Spartacus Legends is available now and free to play
Platforms: Xbox, PS3 Game Type: Arcade, Fighting
Spartacus Legends is based on the brutal guilty pleasure Starz television series, and the arcade game is completely free to play on both Xbox and Playstation 3. Getting an entire game for free is almost unheard of these days, so when a fun one comes along that doesn’t cost you a penny it’s a smart choice to at least try it out. Simply download the game, play through the quick tutorial fight as Spartacus, and then work your way up from a fresh slave looking to make a name for himself in the arena to a seasoned and battle-equipped gladiator.
The controls are simple, and the options for evolving your character are varied and enjoyable to customize. For a free game you get quite a bit of content (400G in achievements), and downloading the experience will probably be the smartest thing you do today.
Read more about why Spartacus Legends is worth playing, and check out a trailer with gameplay footage, after the jump!
Moving up the gladiatorial ladder rung by rung is difficult and rewarding. From wielding a wooden sword and shield your character climbs his way up to better gear, coin, and glory by way of either knocking out opponents, murdering them in combat, or performing executions that are reminiscent of the televisions series.
Playing through the first city area reminded me of the Fight Night games in that when facing a challenging opponent it’s timing and the right attack that can turn the tides in your favor. A quick stab to the lower body can interrupt an opponents power attack and give you the in you need to whittle away some health. It’s a lot of fun taking a step back from the button mashing and trying to truly assess your opponent for style and weakness, but at the same time mashing those buttons can often unleash a string of agile blade swings and dodges. If you’re a fan of the swords and sandle genre you’re going to enjoy what’s on display.
When you get the hang of your sword and shield swinging starter character you can fill the second gladiator slot and experiment with a new style. Dual swords, dual knives, war hammers, two handed swords, bidents and tridents, and unarmed combat (and maybe a few more, I’m not sure yet) all bring their own moves and talents to the table, and picking the right gladiator from your ranks for the right fight is essential sometimes. From my experience, the first champion battle against the show’s Oenomaus was extremely hard, and I found myself building up a handful of characters to try each one against him until something worked. The dual daggers and speed seemed to be doing the trick, but if something else works for you let me know.
While Spartacus Legends is free to play, you can make in game purchases with real money if you really want to. It’s unnecessary and only serves to get you better gear quicker. Real money buys you in-game gold, but It kind of feels like cheating and could make the game really easy really quick. Instead, as you progress through the game each fight you win rewards you with silver. The more silver you have the better gear you can buy, and with every level you gain you’re given a few pieces of gold. The gold, again, lets you buy better gear a little sooner than the levels or silver would allow. For example, a level 6 sword is locked until you reach level 6, but if you spend 2 gold to get the sword you’ll equip it immediately. So, saving up gold for a nice piece of equipment or a better weapon proves to be part of the strategy.
The game isn’t near as violent as the series, but it does have its moments. Playing to the crowd by beating on your opponent successfully gives you the opportunity to execute them at the end of the fight, and on top of that every so often you’ll cut off a limb during combat. Working the crowd in your favor is another part of the challenge, and doing so gracefully and with some tact feels really satisfying.
As your character advances through opponents you’re able to move outside of your district and challenge new fighters in new areas. Each area has a champion, and in each district there are a handful of fights that can be re-played for additional coin and experience. So, if one of the main opponents is giving you trouble you can always go back and beef up a bit by beating on a previous challenger. I’ve found even though you’ve beat someone they’re still pretty tough sometimes, and each fight is a good chance to practice your form and work on combinations that might work on the higher ups.
Not to beat that dead horse, but Spartacus Legends could have easily been a $20 arcade game and it would have been worth the purchase. The fact that it’s free is insane, and if you don’t download the 2GB game after reading this then you’re truly missing out on an opportunity that doesn’t come along often.