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Remember the fight scenes from Gladiator? Big dudes swinging swords and maces at each other as blood sprayed across the sun-baked sand and the crowd flipped out. Now that'd be a cool game.

Capcom must've been thinking the same thing! Shadow Of Rome is looking like the ultimate gladiator game. The storyline is a nice mix of history and fiction, with you seeking to prove your father is innocent of murdering Caesar.

You're Agrippa, a hard-as-nails soldier, who must return to Rome and become a gladiator to save your father from execution. Cue loads of arena-based skull cracking with historically accurate weapons like swords, maces and tridents. The damage they do is accurate too - this game sprays blood like an arterial wound. Limbs drop off, heads roll in the sand, and whole bodies get SLICED APART! Yes!

But it's not all blood and guts. You'll also play as Octavius, who must use stealth and cunning to prove Agrippa's dad is innocent. The sneaky bits aren't quite as satisfying as the fighting, but the game will react to your style of play and feed you the action you prefer.

The whole thing runs on an advanced version of the Onimusha 3 engine, complete with a fully moveable camera. Plus Keiji Inafune, hot-shot producer of the first Onimusha and Resi 2 is in charge, so we can expect a quality product dripping with class.

And here's some more cool stuff: a hot female gladiator called Claudia, chariot racing with whips, tigers (yes!) and Gladiator-style cut-scenes. ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?! Shadow Of Rome shall rule.