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[Musashi Wins!]

In honor of it's long, long overdue price cut ($29.99) I celebrate the Capcom game that got lost in the shuffle. Yea, it lacks the pizazz of GoW and the all encompassing strategy skills of Total War....all the same, Shadow of Rome is a really solid adventure that enough people probably haven't played. Especially those interested in a fun game that actually does decent things with it's era (unlike Colloseum, Gladiator, and the great pretender coming up, Spartan).

Shadow of Rome seems like a push over at first. A bit of arm chop here, a little crowd adoration there. And it's likely to frustrate a few with it's plot involved stealth missions. But give it a bit of time and it all begins to come together. The stealth isn't that bad. And collecting a few disguises and coins between strangulations can get addictive. Before you know it your back in the action, and the action isn't all ham fisted button mashing. You need to tease out your victories and fight smart as well as impressively.

Gluing it all together? A fairly decent tale of political conspiracy and revenge, told with typical Capcom stylings and long-haired rogues. Worthwhile at the very least.

It's cheap now! Rome on HBO is grand and why not have the perfect game to play after the show? Rome. Bitches.

 

[Unison]

Why buy a CapBOMB at $30 when you know it will hit $10?

 

[Musashi Wins!]

Why buy a CapBOMB at $30 when you know it will hit $10?

shut yer dirty whore mouth.

 

[Ironclad]

I've had my eye on this game but with the rush of titles coming soon, I will hold off on picking it up until a later date. This game has always interested me though, and I tend to like Inafune's expeditions into different styles so I will definitely give this a try.

 

[Sinatar]

pfft, the lack of the only Rome flavored game worth a damn in this thread is shameful.

 

[Bebpo]

Need to pick this up as the price keeps dropping. Wanted to get it while I was in Japan but the Jpn version was censored with no decaps or body part loss :\

 

[Zensetsu]

pfft, the lack of the only Rome flavored game worth a damn in this thread is shameful.

Damn skippy. Total war rules.

 

[Erdrick]

It's a real great game, and at the price it is at now, it's criminal to not get it if you enjoy action/fighter type games like this. It's got a nice mix of all out fighting and some little stealth gameplay that keeps things interesting and the story moving.

Capbomb? I think not. Maybe it did not light the world up in sales, but the game was and is a quality title. One of the best of 2005. Too bad it was not released when Gladiator came out, as it would have cashed in great on the whole theme.

I was also getting tired of all the samurai action games on the PS2, so this was a real breath of fresh air. Production values were typical high standard, even the voice acting was decent. Gotta love all the different catchphraises in the fights.

One of the sleeper hits of 2005 in my opinion.

 

[Musashi Wins!]

It's a real great game, and at the price it is at now, it's criminal to not get it if you enjoy action/fighter type games like this. It's got a nice mix of all out fighting and some little stealth gameplay that keeps things interesting and the story moving.

Capbomb? I think not. Maybe it did not light the world up in sales, but the game was and is a quality title. One of the best of 2005. Too bad it was not released when Gladiator came out, as it would have cashed in great on the whole theme.

I was also getting tired of all the samurai action games on the PS2, so this was a real breath of fresh air. Production values were typical high standard, even the voice acting was decent. Gotta love all the different catchphraises in the fights.

One of the sleeper hits of 2005 in my opinion.

woo-hoo, agreed on all points. A gem in the rough.

Anyone know what the horrid sales numbers are?

CAPCOM!

 

[The Guivre]

$10 buy.. perhaps. Not that it matters to most but I'm a little skeptical of the plot and all. It's obviously not fantasy or something like that where there are Manticores or other mythological beasts running about where I can be like "Eh, it's so make believe anyway I don't mind the butchering of history."
Plot aside, I've seen some footage of the "stealth" sequences and they didn't really seem like all that. Especially considering for the majority of the game your bloodletting seems to never cease. And I did catch the clip of a cutscene where the Roman characters translate latin, to themselves, sure I know.. it's a video game blah..blah.. but that just bothers me a bit.

So here's to putting on some other guy's armor and sneaking around. Shadows of Rome, I'll see you in the bargin bin next time I go fishing for older titles.

