Overview
Spartan: Total Warrior is a spin-off of Creative Assembly's Total War series and was their first foray into the console market. The game is available for the GameCube, Playstation 2 and the original Xbox. The game is primarily set in a fictional Ancient Greece and starts off with a Roman siege of the city-state Sparta. The player controls a nameless character that simply goes by 'The Spartan,' who is then contacted by Ares. The God of War strikes up a deal, in return for The Spartan's assistance, Ares will help repel the Roman invasion and help The Spartan in finding his true identity.
Gameplay
The player control a nameless character that goes by 'The Spartan' as he attempts to protect his home from invading Roman legions. The game is portrayed in third-person mode similar to other games of this type. The combat is fairly basic, consisting of a quick, single target attack that does significant damage or an area of effect attack that is slower and deals less damage. There are three difficulties: Recruit, Soldier and Veteran which are available from the beginning. This game is based around combat with few puzzles throughout the game - mostly switch pulling and combat. In the game, the player fight many enemies, who naturally get stronger as the game progresses. There are over 20 enemy types including Skeleton Warriors, Praetorian elites and Roman recruits.
The campaign consists of 14 different chapters, progressing from Sparta through Athens and Troy to Rome. As the player progress, new weapons are unlocked and skill points can be assigned to Armor Strength, Physical Strength and Magic.
There is also an Arena challenge where the player faces never ending waves of enemies. By opening certain chests in the campaign, the player can unlock extras for the Arena such as explosives, health and magic stations.
Weapon List
The Spartan starts the game with a basic short sword and a shield. They are a good overall choice as they provide great defense and offer no weaknesses.
Athena’s Blades
These deadly weapons were picked up by the Spartan in the Roman camp in chapter two. They are extremely fast, but lack defense. Nevertheless, the agility of these weapons makes the Spartan a worthy foe for any Roman. It is useful against anyone except heavily-armored enemies.
Death Biter
The Spartan picked up this fearsome hammer when he defeats Beowulf in the Badlands. This cumbersome weapon is powerful, but it lacks agility and defense, making the Spartan vulnerable. It is most useful in situations where the Spartan is outnumbered.
This is a weapon that the Spartan picks up in Troy. It is a large spear build for Achilles himself. It is a fast weapon, but it has a weakness against archers as it has little defense. It is most useful against Undead warriors.
Medusa Shield
An upgraded version of The Spartan's basic sword and shield, the player is able to use his magic to turn enemies to stone.
This is the Spartan's bow, which he has from the start. It is a powerful weapon that can shoot multiple arrows at once; however, it only holds 30 arrows and so cannot be used indefinitely.
Characters
The Spartan
This nameless Spartan is the main character in the game. The Spartan is a gifted warrior with surprising skill in combat. He cares only for his city, and will do anything to save Sparta from the invading Romans.
Castor and Pollux
These two twins are the Spartan's best friends. They, like the Spartan, want to save their city from the Romans and will happily die for their city. Castor is more cautious than Pollux, whom tends to rush into things without thinking.
Electra
Electra is princess of the Amazons. She is a fierce warrior and hates the Romans as much as the Spartan. She becomes friends with the Spartan when they helped each other escape the Roman camp.
Tiberius
Being the Roman emperor, Tiberius wants nothing less than world domination. He is the one that issued his army to conquer all of Greece.
Sejanus
A Praetorian prefect, Sejanus is in charge of some of the most fearsome assassins in the Roman army. He is a ruthless and cunning soldier who has strange magical powers.
Crassus
The Roman General in charge of the attacks on Sparta. Crassus is vile and cares only for his promotion. He despises the Spartans for daring to stand against Rome and wants to burn their city to the ground.
The king of the Spartans, King Leonidas is indeed a mightily warrior. He loves his city and will protect it with his life. He is a skilled fighter, second only to the Spartan.
Story
Spartan: Total Warrior’s story is set around the fictitious Roman invasion Greece. When the Romans attack Sparta, the last unconquered Greek city, all Spartans are called to arms to defend their homelands. During the assembly of the Spartan Army, The Spartan, the game’s protagonist, is contacted by the Greek God of War, Ares. Ares offers to help defend the city if The Spartan is willing to serve the God of War afterwards. The Romans launch their attack with the bronze war machine, Talos, leading the charge. The Spartan, with the aid of catapults arrayed along Sparta's walls, defeats the bronze titan and drives back the Roman army for the time being.
