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Wii

North America

Rage of the Gladiator

by Neal Ronaghan - April 8, 2010, 9:23 am EDT
Total comments: 33

7

Is fantasy-based Punch-Out!! all it's cracked up to be?

Ghostfire Games cut me right to the core when they called Rage of the Gladiator a fantasy-based Punch-Out!! game. I'm a big fan of Nintendo's venerable series, so when I heard this, I became quite excited for their newest WiiWare title. The end result is good and has fantastic production values, but it lacks the finely tuned precision of Punch-Out!! games, with slapdash motion controls and overly long battles.

The first-person viewpoint is the starkest change from Nintendo's boxing series, and it's also one of the low points of the game. The lack of any kind of on-screen avatar makes dodging and judging whether or not you're going to get hit difficult, which is integral to doing well in the game. What you see on screen are your hands, which are filled with a hammer and a shield. The hammer is your basic manner of attacking, and the shield can be used to block or knock enemies off balance.

Throwing a wrench into the Punch-Out!! style are magical powers and a skill tree. The magical attacks are kind of like Punch-Out!!'s star punches, but with a lot more visual flair. For example, there is one attack where you slam your hammer down into the ground and unleash a pillar of fire. You gain and upgrade these attacks, as well level up your offense and defense, by putting points into your skill tree, which is split into three different sections: Offense, Defense, and Magic. It's quite novel, and you can power up your character in a variety of ways. However, once you make a decision, you're stuck with it for the entire game. You can only get more skill points by getting better grades on past bosses, and you can't repurpose ones you've already spent. This wouldn't be so bad if the game didn't ramp up in difficulty as you worked your way through it.

As far as controls go, your hammer is represented by the Wii Remote, and your shield is represented by the Nunchuk. You can pick between different directions to swing your hammer (up, down, left, or right), which is emboldened by Wii MotionPlus if you have it, but it does nothing more than allow you swing in a direction and attack as opposed to holding down a button and swinging. In general, all of the motion controls have slight delays, which make the parts of the game that require precise timing difficult to complete. Luckily, there is a Wii Remote-only control scheme - reminiscent of Punch-Out!! - that solves most of these problems.

The game's presentation is its biggest triumph, as it features some of the best 3D graphics on WiiWare, and also features voice-acting for every one of the 11 bosses you fight. Additionally, every one of the bosses has personality and style, whether it's the drunken former warrior or the comical snake tamer.

Each bout is pretty long, as they all have three distinct rounds. On one hand, the bosses learn new tricks and become different and more difficult as you go through each round, but on the other, they often run long and repeat the same pattern too many times.

Rage of the Gladiator tries to be a Punch-Out!!-esque game, but it doesn't quite live up to the promise. Still, it's an entertaining game with solid production values that manages to wind its way down the road of quality despite some superfluous controls, rigid skill trees, and extra-long battles.

Score

Graphics Sound Control Gameplay Lastability Final
9 7.5 7.5 7 6 7
Graphics
9

Despite the 40MB WiiWare restriction, the graphics are some of the best on WiiWare, and are worthy of being compared to good-looking retail titles. Unfortunately, the art direction is a little generic in places, but the character design makes up for it as each boss is over-the-top and entertaining.

Sound
7.5

The full-on voice acting is good, though a bit corny and ham-fisted. The music repeats a lot, but it doesn't get annoying.

Control
7.5

The motion controls are a tiny bit laggy, and the Wii MotionPlus controls bring virtually nothing to the table. Luckily, the Wii Remote-only controls work well.

Gameplay
7

The bosses are interesting and challenging, and there's a good deal of customization and upgradeability with your character to keep the gameplay reasonably fresh.

Lastability
6

With 11 different bosses and 21 battles, there's a lot to tackle in this game, especially when the difficulty ramps up. You also get graded for each battle, so you can go back and improve your grade. However, you can't go back and power up your character and get more skill points, which is unfortunate.

Final
7

The promise of fantasy-based Punch-Out!! holds true. If you're a fan of Nintendo's boxing series, you'll probably enjoy this game, as long as you go into it expecting a little less polish than the typical Nintendo title.

