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»300: March to Glory
"THIS...IS...SPARTA!"
When a game is released to coincide with a movie of the same name, we as the gaming community have learned to frown upon such titles and expect the least from them. I approached this game with the same apprehension. Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised by what this game has to offer.
For those who have seen the movie four or five times, just stop reading this review and go pick up the game. It won’t disappoint you in any way. For the rest of you out there, just looking for a comprehensive review of the game, sit back and listen to what I am about to tell you.
Let me start by saying that the game’s graphics are not its strong point. Looking at the back of the box doesn’t exactly inspire the feeling of a triple A title. If you give the game a chance, however; you will see exactly what I did. The game can have quite a few sprites on screen at any given time which is likely the reason for the lower level of detail in the various character sprites.
That’s not to say that the game isn’t good looking. It’s just that the PSP can do better than this. One of the touches that most fans of the movie or even the comic book will appreciate is the massive amount of blood that flows from your freshly slain enemies. When you decapitate one, the action will slow down to a semi-bullet time mode to show exactly what just happened and you’ll see blood follow your blade’s arc just before the action starts up again. It’s a really nice touch.
As you can probably surmise from my description so far, this game is all about action and killing hundreds of Persians and Immortals. It plays a lot like a bloody Dynasty Warriors with an amazingly well-told story by a very talented group of voice actors. What’s more is that as you mow down the Persian forces, you will be able to purchase better swords, shields, spears, and armor with the blood of the fallen. If you find yourself focusing mainly on one weapon, you can instead choose to purchase new combos for that particular weapon. At a certain point in the game, you will unlock dual swords, but I found them to be less effective than the spear and shield as you can’t guard against the volleys of arrows that the enemy periodically fires onto the battlefield.
Your character is Leonidas who is often accompanied by one of his many great Spartan warriors. The AI is very good at keeping you from being overwhelmed by the hoard of baddies that relentlessly come at you throughout the game.
The combat is very intense and as you progress, you will learn special moves like slowing down time and a perfect block maneuver that prevents you from taking any damage for a set amount of time. My personal favorite is the blood lust special that allows you to heal by killing enemies. The last of the four you’ll learn is a straight heal that freezes time as you recover health. At certain points, you will join with your army and create flanks of indomitable force to take on charging elephants and larger groups of enemies. This basically serves as a break in the action so the game isn’t as mindless as, say, Dynasty Warriors.
All of the story is presented very well and is 100% voice acted. I mentioned before, but I feel it deserves some attention of its own. The voice acting is very well done. By no means is it the best I’ve heard, but it’s very good. I believe they used the same voices from the movie, but I’m not totally sure. The sound effects accurately portray the ambiance of war. You can hear swords clashing in the distance along with screams of death. Even the music is as if war drums were being played to inspire your men to victory.
Lastly, I want to touch on the story. They didn’t want to simply retell the same tale as the movie so instead, they chose to let you live out the battle of the Hot Gates and a few other battles that were simply implied in the movie. I think it’s a really good choice as it keeps everything fresh.
As far as unlockables go, thee are plenty of movies and design art to unlock as you drive the Persians out. My favorites are the director’s take on various things from both the movie and the game. The other videos are mostly just cut-scenes that you have already seen during the game.
In the end, what I think the developer has done is tell a great tale and let the player experience it first hand in one of the best ways possible.
Article by: Bloodspoor
Posted on: Apr. 1st, 2007 |
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Review Recap |
| Gameplay |
| Basically it’s Dynasty Warriors, with a little extra in the form of power ups, different weapons, and a multitude of combos. |
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Graphics |
| Not the cream of the crop, but certainly nothing to scoff at. Lots of enemies make up for the lower poly count on the character sprites. |
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Sound |
| I absolutely loved this aspect of the game. No, the voice acting isn’t perfect, but it’s good and the rest of the sound effects and music just lend themselves so well that I really can’t give much fault in this area. |
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Replay Value |
| If you like this sort of game or the story that is told, you’ll probably go through the game more than a few times, but ultimately, you can unlock everything the first time through. It’s just fun. |
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