 

[BuckRobotron]

I just happened to pick this up at the local TrU store today at $19.95.

Keep in mind they have that "Buy 2 $19.99 or less games/get another free" deal, but in my case the selection at my store was so lame (or I already had the better ones) that I just went with this one game.

 

[VALIS]

It's been in my EB queue for a while waiting for the price drops, and now that it's dropped there's a fuckzillion other games I want to buy. What a painful month to be short on dough.

 

[BuckRobotron]

...all the same, Shadow of Rome is a really solid adventure that enough people probably haven't played. Especially those interested in a fun game that actually does decent things with it's era (unlike Colloseum, Gladiator, and the great pretender coming up, Spartan).

I just finished it first-time with about 20 hours on the clock and indeed, it is a very entertaining game, surprisingly grounded in story and presentation (considering the camp-fest of the Onimusha games) and yet mixed with over-the-top but hardcore battle system. As the battles evolve into scenarios with mixed goals and tougher enemies, you'll need to develop an understanding of the nuances of the game just to complete the given round, never mind score a Bronze medal.

And, true, the Octavianus sections really weren't that bad as long as you don't expect it to be Thief: Deadly Shadows.

Best part of the package is the varied unlockables section and the ability to play any score-driven stages at will. Unlockables require all of a medal on all battle arenas for a given difficulty. So, while I'm still working on getting all Silvers on Normal, there are unlockables requiring all Gold on Hard to mock me for a long time...

The game is great for the general going price of $30 now.

 

[D2M15]

pfft, the lack of the only Rome flavored game worth a damn in this thread is shameful.

But does R:TW have AERIAL CRUELTY TO ANIMALS?

No. It does not.

The Senate rests its case.

 

[Belfast]

I was pimping this game when it came out and its good to see I'm not the only one who really enjoys it. The SALVO system really makes the game. Seriously. It makes combat so much more fun and rewards you for pulling off all kinds of crazy things. Pulling off a bunch of different SALVOs and getting the crowd to cheer for you and throw down a huge weapon, then proceeding to pull off even more gory and interesting SALVOs is just damn FUN. Its just one of those games where you can feel the really satisfying bone-crunches and such in combat.

Of course, the rest of the game is cool, too, but this game is soooooo satisfying. I don't know if I'd classify the combat as better than other recent action games, but then again its very different. It doesn't have you slashing and jetting all over the place at high speed or anything. It is a lot more methodical, and as you said, you have to tease your victories. However, once again, the SALVOs make the fighting system feel a lot deeper than it may seem on the surface.

SoR was worth it at $50, buy it for $30 now!

 

[Belfast]

$10 buy.. perhaps. Not that it matters to most but I'm a little skeptical of the plot and all. It's obviously not fantasy or something like that where there are Manticores or other mythological beasts running about where I can be like "Eh, it's so make believe anyway I don't mind the butchering of history."
Plot aside, I've seen some footage of the "stealth" sequences and they didn't really seem like all that. Especially considering for the majority of the game your bloodletting seems to never cease. And I did catch the clip of a cutscene where the Roman characters translate latin, to themselves, sure I know.. it's a video game blah..blah.. but that just bothers me a bit.

So here's to putting on some other guy's armor and sneaking around. Shadows of Rome, I'll see you in the bargin bin next time I go fishing for older titles.

So, you're basing your "$10 buy" on screenshots and video clips?

 

[Deg]

Just go buy Rome Total War if you havent already. Also the expansion pack is out. Get that too.

 

[Kingpen]

Due to the great series on HBO "Rome", and me picking up Spartan Total Warrior for free in the TRU deal, I'm going to hunt this game down. I totally dig the gladiator, or middle age type of games.... I swore I was going to cut down on my buying of games for the current gen due to 360 coming, but I have heard far to much good of this game..

I still haven't played Spartan, but I'm trying to put a few games on the shelf right now whenever that post-launch drought happens for 360 (it is inevitable.... it happens with every new system).

 

[Temujin]

Heh, I'm a bit Rome-obsessed at the moment as well, so I ordered Shadow of Rome (for €15) and Rome: Total war. I hope this little GAF hype doesn't disappoint