Ares then guides The Spartan, who brings along Castor, to the Roman encampment to retrieve the Blades of Athena. The blades were ancient weapons passed to the Greeks by the goddess Athena. They were lost when Athens was captured. The Spartan retrieves the blades and fights his way out of the camp with the help of a surprising ally, Electra, Princess of the Amazons.
Electra informs The Spartan and King Leonidas about a new super weapon in Roman possession. During the final Roman assault on Sparta, The Spartan repels the attack and locates the secret weapon in an abandoned temple. Crassus, the Roman General leading the assault, has captured and harnessed the power of Medusa. With the weapon, Crassus is able to turn entire units of enemies to stone. The Spartan defeats Crassus and retrieves his shield. With Crassus’ Shield, the Spartan is able to harness the power of Medusa as well.
After the battle, Ares commands The Spartan to venture to Troy and retrieve the Spear of Achilles which will help him in his future battles. The Spartan brings a battalion of Spartans and his allies, Castor, Pollux and Electra without leave of King Leonidas. On the road, The Spartan is ambushed by barbarians lead by their king Beowulf and retrieves his hammer the Death Biter.
The party reaches Troy to find it taken by the Roman Empire under the lead of Sejanus. Using undead troops, Sejanus attempts to combat The Spartan but ultimately fails. The Spartan reaches Achilles’ Tomb where Sejanus summons a shadow clone of The Spartan equipped with the Spear of Achilles. Fighting more Romans and Undead troops, The Spartan attempts to leave Troy. Sejanus ambushes the party and informs them that Sparta has fallen and leaves them to fight a Hydra.
After leaving Troy, The Spartan seeks out the scientist Archimedes, who has been vocal in his disdain for Roman occupation of Athens. The Spartan is instructed to defend Archimedes from Roman Assassins while he gives a public speech. After escorting the scientist to a safe house, The Spartan assaults Sejanus, who happens to reside in Athens. The Spartan is told to reactivate Archimedes’ weapon, the Lightning Gun which is used to kill Sejanus’ pet dragon. In retaliation, Sejanus turns Pollux into an undead zombie. The Spartan, with the aid of Electra, defeat Sejanus and liberates Athens.
The party then proceeds to Rome for revenge. They assaulted the Roman fortress called the Gates of Saturn, which is the seat of power of Sejanus and his all-powerful Priestesses. There, The Spartan defeats an undead Sejanus, who has returned from the underworld, by defeated his Priestesses which turned out to be the source of his power.
The Spartan infiltrates Rome via the sewers and plants a bomb underneath the Roman Colosseum in hopes to assassinate the Emperor Tiberius. While in the sewers, The Spartan faces the fearsome Minotaur and emerges successful. The bomb detonates early which fails to kill the Roman Emperor. When The Spartan reaches the Emperor, Tiberius commits suicide and falls into the arena. There, the God of War Ares possesses Tiberius’ body and reveals himself to be the true enemy of the game (shocker). It was Ares who ordered the attack on Sparta and used The Spartan as a puppet.
Ares reveals that The Spartan was the son of Aphrodite’s handmaiden. Ares was having an affair with Aphrodite, and the handmaiden informed Hephaestus, Aphrodite’s husband, of it. Ares killed the handmaiden, but ended up being banished by the other gods of the Pantheon. To avoid Ares’ wrath, the gods has The Spartan’s memory erased and he was placed amongst the soldiers of Sparta. Ares had the Romans conquer Greece solely to find the whereabouts of The Spartan. To goad The Spartan even further, Ares informed him how King Leonidas begged for The Spartans’ help before being killed.
Enraged, The Spartan attacks Ares. An epic duel ensues between the two of them. Having learned much about the ways of war on his adventures, The Spartan defeats Ares and saves the day. Having no home to return to, The Spartan along with Electra and Castor leave for tales yet untold.
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