Summary

Pros
  • Great presentation
  • Humorous and interesting bosses
Cons
  • First-person view is unnatural
  • Lackluster motion controls
Review Page 2: Conclusion

Talkback

noname2200April 08, 2010

Nice review. My only question regards lastability: is the relatively low score solely because you don't get more points by reaplying them? Or are the fights not fun enough to retry, a la Punch-Out!!? And is there some sort of score meter or timer, so you can compete against yourself/friends for high scores?

coffeewithgamesApril 08, 2010

/sigh.


I just have a question for the reviewer, Neal.


1) Did you actually finish Challenge Mode in the game before reviewing it?


This game is a 10 out of 10 on nearly all fronts for me.


I've already logged more than 40 hours of play-time on the game.  I finished the game using the NES-style controls, now I'm going back using the Wii Remote and Nunchuck. 
You forgot to mention that you can adjust the sensitivity of the Wii Remote and Nun chuck in the game when playing that way.
If you adjust to 100%, I think that would have solved your problems easily.
Again, not everybody will move the same/punch the same, and I think it's absolutely awesome Ghostfire Games, included adjustable sensitivity in the controls.


3 areas Rage of the Gladiator, beats Punch-Out!! for me.
1)  Use of WM+
2)  Awesome scripted "star" punches, that made me want to keep playing the game to see all of them.
3)  Price


Also, you said, "You can't replay past bosses for more skill points, or repurpose ones you've already spent. This wouldn't be so bad if the game didn't ramp up in difficulty as you worked your way through it."

That's incorrect.  You can replay past bosses for more skill points, you just have to get a better grade(A) in the fights.  If you didn't finish Challenge Mode, you probably wouldn't know this.

Thanks for the epic reply!

First off, score's are subjective, sir. I'm glad you think this game is awesome. I thought it was ok, but not anything amazing.

Also, Ghostfire Games, the developers of this game, told me in a review guide that, for review purposes, I should only need to get through the main mode and a few Challenge Mode bosses. I did just that.

I actually disagree with you on all three of those points why RotG is better than Punch-Out!!. I really could care less for the MotionPlus support, the star punches aren't too interesting, and I gladly paid $50 for Punch-Out!!.

The only thing you really caught me on was the fact that you can replay past bosses and get more skill points for bette grades. That was an oversight and I apoligize. Even still, that doesn't aid too much in fixing the fact that you're stuck with your past decisions.

Thanks for making an account on the NWR Forums so you could troll me! Good luck with your blog, sir!

coffeewithgamesApril 08, 2010


First off, thanks for the reply!


A few things though:


1)You said, "

Quote from: NWR_Neal

First off, score's are subjective, sir. I'm glad you think this game is awesome. I thought it was ok, but not anything amazing.

While review scores are subjective, I don't think lack of information or misinformation in a review is.


If you complain about the motion controls, but failed to change the calibration on them and don't mention that you can, that looks like the game only has one option.  It doesn't. 


The game allows you to calibrate the nun chuck and Wii Remote, so they can either be more or less sensitive to the motions you make.


The lack of that information basically throws the complaint out about the "tiny bit of lag", with the motion controls.
Also, WM+ allows the player to swing up/down, as well as left/right.  If you use just the Wii Remote and Nun chuck, you can only swing left/right.


2)

Quote from: NWR_Neal

I actually disagree with you on all three of those points why RotG is better than Punch-Out!!. I really could care less for the MotionPlus support, the star punches aren't too interesting, and I gladly paid $50 for Punch-Out!!.

You wouldn't know about all the "star punches" though, if you don't complete the skill tree.
Also, it could be noted that different "star punches" do different amounts of damage.


3) Also, if you didn't finish the game's Challenge Mode, how can you really judge it on "Lastability"?


If you checked my blog, you can probably tell I'm a data nerd and I like details.
These aren't attacks, but I think adjustments that should be made to the review.

Well, I don't.

The glory of the internet is that there are many different takes on everything. You can come from your data nerd perspective, and I can come from my perspective.

I played the game, quite a bit actually. The motion controls, calibration or not, aren't the best way to play it in my opinion. I personally don't think they're very good. I think the MotionPlus implementation is lackluster. Maybe I'm jaded from other MotionPlus experiences that add more than what amounts to another button press. I recommend you try out Red Steel 2 or Wii Sports Resort for excellent MotionPlus implementation.

