One of the first things you'll notice is that, while Spartan: Total Warrior's gameplay is big on hack-n-slashing, it is not a typical game for the genre. The controls are much looser, and the environments, although limited in path, look positively massive. On average you'll slaughter well over 100 warriors per battle.

Dubbed an action/strategy game, Total Warrior has a multitude of assignments and additional objectives that must be completed during the battle. First the game tells you to protect the king – then it tells you to stop the gate from being breached. This is a two-for-one scenario. The mission cannot be completed unless the king and the gate are still standing by the time all the Romans have been taken out. 

Protecting the gate is no easy task as dozens of soldiers attack simultaneously. They attack you, your comrades, and move ahead in order to start banging on the gate. It's an overwhelming experience, one that you'll become addicted to by the end of the second or third level.

Hordes of enemies means hours of pain. Many of your computer-controlled allies will fall, and in some cases that will cost you the entire mission (another objective you'll be faced with – protect your allies). Since you get to be in control of the one known as Spartan (an elite soldier blessed by the Gods), special abilities are available that regular humans do not possess. These abilities, which include rage attacks that may be used once the rage meter is charged, hit enemies with a damaging blow that will instantly kill some and leave others severely injured.

The rage meter is filled by executing several strikes in a row. Combos are your best bet, however, enemies may be struck freely at any time. There are no lock-ups or a lame targeting system to prevent you from going from one enemy to the next. That way if four or five or 10 or 20 warriors start to move in, you can quickly spin around and strike several of them before they have a chance to make the first move. At least a couple of them will get to you – that's unavoidable. This isn't meant to be a game where Super Human Gladiator defeats Weak Little Enemies; it's a raw, grueling war. 

As you attempt to ward off the ongoing assault, you'll see boxes, balls, and other eye-catching objects. Get a little closer to the balls to see what they really are: bombs! Those with a fuse must be lit, and a yellow circle surrounds them to indicate that's what needs to be done. The same is true for gates that need to be opened, new weapons, etc. If there's a new fuse Spartan can pull out his secondary weapon, a bow and arrow, and set it off from a safe distance. There are tons of these littered in many of the game's levels, with strategic points for hiding and shooting that let you coordinate the best defense possible.

Ballistas (gun turrets that set enemies on fire) make battles even more interesting, letting you take out hundreds of warriors as they rush into battle. Catapults let you take down bigger threats that I shall not reveal. There are also times when these weapons are under the control of the enemy and must be destroyed.

Total Warrior comes just in time for Halloween. Blood is a big part of the visual experience, squirting from enemies like a leaky can of pop. Heads are chopped off with certain attacks, while others pierce the warriors with a stabbing strike.

The backgrounds and artistic style used for the rest of the game is really impressive. This isn't the most realistic-looking game (just had to get that out of the way). But watch the environments as you adjust the camera. The movement is smooth like an RTS (real-time strategy game). Fail a mission and the game covers the screen in this beautiful glow – it's so yellow it looks golden. The golden filter gets brighter and brighter until the screen turns completely white, followed by a black screen that confirms you've failed. Judging by how hard the game is, this is an effect most of you will see a lot. 

There's a reason why the makers of the Total War series are known as The Creative Assembly. That reason has never been clearer than in Spartan: Total Warrior. Enemies around every corner, a new challenge at every turn, Total Warrior is an original blend of action and strategy gameplay. Players will be immersed in battles that are challenging, not cheap. Overwhelming, but not to the point where you think there's no hope. Awesome, addictive, and pretty darn amazing, this game is not to be missed by anyone who loves the hack-n-slash titles of the SNES days but wishes for the next evolution. Spartan: Total Warrior is that evolution.

Gameplay: 8.5
Spartan: Total Warrior is easily the most inventive hack-n-slash action game released in the past 10 months. The constant battles are separated and enhanced (but not broken up) by unique weaponry and strategic elements that don't merely force you to think -- they make you want to think. Setting bombs, blowing up structures, planning attacks at the exact moment your enemies arrive, etc. It's all exciting, it's original, and it's one of Sega's best PlayStation 2 releases.

Graphics: 8.4
Visually satisfying with a camera that can be pulled high above the action or zoomed in close for an exciting view of the action.

Sound: 8.5
Jack Skellington would surely approve of Total Warrior's dark, menacing score. It's well suited for the game's intense Roman battles. Slash, slice and splatter sound effects make those bloody kills sound bloody disgusting.

Difficulty: Medium/Hard
Challenging without being cheap, Spartan: Total Warrior is a difficult game to overcome. The human characters are hard enough to beat, but wait till you see what else the game throws at you. Super fun and super hard.

Concept: 8,5
Spartan: Total Warrior is the first hack-n-slash-style game to take a leap of faith on merging its content with elements of a strategy game. The result is one of the best genre combinations ever conceived. The Creative Assembly (the Sega-owned studio who developed the game) was extremely creative in creating this entertaining innovation.

Overall: 8.5
The first of its kind and hopefully the first of many, Spartan: Total Warrior is an exciting, brutal game of war. Most games lose their luster after you've killed the 999th warrior, but Total Warrior keeps things fresh throughout the journey. Part of the freshness comes from the variety of tasks that you have to complete along the way (quick tasks like setting fire to a bridge that burns to the ground in under 15 seconds). The other part of Total Warrior's undying freshness comes from its challenge because you never know what the enemy is going to do next.