I like Gameforge as much as the next guy.  Browser games like Ogame and Ikariam prove they’re a factor in the browser game area, but some of their games are just not as good.  Gladiatus is one of them.  Gladiatus is a browser game in which you take the role of a gladiator in roman times.  With such features as an arena in which you can beat everybody and the dangers of the wilderness, it certainly has a certain level of adventure.

First Look: When you log in, you have an overview screen on which you can drag and drop weapons, armory and items into your gladiator.  But of course, you have nothing in the begining.  When you start, you are given a certain amount of gold which you can use to buy weapons and train your gladiator.  After paying for the training, the cost of training for the next level doubles.  You can get gold by working at the stables.  When you work, you cannot do anything else.  You can set the amount of hours you want to work, ranging from a minimum of 1 hour to a maximum of 8.  You can join guilds and add friends to your familia, which is what they call the buddy list.

Gameplay: One of the main features is the arena, in which you can challenge any player to a battle. You can challenge other players who are on your same level for free or challenge any player for 10 gold. The game features a basic quest system which can be found at the tavern. These quests are sorted by easy, medium, or hard. Easy quests require 2 steps – usually meet someone or get an item with the medium requiring 4 steps and hard requiring 6. It’s pretty straight forward although sometimes confusing. Your weapons and armor can be upgraded by purchasing them from several locations: market, auction building, or weapon/armor smith. Players can buy and sell items in any of them. There is a special currency in the game called rubies which can be used to get certain items in the game. Rubies are the equivalent of a pro-account in which you pay real life money for features that enhance gameplay. Finally, there are expeditions you may take which range in 10, 20 or 30 minutes in which you fight an NPC (non playing character). Here, you can win experience and gold. Several other factors come into play but this gives you an idea of what you can expect.

Conclusion: This game was midly entertaining for the first couple of days, but then gets old. There is no clear purpose (glory?) or sense and the only way you can perform poorly is by getting an account and then not playing, which is not a bad idea. Overall, it’s has the pretty graphics that Gameforge is known for but it is clearly not their best.

Rating 12/20

[ Graphics | 3 ]
[ Gameplay | 3 ]
[ Through | 3 ]
[ Fun Factor | 3 ]

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SECOND OPINION - by LordLComet

All in all, This game has some good ideas, but that’s about it. It is brutally repetitive, what you do at lvl 2, you’ll be doing the same thing at level 100, if you ever get that far because you might die from boredom first. Also, people with lots of money can rule in this game, while the not so fortunate keep getting bashed on by the former. The game has some good ideas, it just falls short of keeping your interest for long.