LogFAQs > #949454811

#78 Gladiator (MS-DOS, 1995)

Gladiator is another old indie DOS game from when I was a kid. This game is an action RPG with a 2D top-down perspective. The gameplay is a little similar to Gauntlet, but differs in that the enemies you fight are similar in strength to you, and therefore you will recruit a large mercenary team of various classes to fight along with you. So think Gauntlet meets Final Fantasy Tactics. When you deploy to battle, you can control only one character at a time, while your allies fight using less-than-perfect AI. However, the game also allows up to 4 player local cooperative play, allowing three friends to control your allies, which was really neat! As the game progresses, your characters will level up and gain new abilities. If they die in battle though, you lose them permanently and have to recruit a replacement.



It certainly had its rough edges, though. I recall a number of glitches and occasional soft locking. But the game was compelling enough that it didn't really bother me at the time.

Gladiator also featured a level and campaign editor which I took full advantage of, creating many levels for me and my brothers/friends to play through. This game gave me hundreds of hours to time and it was very enjoyable.

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At least your mother tipped well