I'm sorry our viewpoints aren't the same. However, I played this game, and this review is based off of my experience with it. Not your experience. Mine.

I corrected your point about getting more skill points by getting higher grades. Thanks for pointing that out. However, I stand firm by saying that everything else that you bring up is either subjective or not necessary for a review of the game. For example, I don't find that the calibration to fix my issues with the motion controls in the same way that, using my old Rock Band 1 instruments, there's always a delay in Rock Band on certain TVs.

For games like Rage of the Gladiator ("twitch games" might be a term for it), I find that motion controls aren't the way to go most of the time. I'd much rather have an old-styled controller in my hand. And while I think this is a good game (7.0 is not damning at all), I don't think it's a 10/10 game. I say why in my review. I'm sorry you don't agree with it, and even if I made any other changes to the review, the score and content would stay mostly the same.

If you would like to continue this conversation, please PM me. Let's not crowd this talkback thread with our squabbling.

Quote from: noname2200

Nice review. My only question regards lastability: is the relatively low score solely because you don't get more points by reaplying them? Or are the fights not fun enough to retry, a la Punch-Out!!? And is there some sort of score meter or timer, so you can compete against yourself/friends for high scores?

You can go back and get the highest grade for more points, but also, the bosses go on for so damn long the first time around anyway (three rounds of repetitive battling) that I didn't have much of a will to go back and fight them. They're little puzzles that, once you figure out, get kind of old. You can, if you want to, compete with your friends for higher grades and go for stuff like "not taking any damage," but there's no real reward for that (besides a token skill point or two).

BlackNMild2k1April 09, 2010

Quote from: NWR_Neal

If you would like to continue this conversation, please PM me. Let's not crowd this talkback thread with our squabbling.

Not to join your squabbling or anything, but isn't that exactly what the Talkback Thread is for? Talking back about the article/review/news that was posted?

This talkback can't repel squabbling of this magnitude!

coffeewithgamesApril 09, 2010

Quote from: NWR_Neal

Quote from: noname2200

Nice review. My only question regards lastability: is the relatively low score solely because you don't get more points by reaplying them? Or are the fights not fun enough to retry, a la Punch-Out!!? And is there some sort of score meter or timer, so you can compete against yourself/friends for high scores?

You can go back and get the highest grade for more points, but also, the bosses go on for so damn long the first time around anyway (three rounds of repetitive battling) that I didn't have much of a will to go back and fight them. They're little puzzles that, once you figure out, get kind of old. You can, if you want to, compete with your friends for higher grades and go for stuff like "not taking any damage," but there's no real reward for that (besides a token skill point or two).

I will PM you, but here's the thing.
If you're stating incorrect information in your review, or not stating information that may be beneficial to the readers here, I think they should see an alternate view with more information provided, that may help them make a decision.


You said, "...there's no real reward for that", about going back to get a higher score.
If you complete Challenge Mode, you will see there is a "reward" if you get a certain grade in the fights of Challenge Mode.


As for the question about competing against yourself/friends.
The game offers four different save slots, so four friends could have their own save file to play.
As for a challenge to yourself, there are four grades the game can give you in each fight:
C, B, A, and S

If you go for the "A" or "S" grade in each fight, you will be challenged!


If you enjoy Punch-Out(old or new), you should enjoy Rage of the Gladiator and I think 40+ hours shows I've gotten my $10 worth, and I plan on completing the game again with the Wii Remote/Nun chuck controls, then again using WM+.

Mop it upApril 09, 2010

"coffeewithgames" sounds so familiar... I wonder if I've seen this person before?

Anyways, one point I agree with here is that some games should maybe have more than one review, if it's the type where people are going to have vastly different views. One game I would've liked to see this for is Gravitronix, NWR really tore this game apart so I wanted to hear from someone who enjoyed it (which I believe someone on staff did). I know there's extra work and possibly money involved with offering multiple reviews for a single game, but it's something I always appreciate.

