Spartacus Legends

 Xbox 360
Metascore
45

Generally unfavorable reviews - based on 8 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 8
  3. Negative: 3 out of 8
  1. Games Master UK
    Jul 29, 2013
    48
    Legends has missed the point of the business model entirely, giving unfortunate players a choice of grinding through shallow, unfulfilling and downright ugly combat, or forking out substantial amounts of real money to bypass said mediocrity. [Sept 2013, p.71]
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  2. X-ONE Magazine UK
    Aug 16, 2013
    20
    It's a bad game compromised further by awkward monetisation. [Issue#101, p.84]
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  3. Official Xbox Magazine UK
    Jul 17, 2013
    20
    Most free to play games are engineered for compulsive play, but Spartacus Legends is about as addictive as swallowing sand. Thumbs down.

Awards & Rankings

38
#38 Most Discussed Xbox 360 Game of 2013
45
#45 Most Shared Xbox 360 Game of 2013

User Reviews

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User Score
5.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 87 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 87
  2. Mixed: 32 out of 87
  3. Negative: 35 out of 87
  1. Nyxx
    Jun 28, 2013
    3
    (EDIT: I was informed on how to delete gladiators. It's where you change your equipment, instead of the roster. That is exceedingly stupid, so(EDIT: I was informed on how to delete gladiators. It's where you change your equipment, instead of the roster. That is exceedingly stupid, so my score remains the same, and it's stupid that I have to do that to, again, PROGRESS in single player.)

    Now, I don't watch Spartacus, but I am a huge fan of gladiatorial fights, and this seemed great: A free-to-play fighter where you can customize your own Gladiator to fight their way to the top, and bring glory to your House!

    Graphics: The models look pretty nice, but the environments, crowds, and the sun (which is the worst) look a generation old. The cutting effects on your models would be cool if they weren't the same ones, over and over again.

    Sound: Ignorable. Everyone seems to have the same voices, and the music is so generic that you'll forget it exists.

    Control: These were alright. You have light attacks, heavy attacks, grabs, and Pathtration attacks (guard breaks). You can preform different combos and attacks by either moving the Left analog stick in different directions when attacking, or mixing attack buttons.

    You can guard, and also roll, to evade or assault foes, and you can also taunt by...pressing Down on the D-Pad? Why? The Triggers aren't even used for this game, why couldn't Taunt be up there, where it's more convenient?

    Gameplay: You start the game by playing a tutorial fight as Spartacus, where it teaches you the controls (outside of the Taunt button for some reason). Then, you play as the head of a House, and you are given a free slave to use as a gladiator. Equip him to fight, and earn money and glory for your House.

    Single player is nothing but one-on-one fights with various opponents. There's normal fights, where you fight randomly generated enemies for Silver coins and Fame (Experience). As you level up, new gear is unlocked, which you then purchase with your Silver. There is a cooldown between doing the same Normal Fight, so you can't cheese it up and grind Silver/Fame quickly.

    Then there's Primus Fights, which are against the same named foes. Each one has their unique combat style. Defeating these foes will allow you to earn Perks, which give you various effects, such as resisting Grab attacks, or damage buffs. You can only have one Perk at a time, so you have to make your choice count, and you can't re-fight Primus Fights: If you decline a Perk, it's gone for good.

    As you win Primus Fights, you unlock further Primus Fights, leading up to the Boss Fight of the district. There are a total of six different districts to fight in, some varying in difficulty. You repeat this progress throughout the entirety of the single game. There's nothing else except Online.

    This wouldn't be so bad, if the fights didn't start feeling very repetitive and boring after the first one. While you can vary your combos and attacks, there's never any reason to. You'll either stick to your quickest, or longest range attacks, and only mix it up with low, sweeping attacks if an enemy is laying on the ground.

    One thing that tries to mix fights up is the ability to Execute your foes. If you happen to have a full Crowd Meter, you will be able to press any attack button to brutally kill them. Attacking and Taunting builds your meter, but it's almost impossible to get it filled up unless you have an absolutely flawless fight, as any inactivity will cause it to decrease rapidly.

    So you repeat this cycle: Fight, buy new gear, which isn't cosmetic: Gear gives you better stats, and, of course, the later gear is always better. Repeat over and over. It would be fine if the game would just be a grind, but it gets much worse.

    First, Pay to Win. This game is that. You have the option to spend real money on Gold Coins, which can be used to purchase gear WELL beyond your current level. Doing this gives you a very distinct advantage. In addition, you can spend Gold on power-ups that are absolutely UNOBTAINABLE by Silver, giving you an even larger advantage.

    I will not play multiplayer, even if it worked properly (it doesn't), because of this. This is not how you do "Free" business models. The gear should be cosmetic, not give other players blatant advantages!

    Then, there's getting new Gladiators. Each Gladiator has a certain weapon skill, like Sword and Shield, Duel Daggers, etc. This means you can buy new Gladiators to have a variety of weapon styles, but some Primus Fights require a specific weapon skill!

    Early in the game, there is a Primus Fight that requires Duel Daggers. You cannot check this beforehand: You have to wait until you have the fight unlocked to check requirements. Before this, I bought a Two-Handed Sword Gladiator, who I thought was awesome. I also had a Sword and Shield Gladiator.

    Because of the fight restriction, I either had to grind 3,360 Silver Coins for more character slots, or delete one of my Gladiators. This is a severe design flaw that needs fixed ASAP.

    Overall, a great idea, horrible execution. I'd rather pay $60 for a better experience.    … Full Review »
  2. torshaug
    Jun 27, 2013
    9
    Great for fans of the series...if the bugs and server issues get fixed. A patch is vital to this game being more than mediocre. I would haveGreat for fans of the series...if the bugs and server issues get fixed. A patch is vital to this game being more than mediocre. I would have paid the 60 bucks for a smooth and complete Spartacus fighter. Instead, the developers urge players to go to the bank and pay 150 bucks for gold coins for the full game experience. This game as of now is not worth one dollar as it is nearly impossible to get on the servers. I am a die-hard Spartacus fan and a so-so fighter fan, so this game should be perfect for me. But will it get fixed? If it does and you can look past the pay scheme and the somewhat clunky fighter responses, this Tribute to all things gladiator might be just what the summer ordered. Right now, I think I will play some borderlands 2 or injustice, at least until the servers get fixed. I give the game a 8 based on it getting fixed. No fix, this game gets a 3.… Full Review »
  3. Sammydidds123
    Jun 26, 2013
    5
    This is a very average game, but can be very enjoyable game once you get into it. The problem is within the god awful servers. I'm not sureThis is a very average game, but can be very enjoyable game once you get into it. The problem is within the god awful servers. I'm not sure what's going on with them, but Im having zero luck connecting to the game. Ubisoft and kung fu factory have done practically nothing to help players that are having trouble connecting, and are just saying "the game is under maintenance." Well that's just I've been waiting here for hours trying to connect. Despite the server problems, as I said; the games average, and isn't really persuading me to wait longer for the games fixes. All in all, the game is worth getting after maintenance fixes, and you shouldn't be in a rush to get this game, as you'll probably be sitting, twiddling your thumbs.… Full Review »
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