Rage of the Gladiator came out originally for the Nintendo Wii as a WiiWare downloadable title, courtesy of Gamelion. It plays out like Punch-Out but with a different setting and premise, of course. Now, Gamelion has just brought this title over to the Nintendo 3DS. Will the effects offer as much impact this time round?
The story revolves around a prince named Gracius within the kingdom of Avalance. You take control of this prince as you enter into a fighting arena in a first-person perspective. With ten enemies to face, you will test your skills to see who will reign victorious in the end. This may seem a little short in content at first, but rest assured, the way the game turns out varies for each play and revisit.
In order to win, you’ll need to knock your opponent over three times. But on the flip side, if the same happens to you, it’s game over.  Movement is limited to just offensive and defensive attacks, including swinging your weapon, dodging, blocking and jumping. As such, you’ll be hacking your opponent with your war hammer and pulling off combo attacks.
In terms of the gameplay, you’ll be facing your opponent and executing attacks accordingly. Of course, you’ll need to act on the defensive side as you counter and block with your trusty shield. Ideally, you’ll want to land your attacks immediately after dodging your opponent’s attempted blows. If you can pull off enough attacks consecutively, your enemy will get stunned temporarily, similar to what you see in Street Fighter. There’s also a special combo meter, which when filled up, you can use to leave even more damage.
On the Nintendo 3DS, Rage of the Gladiator plays out quite well thanks to its accurate and responsive controls. Figuring out the mechanics of the game is very straight forward. So you can essentially jump in and play right away with very little time needed to figure out the control scheme.  And considering that you don’t have to worry about moving your character at all, Rage of the Gladiator mainly requires you to perfect the combination of offensive and defensive commands.
At times, you can get stuck due to the increase in difficulty, which can lead potentially to moments of frustration and perhaps lead you into a state of “rage.â€Â In addition, this may feel a bit repetitive because of the prolonged battle. Nevertheless, there are other features that act as redeeming factors for Rage of the Gladiator.
As you progress further in the game, you can purchase and unlock more combos and magical attacks. Furthermore, with the points you earn after each match, you can acquire additional abilities and enhancements. As a result, you get an element of RPG that makes the game more engaging and increases its replay value.
Included in Rage of the Gladiator is the challenge mode, which allows you to face your opponents, but this time, they are more difficult with their attack patterns. At the end of the battle, you’ll be evaluated with a letter ranking. Successfully getting at least an A rank within this challenge mode will potentially unlock an even more special ability. Therefore, this very feature further extends the game’s longevity.
As for the presentation, each character is unique based on the way they look, move, and sound. The voice acting and sound effects are superb while the environments have a great degree of detail. And when you factor in the 3D effect, you get easily immersed in the game. Overall, both the video and audio implementations may not be the best I’ve seen, but they have been executed so well that they will manage to maintain your attention span.
Rage of the Gladiator has a lot to offer in terms of its engaging gameplay and well-done presentation. You can get the game from the Nintendo eShop for $6.99 right now. If you’re looking for a title that plays out like Punch-Out, but with a little magical flavor, have a go at Rage of the Gladiator for you Nintendo 3DS.