The main reason I said let's take this off the talkback thread is because we both stated our points, and we're at a point, as far as I can see, where we're just going to go back and forth restating our opinions. The "rewards" you mention aren't really worth it in my opinion. The calibration, no matter how much I futzed with it, never fixed my issues with the motion controls.

I'm glad you loved this game, just stop telling me that my review is wrong. We're both entitled to our opinions.

Also, you detail a ridiculous scenario where four people in the same household all play Rage of the Gladiator. I'm willing to bet that no one on the forums is in such a situation (someone feel free to prove me wrong). That's like saying Professor Layton is competitive because you can have multiple save files and see how many picarats you have. Yes, that's true, but how many people are going to do that?

I have had that Layton based conversation. Just to clarify, I am the Puzzle Master.

ShyGuyApril 09, 2010

Hahaha Ronaghan Reviews©, now with even more Neal Appeal!©

I give this hot coffee two stars for rich full bodied aroma.

Shy Guy, I'm glad you like my style so much that you copyrighted and trademarked Ronaghan Reviews and Neal Appeal.

ShyGuyApril 09, 2010

Please contact my legal department to obtain rights to use the Neal Ronaghan® brand

So about punch out (exclamation point exclamation point): you gave this game a 7 and it I'd guess something in the 9s.

At $10 vs $50:

7.0/$10 = $0.70 a point
9.5/$50 = $0.19 a point

Therefore Rage of the Gladiator is a much better value.

NinGurl69 *hugglesApril 09, 2010

MadWorld for $9 looks like a GAME OF TEH YEARS

ShyGuyApril 09, 2010

Quote from: Crimm

So about punch out (exclamation point exclamation point): you gave this game a 7 and it I'd guess something in the 9s.

At $10 vs $50:

7.0/$10 = $0.70 a point
9.5/$50 = $0.19 a point

Therefore Rage of the Gladiator is a much better value.

What if I paid you to play Pokemon Mystery Dungeon?

It was 34.99 si it would do poorly.

KDR_11kApril 10, 2010

Quote from: Crimm

So about punch out (exclamation point exclamation point): you gave this game a 7 and it I'd guess something in the 9s.

At $10 vs $50:

7.0/$10 = $0.70 a point
9.5/$50 = $0.19 a point

Therefore Rage of the Gladiator is a much better value.

Review scales are logarithmic.

coffeewithgamesApril 10, 2010

Here I go...again!


Okay, you stated that "the 'rewards' you mentioned aren't really worth it in my opinion".
My question is, how do you know if the reward is or isn't worth it, if you didn't even finish Challenge Mode?


Then, you said, "I'm glad you loved this game, just stop telling me my review is wrong.  We're both entitled to our opinions."
Again, opinions are fine, I agree, but opinions should be based on information I think. 


On lastability:
I think your opinion on the game's "lastability" is incorrect, because you didn't finish the game's Challenge Mode.


On controls:
I went and read your Punch-Out!! review, and am confused how you gave Punch-Out!! a 9.0 in controls, but Rage of the Gladiator a 7.5?


Then you said, "Also, you detail a ridiculous scenario where four people in the same household all play Rage of the Gladiator."
First, I was answering noname2200's question about competing against yourself/friends for high scores.
I don't see how answering somebody's question is "ridiculous" when I was simply saying that the game has four save slots, because I don't know how many people may play the game in noname2200's house.
I'll actually clarify more for noname2200, there isn't a "high score" rank in the game that can be compared between save files, so the competing aspect is mainly against yourself.


Again, I think this discussion is good, and allows the readers to see another side.


BTW, to the readers of this, Ghostfire Games is giving away free copies of Rage of the Gladiator.
Read more at: http://www.ghostfiregames.com/gladiator/want-a-free-copy-of-rage-of-the-gladiator/

BlackNMild2k1April 10, 2010

^Do you work for Ghostfire games?
You seem specifically defensive over this one game when I'm sure dozens of WiiWare/DSiWare, Wii, DS and every other game here was reviews in the exact same way(I hardly read any of the actual reviews, just the wrap-ups at the end, so I could be wrong). Why does only this specific game review rub you in such the wrong way?

coffeewithgamesApril 10, 2010

Quote from: BlackNMild2k1

^Do you work for Ghostfire games?
You seem specifically defensive over this one game when I'm sure dozens of WiiWare/DSiWare, Wii, DS and every other game here was reviews in the exact same way(I hardly read any of the actual reviews, just the wrap-ups at the end, so I could be wrong). Why does only this specific game review rub you in such the wrong way?

