A gory little gem of a game that you have to play today!
The story follows two characters, Agrippa, a centurion in the Roman army, and Octavianus, the nephew of Caesar. Word has just spread that Caesar has been murdered, and Agrippa's father has been falsely accused, and arrested. Agrippa is forced into competing in the upcoming gladiatorial games, as the winner is to become his father's executioner, while Octavianus tries to piece together who killed Caesar and why.
Let's get Octavianus' part out of the way first. His sections of the game involve you sneaking through areas like the senate house, trying to find out how the murder came about. This basically involves hiding in giant pots, knocking out guards to steal their uniform, and trying to not act suspicious. At some points, it can get quite tense, especially when a guard spots you and you're running for your life, and that you shold do, because even a single hit will kill you. At other points though, the A.I acts a bit dumb. If you get spotted, all you have to do is go round the corner, and pretty soon the guard will stop looking for you. This is a very minor thing however, as these stealth sections always get you thinking about how to go about clearing them, and is a good way to wind down after slaughtering a bunch of guys.
Now to the part which you'll like the most, the combat. As you progress you'll fight in a variety of different events, which include a battle royale, rescue mission, siege and even chariot racing, but they mostly boil down to the same thing, hacking your opponents into tiny pieces. Agrippa is by no means invincible, and neither are the weapons. As you continually use a weapon it will eventually break, which adds to the tension as you search for another one to use. It's not all about killing people though, it's also about killing with style. Use different combos and attacks to please the crowd, and if you appeal to them at the right time they can throw you a gargantuan weapon that can literally slice a guy in two. You will most likely die a few times, but battles are never so frustrating that you won't want to have another go.
The effects are truly breathtaking, with some of the most realistic fire and water effects I've ever seen, and the blood comes thick and fast as arms and heads are severed left, right and centre. The characters are convincing as well, though sometimes the voice acting can be a little bit under-par. All the sounds are in place as well, with chariots hurtling down the track, metal slicing flesh and the crowd roaring, you really will feel lik you're in a proper gladiatorial game.
Overall, Shadow of Rome is a very underappreciated and overlooked game, and definitely deserves more credit than it got, give it a go now!