Gladiator Begins

 PSP
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 74 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 60 out of 74
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 74
  3. Negative: 8 out of 74
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. CaptainObvious
    Mar 19, 2012
    9
    Extremely entertaining, all it takes is a few minutes of playing around to get the interface, which maybe overwhelmed the feeble brains of games magazine reviewers. This game is available for download on the Vita for $10 and in my opinion (and judging by the playtime it has gotten) it is one of the best value titles available. Especially good for anyone who likes customizing a fighter andExtremely entertaining, all it takes is a few minutes of playing around to get the interface, which maybe overwhelmed the feeble brains of games magazine reviewers. This game is available for download on the Vita for $10 and in my opinion (and judging by the playtime it has gotten) it is one of the best value titles available. Especially good for anyone who likes customizing a fighter and climbing up the ranks. The combat is fun and requires skill to defeat the harder gladiators. recommended… Expand
  2. AlexFili
    Mar 28, 2013
    9
    While not a direct tie-in to the “Gladiator” film by Ridley Scott, there are a few similarities. For starters, there are mentions of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus. There are is also the main plotline which is a slave rising up in the ranks to be a powerful gladiator. You start with an absolutely gigantic amount of debt, which is deducted from the winnings from tournaments. As well as this,While not a direct tie-in to the “Gladiator” film by Ridley Scott, there are a few similarities. For starters, there are mentions of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus. There are is also the main plotline which is a slave rising up in the ranks to be a powerful gladiator. You start with an absolutely gigantic amount of debt, which is deducted from the winnings from tournaments. As well as this, you get to keep some credits for medical purposes, buying weapons and armour and improving weapons.

    You start by creating a character. In comparison, it bears resemblance to Monster Hunter and Gods Eater Burst in that you choose a male or female character, hairstyle, athetic build, skin tone and more. There is no voice acting so your character’s name is mentioned frequently. The phrases and terms used match the historical references to real-life gladiators and roman soldiers. The plot is a typical rags-to-riches story and isn’t particularly imaginative, but does give the player some context to work towards.

    The range of weapons is good, with staffs, swords, daggers, axes, knuckledusters and more. With shields you have small circular ones, large rectangle shaped ones made from a variety of different materials. You also have helmets, arm braces, leg braces and the clothes you wear under your armour. You earn a couple of weapons from each battle, and can use these to increase your arsenal of weaponry.

    As you progress through the game, you level up a variety of different skills. One which needs to be improved is the skill governing weight, as this is what you need to carry the more heavy and better defensing equipment. You can also increase the amount of health you have and the stamina your character has. Stamina effects how many swings of your weapon you can make before you need to recover.

    Graphically it is on par with some of the PSP’s best games. The armour looks realistic, the character faces look good and the animations are fluid enough for it to be believable. The music and sounds are good and reflect the era well. Battles take place in small circular arenas in a sandy environment. Typically there are fence posts or metallic grates on the side of the arena which prevents people from leaving. Battles themselves consist of either 1v1 fights, battle royale survival matches or team based battles. Most of the enemies are fellow Gladiators, but there are some animals as well (presumably for special battles).

