearend glued to the couch ever since I got it in the mail.

SHADOW OF ROME is truley what a Gladiator game should be, with a great story to go along with it.

The opening scene leads you out into the arena and it quickly initiates you into the blood splattering, heart pumping fun.

The best thing about SHADOW OF ROME is the fact that the motion while you're fighting is surprisingly free. Your movement is not restrictive and the controls are fantasic. Dodging by rolling away at the last second as the MAUL drives into the sandy ground where you were a second ago. Numerous ways to fight, attack and kill. I keep finding more.

Holding up your bloody hands to the crowd and they throw you food, better weapons and... yes... an occasional ROSE. They really like it when you hold up a recently severed head.

SHADOW OF ROME sometimes leaves the arena, to fill in backstory and you take on another character who is trying to discover and prove to everyone that the wrong person is set to be executed for the assassination of JULIUS CAESAR. When it does this, I won't lie, I'm slightly disappointed because I want to go back to the arena... but... all in all... the story makes the battles in the arena that much more intense and meaningful.

This is a fantastic game! Oh... did I mention the arena of Tigers?

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good gladiator fights, crappy filler stealth missions, March 24, 2005

By 

mdizzog (USA) - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Shadow of Rome (Video Game)

The story is basically between gladiator fights and stealth missions. The stealth missions are bad. At the end of the game you just control Agrippa over and over again because even the creators couldn't find an interesting way to end the game with Octavionus. The gladiator fights are the highlights of the game.

You control Agrippa, and you must complete different objectives, in order to obtain victory. There are team battles, rescues, sieges, animal fights, dominations, chariot races, and one called sword struggle which is real fun.

You can get tons of weapons to cut off foes arms and head. Halberds, mauls, schimiters, gladius', maces, torches, bows, daggers, rocks, spears, slings, and an awesome two-handed sword. There are several variations on these weapons, such as power gladius' and apollo's spear. The fun thing about the game is killing your opponents in different ways. The game rewards you with different salvo moves. You can cut people in half and watch blood shoot everywhere. You can grab a chick from behind, cover her mouth, and stab her in her stomach. You can suplex someone off a really high castle. There are so many creative ways to keep yourself entertained that you will want to fight gladiator battles over and over again.

Once you play these missions once on normal, or hard, you can play them again whenever you like in battle selection. You can unlock new salvo moves and get more salvo points. Although these salvo points don't count to your total salvo points in the actual game, you can get better trophies. Unlocking all bronze trophies in normal gives you a stupid art gallery, but I plan on unlocking more stuff later.

The stealth missions of this game are stupid. Some people like them, but I can't do stealth missions like this after playing games like Splinter Cell and Metal Gear Solid. You do the same stuff over and over again.

First, you get a disguise. Then, you are forced to walk around for 15 minutes in that disguise. If you run for .8 seconds, a guard will run up and kill you in one hit. You are not allowed to run at all. Any running whatsoever results in the guards killing you. Occasionaly guards will stop to talk to you if you have a disguise on. They may say a few different things, but I have learned that only once choice out of the three is correct. Actually, I once encountered a guard who would kill you no matter how you responded. I constantly had to reload and I finally realized that I should just run past this guard into the next room, where the guards won't follow me. That's another thing. If you hide from a guard for 3 seconds, they give up and stop looking for you. If you were a guard and saw someone sneaking around, would you look for 3 seconds and then give up on him? The AI is stupid like that.

You can buy stuff with the coins you find. This stuff doesn't really do anything. It makes your room look cool, but that doesn't save the Octavionus missions.

Imagine walking around for 15 minutes, while hitting guards on the back of their heads with urns. Now imagine running around in an arena filled with blood, while a crowd cheers you for breaking the arms of a man then slicing his head off while he begs for his life. The gladiator fights are awesome and fast-paced, the stealth missions are stupid and slow. The gladiator fights are perfect, and If you can put up with some stupid crap you won't be dissapointed.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You gotta play this game!!!!!!!!, February 14, 2005

By 

killedbyriver "killedbyriver" (los angeles, ca) - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Shadow of Rome (Video Game)

This is an awesome game. Everything from the graphics to the gameplay is well structured around the storyline. What was really exciting about this game was that you get to play two different characters simultaneously. (It'll switch between the two characters automatically) One character relies on brute strength while the other uses stealth to solve puzzles and missions. Because of the two character gameplay you will never get bored of this game. I was also surprised by the fluidity and movement of the game's characters. Just a great game to play and enjoy.