Nope.  Don't work for Ghostfire Games, and I've never met the guys that work at Ghostfire Games.  I'm not even in their state.


As for being defensive, I actually just started college again, in a Simulation & Games program, and I've just been noticing, that if games are new to the scene, not from a well established company/franchise, they seem to be reviewed more critically, whereas games from established companies/franchises, are given passes on things.  It just doesn't make a lot of sense to me.


This isn't the first game though.  I've replied on The Conduit, the original Red Steel, Mercenaries(way back in 2004) and other games reviews if I saw something that I thought was incorrect or perhaps wasn't in the review, that should have been.
So, it's not just this review.

YmeegodApril 10, 2010

I don't think many people would expect to compare the two games when the price point is so different.  It sounds like a great WIIWare game IMO. 

Mop it upApril 10, 2010

Quote from: coffeewithgames

BTW, to the readers of this, Ghostfire Games is giving away free copies of Rage of the Gladiator.
Read more at: http://www.ghostfiregames.com/gladiator/want-a-free-copy-of-rage-of-the-gladiator/

Everyone who reads the front page already knows this.

Which means nobody here knew it.

BlackNMild2k1April 10, 2010

Quote from: Mop

Quote from: coffeewithgames

BTW, to the readers of this, Ghostfire Games is giving away free copies of Rage of the Gladiator.
Read more at: http://www.ghostfiregames.com/gladiator/want-a-free-copy-of-rage-of-the-gladiator/

Everyone who reads the front page already knows this.

Which means nobody here knew it.

Except for the fact that it was already Talkback(in the forums) since around 4pm this afternoon (PST)
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=31045.0

NinGurl69 *hugglesApril 10, 2010

Opinions are incorrect.

You heard it here, first.

NWR_pap64Pedro Hernandez, Contributing WriterApril 10, 2010

coffeewithgames: What if Neal truly played the game to the fullest enough to write the most detailed review ever created by man and STILL didn't like it? What is your argument then? That he was biased towards Punch-Out in order to give it a fair review? That he doesn't have the right mind set to enjoy a game as magnificent as Rage of the Gladiator? Most importantly, what if the review was very glowing and was still inaccurate? Would you raise a stink over those minor details or would you ignore that since what matters is that the review matches your mindset?

Seriously, dude, you have been warned. Reviews are first and foremost opinion pieces. Yes, its important to be as detailed as possible so the information is accurate. That I will agree with. But if the reviewer had a sour experience with the game he has the right to express it, despite what everyone else is saying about it.

We have no problem with readers putting their two cents in and offering a different opinion. The problem here is that Neal has explained to you why he didn't like the game and offered you his honest opinion and you still see fit in claiming that his review is wrong, all under the basis that you enjoyed it far more than he did.

coffeewithgamesApril 10, 2010

Quote from: NWR_pap64

coffeewithgames: What if Neal truly played the game to the fullest enough to write the most detailed review ever created by man and STILL didn't like it? What is your argument then? That he was biased towards Punch-Out in order to give it a fair review? That he doesn't have the right mind set to enjoy a game as magnificent as Rage of the Gladiator? Most importantly, what if the review was very glowing and was still inaccurate? Would you raise a stink over those minor details or would you ignore that since what matters is that the review matches your mindset?

Well, I've commented on nearly every single Rage of the Gladiator review, I don't think the review scores are what matters to me.
That's why I started my first comment with, "/sigh", because I was doing it all over again with the same question.
I've asked the question, "Did you finish Challenge Mode", in at least three other reviews that I know of.
Again, I'm not saying, he can't say he doesn't like the game, I never said that.
If he had finished Challenge Mode and still wrote this review with a score of 10, I probably still would have mentioned the motion controls could be adjusted.


