Star Gladiator

Even with the continued popularity of the Street Fighter series, Capcom refuses to be content with just two-dimensional fighters in their corner. Besides lending a valued hand in the development of Toshinden 2, little progress has come from this industry giant in the realm of 3-D fighting. This attempt to create a marketable product brought gamers what they demanded from a 3-D arena-style title bearing testimony to the capability of the company. This new title is called Star Gladiator.

Star Gladiator is a plat-formed arena-based fighting title similar to its half parent Toshinden 2. These stages are each unique to a certain character as in other titles and change as the player advances. They all seem to have a dominant "tech" feel to them, no matter what the theme is.

Graphically the title is the cleanest seen in a long time. The stages and the characters are all brightly colored and use little darkness in the backgrounds to mask graphical flaws as many titles do. This gives the title a strong basis from which the rest of the game is built on.

With characters original to this title alone, Star Gladiator gives players the chance to try their hand at any of the races involved in this futuristic combat situation. There are some similarities between a few of the characters in current titles, but as a whole, they are all unique and can be adapted to a wide range of playing styles.

The action is based on the hovering arena where the non-cautious fighter can take an accidental plunge and forfeit the round. Character controls in this arena allow rolls and shuffles to the left or right as well as forward and backward movement. All the characters' attacks are similar to the standard set by Street Fighter, making adaptation for players who are used to SF extremely quick.

Character moves are based around the range of some type of hand-held weapon the character wields. These, along with the occasional punch and kick, keep opponents at bay long enough to build up a combo. If an enemy does move in too close, there are grappling moves to make that enemy change his/her mind and back off. Some of the characters have potent long-range attacks that can be used for the same effect as Ryu's and Ken's fireballs. Each of the characters can be chosen to fit a player's individual tastes depending if a player likes to be up-close and personal or keep the range advantage.

Useable game features in Star Gladiator consist of an Arcade Mode and a Two-player Mode, as well as variable difficulty settings for the beginning or highly-advanced player. There is also a Practice Mode that can help anyone become a fierce fighter if they put in the time to develop their skills.

Players used to the Capcom tradition for fine fighting titles need to move on to Star Gladiators. Its imaginative gameplay will be welcomed by all combat lovers whether they are accustomed to the 3-D world or not.

Capcom has always kept their noses out of the world of 3-D fighting games. With Star Gladiator, the third dimension will no longer be off limits. This game is a direct conversion of the arcade. The player can choose from 10 fighters, each having his/her own weapons. Star Gladiator uses dozens of special effects including transparencies, motion blurs and lighting and reflection effects. The graphics are 3-D polygon and the animation of the graphics is supposed to be top-notch. The game is also supported by a story line set in the future where only a few gladiators are left worthy enough to fight to determine the fate of the Earth. Look for major damage in this one, the effects make it great.

Star Gladiator mixes elements of other 3D fighting games like Toshinden and Soul Edge with original concepts from Capcom's endless Street Fighter resources. Its visual appeal and outstanding control will put other 3D games on their backs. Now we're wondering: Can Street Fighter 3D be far behind?

This futuristic weapon-based fighting game features weird, mutant characters with a vast array of attack moves and counters, many of which are reminiscent of Street Fighter 2 and its sequels. In all, you can choose from nine dynamic characters (and three secret characters that appear randomly). Beat your opponents into submission with cool-looking super moves and devastating Plasma Combos, then slash, kick, and strike down the galaxy's fiercest fencers on your way to Bilstein, the evil genius who originally created the plasma weapons for world domination.

Those of you who've waited for true 3D combat will be content with the home translation of Capcom's arcade hit, Star Gladiator. For your patience, you'll be rewarded with a great fighting game.

Graphics

Unique character designs and sharp background graphics set this game apart from most 3D fighting games. Freeze-frame finishing moves keep you coming back for more.

Sound

Bone-crunching axes and air-slicing swords sound nice and crisp. Although some characters' ground attacks sound more like duds than thuds, the sound of special attacks will be music to your ears.

Control

Special moves and counters require some practice, but the controls in general are quite responsive, especially blocking. If you go for the big blow and miss, blocking will become your natural ally.

Fun Factor

The one-player Arcade mode isn't challenging at the default settings, so try playing it a few notches up. The real thrill, however, is pulverizing your friends, especially with multihit combos.