Rage of the Gladiator

http://www.GhostfireGames.com

Gargadan is a twisted abomination -- a cruel experiment gone horribly wrong. He is a fusion of a lion, dragon, and snake. The lion head seems to be in charge of the others, directing the creature's actions. Each head has its own mind though, and sometimes disobeys.

About Rage of the Gladiator

Rage of the Gladiator is a fantasy-based fighting game. You play the role of Gracius, battling for his life in the arena against 11 unique enemies.

Your equipment consists of a magical war-hammer and a trusty shield. Wait for the right moment, then dodge, jump, or block your enemy's attacks. Next, unleash your rage by brutally pounding your enemy with your war-hammer and bashing them with your shield.

Each opponent has a unique style and pattern that you need to pay close attention to. Learn to exploit the weakness of each enemy with the proper timing and agility, and you will triumph.

As you advance past each battle, you will gain access to devastating combos. Early on, you may learn how to leap into the skies and plunge your war-hammer into the ground, creating a pillar of fire that burns your enemy to a crisp. As you progress you may learn more deadly combos, such as conjuring an ancient tornado to lay the ground asunder.

FAQ

What is Rage of the Gladiator?

Rage of the Gladiator is a fantasy-based fighting game. You play the role of Gracius, battling for his life in the arena.

Your equipment consists of a magical war-hammer and a trusty shield. Wait for the right moment, then dodge, jump, or block your enemy’s attacks. Next, unleash your rage by brutally pounding your enemy with your war-hammer and bashing them with your shield. Each opponent has a unique style and pattern that you need to pay close attention to. Learn to exploit the weakness of each enemy with the proper timing and agility, and you will triumph.

When is the game coming out?

While it’s impossible to provide an exact release date, we expect Fall 2009.

What platform is the game available on?

Rage of the Gladiator will be exclusively available on WiiWare, the downloadable game service for the Nintendo Wii.

How much does Rage of the Gladiator cost?

The price is still to be determined as it is set by Nintendo.

How do I purchase Rage of the Gladiator?

You can’t buy this game in stores -- its only available as a download onto the Wii. To do this, first make sure your Wii is connected to the Internet via the wireless Internet device built-into the Wii (you need a Wireless router or Wireless hub for this to work). Then navigate to the Wii Shop Channel. Rage of the Gladiator is available in the WiiWare section of the Wii Shop Channel.

Why is the game fun?

Overall our formula for making this game is:

How much replay value is in the game?

We have spent a lot of time focusing on building value into Rage of the Gladiator.

There are 11 unique bosses. Each boss has its own behavior and patterns that will take some time to understand and conquer.

Once you’ve beaten the first 10 bosses, you must face them all again in Challenge Mode. In this mode, the bosses gain new powers and are much more difficult. Challenge Mode is essentially a completely new experience when playing the game. The final boss is only unlocked at the end of Challenge Mode. This results in a total of 21 battles in the game. In addition, there are 3 tech-trees for you to explore, and so replay value also comes from exploring different builds of your character.

How large is the download?

Rage of the Gladiator fits into 40MB.

How are you able to fit all that content into 40MB?

We’ve learned a lot since we made our first game, Helix. Through compression, clever programming, and taking advantage of some cool tricks on the Wii, we have managed to include voice acting, 4 unique music tracks, and full lush 3d graphics with vivid animations.

How does the combat system work?

Rage of the Gladiator is a game of avoiding attacks, and then executing a well-timed series of hits. Some boss attacks equire precise timing to avoid, and others require that you avoid the attack in the right way (dodging left, dodging right, jumping, blocking, or counterattacking).

How does the skill tree work?

The skill-tree allows you to customize your character. These skills grant you new combos, as well as make your character more powerful. Each time you defeat an enemy, you gain additional skill-tree points.

There are three paths you can choose, each one having different rewards along the way:

Offense: Focuses on hitting harder, gaining critical strikes, leeching health from opponents, and conjuring firey pillars and meteors.

Defense: Focuses on taking less damage, improved blocking, the ability to heal yourself in combat, and the ability to resurrect from death.

Magic: Focuses on generating more energy to perform combos, channeling electricity into opponents, and summoning the wrath of incredible forces such as lightning and tornados.

At the bottom of each skill-tree, there are very powerful combo finishers. For example, the Magic tree has the ability to transform you into a hulking colossus. You must heavily invest in one skill-tree to gain access to these superpowers.

How do combos work?

The combo system in this game is a way for you to unleash devastating power against your enemy, using your stored energy to cast spells and perform complicated physical attacks.

Early on, you may learn how to leap into the skies and plunge your warhammer into the ground, creating a pillar of fire that burns your enemy to a crisp. As you progress you may learn more deadly combos, such as conjuring an ancient tornado to lay the ground asunder.

However, this is just the starting point. Prove your worth in the arena and you will earn devastating finishers such as a savage lightning storm or a fiery meteor.

To perform a combo, you need to have the minimum amount of energy in your meter. You earn energy when you connect with your hits, and lose energy when you get hit. More powerful combos require more energy, and some combos even take all of your energy in one shot!

You unlock the combos via the skill tree.

Is there a multi-player mode?

Rage of the Gladiator is a single-player only experience. We decided in advance that we wanted to focus on making the most enjoyable single player experience possible, rather than making a game that was just OK at both single and multiplayer.

What are the controls?

There are 3 different modes:

Traditional Horizontal Wii Remote: You hold the Wii Remote sideways, NES-style. This is great for old-school gamers that love quick responsiveness of buttons.

Wii Remote + Nunchuk: You hold the Wii Remote in your right hand, and Nunchuk in your left hand. You swing the Nunchuk or Wii Remote to perform attacks. By holding down a button, you can aim low when you swing.

Wii Remote + Nunchuk with Wii MotionPlus: The motion controls are enhanced here. You can swing up, down, left, and right when you swing by aiming the controller in that direction. We feel this is the most enjoyable experience and its pretty good exercise, too!

Story

This is the story of a land distant from your own. A beautiful land filled with lush rivers, rolling hills, and majestic mountains. We humans live in this land, and we are constantly at war with each other, striving for conquest.

But unlike your world, in this land we are not the only dominant creatures. Our land is also a savage land, teeming with mystical creatures such as dragons, beholders, and demons.

This is the story of the greatest of all the human cities, the majestic city of Avalance. Avalance is awe-inspiring in its scale and prosperity, and its ruler has been my father, King Marius.

Marius has always been a strong liege, protecting his people from the outsider humans and foul beasts that stalk us in the dark of night. However, not all is well in Avalance.

Over the last few weeks, darkness has descended on us, and we may not be able to escape it. I am Gracius, noble prince of Avalance, and this tale is my story.

This is a story of betrayal, greed, and power. This is the tale of how I was forced to fight against my will, a fight for my very life.

This is the tale of how I fought for my life in the arena.

Media Inquiries

Scott Merriam

Director of Marketing, Ghostfire Games

scottm@ghostfiregames.com

(413) 687-1696