Friday Free Game: Swords and Sandals Friday, October 13, 2006

For the triumphant return of the Friday Free Game, I present Swords and Sandals, a great game on its merits of fun, personality, and replay value. Maybe I just like it because it appeals directly to the old-school gamer geek in me, but I can't deny the sheer pleasure of the old hack-slay-loot-powerup cycle. You know the one: kill the baddies, loot their corpses, get better stuff, kill bigger baddies. It's a tried-and-true formula that never ceases to amuse. And this game plays it to the hilt.

You're a gladiator. That means that you fight for the crowd's amusement until you die for their amusement. You create your gladiator, customizing his hair, skin, beard and characteristics, then you're off to buy your newbie equipment and head into the ring to spill some blood.

The combat system is a sort of turn-based affair, with a number of options for moving, taunting and attacking your opponent in various ways. Personally, I found the dancing around a rather pointless waste of energy and usually opted to just run in and starting beating the snot out of the other guy (this could also be why I never made it that far in the game). If you win, you get more money for better equipment, and additional levels to increase your stats. Every so often, you face an arena champion, who usually stomps me into the ground. No problem, whip up another gladiator in three seconds flat, rinse and repeat.

What's great about this game is all of the little things. The title song always makes me laugh, and the graphics have a sort of South Park-meets-Spartacus quality that fits the humorous theme perfectly. There is abundant help text throughout the game, making it easy for new players to get the idea, and there's just enough variety to keep it interesting As a temporary distraction from whatever else you're supposed to be doing, Swords and Sandals fits the bill perfectly.