Shadow of Rome mixes gladiator action and stealth in ancient Rome. Bloody arena combat, political intrigue and complementary heroes. A surprising Capcom duality.
Your verdict
Category
Action Adventure1 player18+
Description
A Capcom action-adventure released in 2005, an arena game by Keiji Inafune set in a bloody ancient Rome. Agrippa, a Roman gladiator, must prove the innocence of his father unjustly accused of murdering Julius Caesar. Bloody sword combat in Roman amphitheaters, parallel infiltration missions with Octavianus. Peplum aesthetics, uninhibited gore.
Shadow of Rome review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
4/5
Music
★★★★★
"Excellent"
4/5
Story
★★★★★
"Captivating"
The art direction embraces a gore peplum without detour. Keiji Inafune plunges ancient Rome into the arena's blood: stained sand, severed limbs, exhibited beheadings and bloodthirsty crowds under a crushing sun. The stone amphitheaters, dented armor and chipped weapons compose a brutal realism, far from any classical idealization.
The soundtrack doubles according to the game's two heroes. To Agrippa's arena fights answers a music of martial brass and heavy percussion, cut for confrontation and the fervor of the stands; to Octavianus's infiltration missions in Rome's streets corresponds a muffled, tense, discreet register, made of low pads and silences.
The story hides a political investigation beneath the arena's blood. Agrippa fights as a gladiator to clear his father's honor, wrongly accused of assassinating Julius Caesar, while Octavianus digs backstage into the true conspiracy behind the murder. Two viewpoints interlace, one in the fury of the stands, the other in the shadow of Roman intrigue, to unravel a state plot.
An action game from Capcom, Shadow of Rome alternates the bloody, brutal gladiator combat of Agrippa in the arena with the stealth sections of Octavianus investigating Caesar's assassination. The spectacular violence of the duels, the weapon and crowd-provoking system and the ancient Rome mood give the title real force. The stiffer stealth sections and an uneven production weigh on it. A good action game for fans of visceral arena combat and historical epic on PS2.
