Gladius

Finally, LucasArts had the foresight to surround the game's finely tuned combat with engaging story interludes, sidequests, and more content than you can imagine. [Oct 2003, p.130]

It's a must-buy for anyone with even the slightest interest in the genre, presuming they can handle the lack of super-deformed character design.

It’s easily one of the deepest games I’ve played in a long time, and will last you a while too.

If you’re looking for a game with a ton of depth, replayability and a solid storyline, look no further. Gladius is stockpiled with a ton of features that will appease everyone from the beginning adventurer to the hardcore strategist.

A slow starter, but once you're on your way, it turns out to be an excellent strategy RPG. [Dec 2003, p.139]

One of the best strategic turn-based RPGs out there, and its length (40 hours?) makes its value skyrocket. If you’ve always been interested in testing out the turn-based RPG market, Gladius would be a great starting point.

A highly addictive SRPG that appeals to veterans with its complex battle system and skills tree, while allowing one to customize and micromanage to their heart's content. The amount of things to do in the game is absolutely astounding.

Unless you seriously have a thing for turn-based combat and having to really work for your progress, the game isn't for you. But if you do, Gladius is one of the better examples of the genre on the system.

Some aspects of the game could have used some more polish, but these shouldn't deter anyone looking for a deep, involved, great-looking, and memorable RPG from getting Gladius.

Gladius isn’t a game for everyone, only the RPG enthusiast will fully appreciate the gameplay, which with 2 story modes, good for at least 45 hours each, is a time-consuming endeavour.

A great-looking, incredibly deep and satisfying combat role playing game. It's complicated and has a steep "getting started" curve, but the investment of patience pays off.

A wide range of attack options, character customizations, tactics, and battle requirements put fresh faces on what would otherwise be a repetitive match structure. Most importantly, the swing meter is just enough action to stave off the usual turn-based boredom.

While Gladius isn't going to convert haters of RPGs or turn-based strategy, it's got the same hard-to-define addictive hook as its older peers, "FFT" and "Tactics Ogre." The battles are fairly brief and the next goal is always reasonably close at hand, so it's hard to resist the lure of "just one more" brawl before quitting.

Many action-oriented gamers arena’t going to like this game at all, but you strategy buffs will be pleased that Gladius is such a strong contender, because you really don’t have any other options. There are no other games like it.

Tremendously deep warrior-customization options and rich strategy elements make Gladius absolutely worthwhile and fun, but prepare to invest serious time. [Dec 2003, p.185]

A brave game that deserves recognition. Gladius rises above its initial shortcomings and delivers a lengthy and enjoyable experience. [Dec 2003, p.112]

While the battle system is intuitive and deep at the same time (which I feel is the best formula for a Strategy RPG), the rest of the game suffers. The story is long-winded and uninteresting, the world map segments are bad both graphically and control-wise, and the load times are too frequent and too long, to the point of being almost intolerable.