Spartan: Total Warrior

From a general to a combatant, Spartan: Total Warrior puts you in the front lines as a Greek warrior fighting against a Roman invasion. Developed by Creative Assembly, the studio decided to step outside of its comfort zone to develop this hack and slash game, and the results couldn’t have been better.

Technically impressive, Spartan: Total Warrior’s fictional battles and characters might be unusual for Creative Assembly, yet the game’s satisfying gameplay makes up for almost every shortcoming it might have. Of course, the game isn’t perfect, but let’s see if its cons overtake its pros in this review.

Action tactics

Creative Assembly is well-known for its Total War series, which includes the classic grand strategy game Rome: Total War. In an attempt to make it into the console market, the developers have decided to create an action hack and slash instead of their usual strategy games. Spartan: Total Warrior chronicles the adventures of an unnamed Spartan warrior. Guided by Ares, the God of War, the Spartan must aid King Leonidas in his fight against the Romans. Some elements of the plot are taken from real-life events, but most of the story is based on Greek myths and legends. The game’s epic plot seems similar to God of War. Curiously, both games came out the same year, so neither of them was actually inspired by the other.

Button mashing

Being a hack and slash, Spartan: Total Warrior’s combat is easy to grasp and satisfying to master. However, it’s worth noting that it can feel a bit too reliant on button mashing from time to time. The player is able to use two types of attacks: a simple attack and a radial one. Simple attacks focus on a single enemy; they’re usually fast and powerful, but can leave the player open to multiple attacks. Radial attacks span a wide area, helping players deal with enemy mobs, but they’re a bit weaker than simple attacks. As the story progresses, players can unlock new weapons and magic abilities to extend their arsenal. The simple combat can become repetitive fairly quickly, with the action becoming more of a nuisance than a fun gameplay element.

Technically impressive

While Spartan: Total Warrior’s visuals might not be all that impressive, its engine is a thing of beauty. For starters, the game runs at a buttery smooth 60 frames per second. This impressive frame rate allows the hack and slash action to truly shine, as character animations look impressively fluid.

The game’s engine also features some impressive open terrains, with some jaw-dropping draw distances to boot. There are also tons of characters on screen, making the action feel close to that of Dynasty Warriors.

All of these technical achievements are certainly impressive, especially in the PlayStation 2 version of the game. The Xbox and GameCube versions also work flawlessly, as the game was developed for weaker hardware. Creative Assembly managed to develop one of the most impressive game engines of the sixth generation of consoles, and it’s even more impressive considering that this is one of its only action games.

Pros:

• Solid performance
• Easy controls
• Entertaining gameplay and plot

Cons:

• Muddy textures
• Gameplay can be too simple
• The story is over very quickly