    There is blood in this game (as weapons come in contact with flesh rather than armour), but it is not exceptionally violent. There is no dismemberment and it can be assumed that most gladiators survive to fight another day. The language in this game is suited to that particular era and so does not contain any modern colloquialisms or swear words.    … Expand
  3. gta9246
    Feb 24, 2012
    10
    Best PSP game ever! The slashes, the cool armors, the skills, the plot... i only have one thing to say: Perfect!!!! Screw the critics!!!! Hope the Vita will get a sequel to this awesome masterpiece!!!!!
  4. Gedronter
    Feb 26, 2012
    10
    Well I have been playing the game for like a day now and i am enjoying it. I like that you have to work to get better. Would I say its the best....no its is fun but not the best. Would I tell others about the game....sure. I think there could had been more to the game. But it does sit nicely the way it is.
  5. Tushar
    Jan 31, 2013
    10
    Ok. This game is Repitative. But then do you expect a Gladiator to Dance around or goof up like School kids do ?? The Star of Gladiator begins is its Simple yet Addictive gameplay. Plus there are tons of Options for Customising the Gladiator, his Weapons, his Armor etc etc. The Animal Fights, Special Events are Grand & the day you finish this Game, you would just search for more games likeOk. This game is Repitative. But then do you expect a Gladiator to Dance around or goof up like School kids do ?? The Star of Gladiator begins is its Simple yet Addictive gameplay. Plus there are tons of Options for Customising the Gladiator, his Weapons, his Armor etc etc. The Animal Fights, Special Events are Grand & the day you finish this Game, you would just search for more games like this, I am very sure about that. I Did :-D… Expand
  6. JorganBigs
    Jun 14, 2020
    10
    This game is without a doubt, worth your time.

    The story isn't too great, but some of the characters are interesting. From Brosius, who has literally shed manly tears for you, to Gulielmus, who only wants to defeat you in combat; this game has personality. There are multiple endings, as well as multiple storylines, but the storyline the game starts you off in is that you are a    This game is without a doubt, worth your time.

    The story isn't too great, but some of the characters are interesting.

    From Brosius, who has literally shed manly tears for you, to Gulielmus, who only wants to defeat you in combat; this game has personality.

    There are multiple endings, as well as multiple storylines, but the storyline the game starts you off in is that you are a slave purchased by the Lanista "Magerius", and now you must fight and win money to earn your freedom, while also getting some extra coin to buy new equipment, and upgrade your current equipment, as well as heal any injuries you might have from a previous match. You can have up to 3 matches each day, though on some days you could have less.

    The graphics are... Ok, they aren't anything special, but you'll know whats going on 100%. I'd call it passable at best, ugly at worst.

    Not much good music, except for these two tracks: "Mock Battle" and "Avidius Cassius" (That one is especially good.) Besides that, the music is very passable, and even somewhat repetitive.

    The sound design is excellent, with every clang and thrust sounding realistic as can be. When you hear your sword thrust into the ribs of another Gladiator, it sounds awesome, and therefore, feels awesome as well.

    There are hundreds of pieces of equipment, all of which you can pick up and use on the fly, even helmets and shin guards that are dropped from your opponents can be used as weapons.

    There are RPG Elements resembling that of Monster Hunter, such as upgrading equipment and adding bonuses to it, like giving your helmet higher vitality, or higher strength, this stacks onto your normal stats and makes you more powerful, its very addictive.

    The game awards you Ability Points after each match, and if you want more Ability Points (which you use to level up your character), then you have to impress the crowd. Impressing the crowd becomes more and more difficult as you get to higher ranks.

    The gameplay itself is fairly realistic, but there are also fairly unrealistic moves that you can pull off.

    However, in my opinion, there hasn't been a more realistic game on a handheld since Samurai Dou Portable (A.K.A. Way of the Samurai).

    Speaking of the gameplay, its very fun, though take breaks, because the game can get repetitive after awhile (though thats the case for most fighting games, I think.)

    There are 4 different styles: Sword and Small Shield (Single Sword), Sword and Large Shield (Shield), Two Swords (Dual Swords), and Fist-Fighting/Fist Weapons (Pugilist).

    Each style has its own moves, and you don't have to stick with a moveset from a single style, you can take different moves from each style and come up with your own moveset.

    Also, just because I said "sword" in all of them, does not mean you'll be limited to just swords. There are tons of combinations you can make when it comes to weapons. Like having a sword and an axe, or a fist weapon and a big hunk of wood. Or even a helmet as a weapon, and then a sword! Best part is, no matter which weapons you picked, they are compatible with the custom moveset you made for your Gladiator, assuming you aren't trying to make an axe as your shield, because that won't work. I'm not sure if helmets deviate from this but I doubt it.

