Spartacus Legends (Video Game Review)

It has become common practice for companies to release games in correspondence with new movies and TV shows. The free-to-play Spartacus Legends game is exactly what you would expect from the television show which is bloody fights and over-the-top action. With anything that is free-to-play, players must not expect too much out of it going in, and you can still have an overall enjoyable experience.

Spartacus Legends is now available for free on Xbox Live for gold members and is around 2GB to download. It's definitely not a game for everyone, but if your on a budget, then it is worth a few hours of your time. The game is a basic brawler were you start off with a single fighter with the most basic of necessities to survive. Players will face off against other fighters in order to gain experience to level up which means better equipment. As you become stronger then you will also be able to earn more gold which is a necessity of Spartacus Legends.

In Spartacus Legends you will use gold to buy better weapons and equipment, open new slots, as well as, buy additional and better fighters. However, this is a F2P game, so players can purchase in-game gold with real life currency in order to move faster through arenas. In this sense, you could say that Spartacus Legends is similar to that of a Facebook app.

Spartacus Legends doesn't feel like an arcade game of today but more of something from the nineties era of gaming with its lazy graphics and gameplay. The beat em' up can be picked up easily by beginner and veteran gamers alike due to its simple fighting mechanics. The game consists of basic moves and combos which center around kicking, punching and blocking. While the game isn't on the same level as something like Mortal Kombat, it does have enough intrigue to keep you playing for at least a couple of hours, and that isn't bad for a free game. Gameplay can become repetitive and tiresome, but that is a problem that all games of this type suffer from to some extent.



Spartacus Legends also utilizes a crowd momentum mechanic which players can max out during a fight to help them put the finishing move on their opponent. Basically, the other fighter will become woozy, and you can then take them out with an execution blow. The executions are fairly entertaining and packed full of blood and gore. The biggest gripe I have with Spartacus Legends is that during combat, the controls feel very unresponsive, which has a huge impact on a fighting game. Unresponsive controls can cause a slight delay after pressing a button which can be the difference in taking out your opponent or your own grizzly demise. So, alternatively, this one problem could be a huge deal breaker for veteran gamers who enjoy brawlers and was looking to pick up this title.

The heart of Spartacus Legends are the fights and the only way to unlock new content is by winning various matches. As you progress, the fights get harder and offer more rewards for winning such as fame and gold. You have to be careful as you enter matches with higher lethality ratings, because if you lose the match, then you lose your fighter. The only way you don't completely lose your fighter if he dies is by making an offering to the Gods were you can raise him from Hades. However, this means more gold, and sometimes you just don't have it to spare.



Even if you do manage to lose your fighter there is still hope, because you recruit more fighters throughout the game with various skills and playstyles. Your level is applied to all your recruited fighters and any previously purchased equipment can be shared among them. There are many different kinds of unlockables in Spartacus Legends which can be applied to your weapon, helmet, shield, armor or footwear. As you unlock better equipment, then it also impacts your fighter's stats and abilities.

In the end, Spartacus Legends is an entertaining fighting game that may have some problems but is still playable. If you don't go into it expecting much then Spartacus Legends is well worth the download. I put in around four hours of playtime and never spent a dime of real currency, but this does mean that my fighters have progressed slower than those who do decide to speed things up by purchasing more gold. Spartacus Legends is repetitive, flawed and offers little variation to keep you interested for longer than a couple of hours. You can always ask a few friends to play in offline or online multiplayer to add a little more replayability. However, you can't beat free, and if your bored and looking to kill a little time then download Spartacus Legends today!

Spartacus Legends is now available for free on Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network. For more information on the game, check out the official Spartacus Legends website.

Game Features:

Single Player

Online/Offline Multiplayer

Trophy/Achievement Support

Game Information:
Developer: Ubisoft
Publisher: Kung Fu Factory
Platforms: Xbox 360 (reviewed) and PS3
Release Date: June 26, 2013

Score: 6.5 out of 10