Spartan: Total Warrior: Playstation 2 (PS2) / Gamecube / Xbox Previews

Platform: GC, PS2, XB
Genre: Action
Publisher: Sega
Developer: The Creative Assembly
ETA: September 2005

Review: Shogun: Total War (PC)

Review: Dynasty Warriors 4 (PS2)

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Spartan: Total Warrior

The Creative Assembly has been making quite the name for itself with its Total War franchise of PC strategy games. Now, they're taking the series and running a spinoff of it for the consoles with Spartan: Total Warrior, which will be headed to the Gamecube, Playstation 2, and Xbox.

Stepping away from it's strategy gaming roots, Spartan: Total Warrior will play out as a third person action title. Instead of controlling an army and trying to conquer the surrounding lands, players will take on the role of a single hero out to carve his place in

history, and find as much glory as possible along the way. The question that remains, though, is where and when in Greek history will players be fighting. Some of Sparta's finest moments were during the Persian Wars against Darius, and Xerxes, which would lead one to believe that this would be the most likely era used for the game, but we'll have to wait and see what the developers have up their sleeves.

Judging from what very little information is available at the moment, it appears that the Creative Assembly is shooting for something similar in spirit to Koei's Dynasty Warrior series.

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There has been talk of Total Warrior focusing on "epic battles", as well as screens showing massive battles that lend to this suspicion that the game may have some very intense combat.

Features:

Massive battles featuring legions of detailed warriors simultaneously engaged in dynamic, pitched combat
Wade into the thick of battle with intense combat featuring a wide range of moves, multiple melee & missile weapons, combos, spectacular special moves, finishing moves, blocks, shield charges and evasive manoeuvres
Realistic and fluid motion-captured and hand keyed animation without any sacrifice to game-play responsiveness
Richly detailed battlefields extend to the horizon. From arid wastelands to full scale cities, through dungeons to rugged mountains, and finally to the ultimate showdown in the Imperial Coliseum in Rome, the titles environments are massive

At this point, there isn't a lot of information on the game. The Creative Assembly has squeaked out a few tiny morsels of information to wet Total War fans' appetites, but they're keeping quite tight-lipped on the whole thus far. Interestingly, the franchise is getting a new publisher, as the Creative Assembly has teamed up with Sega, stepping away from former publisher Activision, for this new title. As of now, Spartan: Total Warrior is slated for a September 2005 release.

Mr. Nash

(March 9, 2005)