I'm just pointing out some things, that didn't make sense to me, and he even went back and adjusted one thing in the review that I pointed out.
So again, I'm not here, trying to bash him or the review, just to point out some more things that people may like about the game if they're on the fence and didn't see it in his review originally.

Quote from: NWR_pap64

Seriously, dude, you have been warned. Reviews are first and foremost opinion pieces. Yes, its important to be as detailed as possible so the information is accurate. That I will agree with. But if the reviewer had a sour experience with the game he has the right to express it, despite what everyone else is saying about it.

We have no problem with readers putting their two cents in and offering a different opinion. The problem here is that Neal has explained to you why he didn't like the game and offered you his honest opinion and you still see fit in claiming that his review is wrong, all under the basis that you enjoyed it far more than he did.

I don't think I ever typed, "Your review is wrong!" and just left it as that.
I also didn't say it was wrong simply because, I "enjoyed it far more than he did."
I stated a few times that things were "incorrect", but I would show why they were incorrect.
Neal even said at one point, "I corrected your point about getting more skill points by getting higher grades. Thanks for pointing that out."


If I was in here yelling, screaming, and flaming, I could understand it being an issue, but I think we've had a pretty civil discussion so far.

NinGurl69 *hugglesApril 12, 2010

You called an opinion incorrect.  That's laffable.  An opinion/argument can be poorly formed or invalid or the author can be factually incorrect, but you ran out the starting gates with a poor choice of words.

coffeewithgamesApril 12, 2010

Quote from: NinGurl69

You called an opinion incorrect.  That's laffable.  An opinion/argument can be poorly formed or invalid or the author can be factually incorrect, but you ran out the starting gates with a poor choice of words.

I never simply stated, "Your opinion is incorrect" and left it like that.


I think the reference you're referring to is,
"On lastability:I think your opinion on the game's "lastability" is incorrect, because you didn't finish the game's Challenge Mode."


I guess the proper way would have been, "I think your reasons for scoring the game's lastability are incorrect because of XYZ"?
Or, "Your opinion is poorly formed and invalid"?

ejamerApril 14, 2010

Wow, fire in the forums!  :Q


People might disagree with their opinions, but it impresses me is that people are passionate enough to argue over the game.  That's gotta be a good sign, right?


Personally I liked Rage of the Gladiator much more than Neal seems to.  It isn't the best game ever and didn't exactly fit my expectations going in, but surprised me by being tremendous fun.  Is it better than Punch-Out!! on Wii?  No, I don't think so.  But it's cheaper and easier to buy, has some great modifications like the skill tree advancements, and definitely isn't lacking in challenge or entertainment value.  In fact, Rage of the Gladiator is clearly my second favorite WiiWare release this year, only outdone by Cave Story.  (Others are more than welcome to disagree with that opinion.)


Also, I want to defend Neal for reviewing the game without finishing it.  I have never finished any game in the Punch-Out!! series because the difficulty and reflexes required to beat high-level bosses simply are too much for me.  But I don't think that invalidates my opinions about the games.  Of course, it's hard to fairly rate "lastability" when the game hasn't even been finished once... but only if you define that word to mean how long it takes to finish the game instead of how long it takes to lose interest.


Anyway... my point.  Did I have one?  Oh right!  I think that Rage of the Gladiator is awesome, and was the best 1000 Wii Points I've spent in a long time.  Hopefully people interested in a game that takes heavy inspiration from a long-standing classic are willing to give this game a shot.  It really deserves to be played.
;D

ejamer - I totally get everything you said. Specifically this:

Quote:

Is it better than Punch-Out!! on Wii?  No, I don't think so.  But it's cheaper and easier to buy, has some great modifications like the skill tree advancements, and definitely isn't lacking in challenge or entertainment value.

I still don't like this as much as you (I think it'd fit right behind Blaster Master at the four or five spot for WiiWare games of 2010, but there's also only been three months of releases in 2010), but that really hits the nail on the head with a lot of my feelings about the game, though with less bravado.

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Rage of the Gladiator Box Art

Genre Fighting
Developer Ghostfire Games

Worldwide Releases

na: Rage of the Gladiator
Release Mar 15, 2010
eu: Rage of the Gladiator
Release Apr 16, 2010
PublisherGhostfire Games
Rating12+

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