    Last thing that you should know about the weapons, is that there are unfortunately no two-handed weapons, which is a GIANT shame.

    There is a tutorial at the beginning of the game showing off how to use each weapon. How to pick up each weapon, and drop them, and the standard attacks.

    When you are at the Ludus, which is the hub place for you, you can choose the train option to try out new skills before you actually use them in combat for real. Or you can just beat on the trainer endlessly like I did.

    The game features your standard attacks, triangle does a higher attack, but holding it down can execute an unblockable power attack that can knock your opponents off-balance.

    There are also other things that you can add on to the normal attacks, like special attacks that you can put points into to make it stronger, with the cost of some Endurance.

    There are also parries, dodges, and stuff that can play into combat like getting knocking into a wall, bouncing off it into an attack, slipping on dropped equipment when you dodge, and more.

    After you beat the game, you'll unlock the Battle Arena, which includes every named Gladiator you've fought up to that point. You'll even unlock simple enemies and no-name Gladiators as well. In this mode, you can play as your Gladiator against named Gladiators in the game, or play as those named Gladiators, or even fight your own player-created Gladiator.

    For example, lets say you have a Gladiator named "Titus Smitus", in the Battle Arena, you can fight Titus Smitus USING Titus Smitus, or another Gladiator you've created.    … Expand
  7. Hudli
    Jan 16, 2021
    10
    Do you really expect me not to attack you physically for disliking this game? Buy the damn game already, it's $7.99 on the PS Store!
  8. JDnator
    Apr 20, 2011
    10
    screw the critics saying its repetitive... what do they want, some golf subsections with sudoku in the loading screens?? its ridiculous that these "critics" get jobs. its a fighting game.... you fight... i wouldn't expect anything more because im not an idiot pffffft.
    any way this game is sweeeeet... if you liked the film Gladiator, you'll love this.
  9. SilentINU
    Jun 17, 2013
    6
    There's no doubt this game has potential and is fun, but there are some aspects that sent it down. The fights start to get repetitive after hours playing it and you at least expected some cut-screens but nothing. The plot is basic and super linear and i thought i would be a free gladiator and have like my gladiators or even get an ending, but this game has no ending at all. The gameplay isThere's no doubt this game has potential and is fun, but there are some aspects that sent it down. The fights start to get repetitive after hours playing it and you at least expected some cut-screens but nothing. The plot is basic and super linear and i thought i would be a free gladiator and have like my gladiators or even get an ending, but this game has no ending at all. The gameplay is awesome and the part of the player destroying the enemy armor and weapons when attacking it a lot made you use some strategy but overall i always used a combo that was unbeatable and it lost all the fun. I recommend it if you like gladiator and fighting games, but this won't be one of the best you'll play. It's a good gladiator game but will end up losing the fun, but still recommend it.… Expand
  10. dA_kOr
    Jun 20, 2020
    8
    Kämpfe dich Frei, in einen weiteren unterbewerteten Hack & Slay mit hervorragenden RPG-Elementen.

    Eine Schar von unzähligen Kombinationsmöglichkeiten aus Fähigkeiten sowie Ausrüstungsteilen, gipfeln in fordernden Kämpfen in der Arena.
    Auch wenn der Soundtrack sich schnell ermüdet, heisst dennoch...."Lasst die Spiele beginnen".

Awards & Rankings

49
#49 Best PSP Game of 2010
14
#14 Most Discussed PSP Game of 2010
20
#20 Most Shared PSP Game of 2010

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
59

Mixed or average reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. Pocket Gamer UK
    Jul 21, 2011
    60
    Fans of historical pseudo-realism will find the format intriguing but a disappointing fighting system nestling at its core scuppers much of the potential of Gladiator Begins.
    Read full review
  2. Play UK
    Jun 26, 2011
    52
    A thumbs down, we're afraid. [Issue#206, p.94]
  3. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    Jun 19, 2011
    50
    Not good enough to be set free, not bad enough to be tossed to the lions. [July 2011, p.95]
See all critic reviews »