Shadow of Rome

Plot synopsis:
The game begins as the Roman army, under the command of centurion Agrippa (voiced by Rick Weiss), is fighting a Germanic army in the northeastern provinces. In Rome, Julius Caesar (Michael Bell) is on his way to the Senate when he is stabbed. As he dies, he looks at his killer and says "Et tu, Brute?" As he is cremated in the Foro Romano, Cicero (Peter Renaday) reveals the assassin to the public; Vipsanius (Daniel Riordan), Agrippa's father. As Vipsanius maintains his innocence, Cicero announces Caesar's successor, Antonius (Chris Cox). Listening from the crowd, Octavianus (Scott Menville), Caesar's nephew, refuses to believe Vipsanius is guilty. Meanwhile, in Germania, Agrippa receives word of Caesar's death, and orders him men to return to Rome.
Soon after the funeral, Octavianus meets Pansa (Jack Angel), formerly Caesar's most trusted spy. With Pansa's help, Octavianus sneaks into the Senate where Maecenas (Larry Cedar), Antonius' secretary, proposes that rather than immediately executing Vipsanius, they hold a gladiatorial tournament across the Empire, the winner of which will perform the execution. Antonius approves of the idea, but dictates that Vipsania (Moira Quirk), Vipsanius' wife, be publicly executed immediately. Agrippa arrives back in Rome, and Octavianus explains the situation. At the execution, presided over by Decius Brutus (Daniel Riordan), Agrippa attempts to save Vipsania, but as they flee, she is stabbed in the back by Decius, who then defeats Agrippa in combat. However, before Agrippa can be arrested, he and Octavianus are saved by a woman on a chariot. She reveals her name is Claudia (Nicole Balick), a female gladiator. She tells them about the gladiatorial tournament, and that her brother, Sextus (Roger Rose) runs a gladiator camp which Agrippa could join to gain entry to the tournament and possibly save his father. Meanwhile, Octavianus will remain in Rome and investigate the murder.
As Agrippa fights his way through the tournament, Octavianus begins to follow Cicero's protégé, Marcus Brutus (Cam Clarke). At the camp, Claudia tells Agrippa she and Sextus are not brother and sister; he rescued her as a child after her brother was killed by a Roman soldier. Meanwhile, Sextus is visited by Iris (Heather Halley) and Charmian (Jennifer Hale), who come with "a direct order from our mistress." They want Sextus to assassinate someone, in return for their mistress aiding his plans. Sextus agrees. In Rome, Octavianus finds Cicero stabbed in his office. The dying Cicero tells him a group of conspirators are responsible for Caesar's assassination, and Vipsanius is innocent. Marcus is a member of the group, but the actual murderer is "another Brutus." Meanwhile, Agrippa makes it to the finals of the tournament in the Colosseum. Octavianus heads to meet Marcus, where he finds multiple senators murdered, and a distraught Marcus, who says the other Brutus is killing off the members of the conspiracy. However, he refuses to reveal his identity.
At the camp, Claudia tells Agrippa Sextus is really the son of Pompeius, who was killed in battle by Caesar. She explains he plans to assassinate Octavianus (Caesar's only surviving blood relative) in order to gain support for his conquest of Rome. Meanwhile, Octavianus finds a note in Caesar's handwriting speculating as to the worthiness of possible successors, and learns that Antonius was not his chosen heir. At the camp, Sextus abruptly disappears along with a number of gladiators, and Claudia learns he is working for Iris and Charmian. In Rome, Sextus confronts Octavianus, and is about to kill him when Claudia intervenes. Octavianus flees, and witnesses Decius stabbing Marcus. A dying Marcus tells Octavianus that Decius is the "other Brutus." Maecenas then has Octavianus arrested.
In the final of the tournament, Agrippa faces Decius, whom he defeats and is about to kill him when Maecenas arrives in the arena, announcing the return of Caesar. He explains the man killed was a decoy employed because Caesar knew about the conspiracy, announcing the murder was carried out by Decius, not Vipsanius. Caesar arrives and addresses Antonius, telling him he did not chose him as his heir. Iris and Charmian revealed Caesar's true choice to Antonius, who masterminded the conspiracy. A shocked Antonius admits his guilt, at which point Maecenas reveals Caesar really is dead, and the man pretending to be him is his true chosen heir - Octavianus. A furious Antonius orders Decius to kill Octavianus, but Agrippa intervenes and kills Decius. At that moment, however, Rome is attacked by Sextus, supported by soldiers loyal to Antonius, who is able to escape the arena. Agrippa and Claudia head to Ostia and confront Sextus. Agrippa defeats him and begs him to surrender. However, Antonius attacks the docks, and Sextus sacrifices himself to save Claudia. As a battle rages at sea between those loyal to Octavianus and those loyal to Antonius, Agrippa faces Antonius, whom he defeats and kills.
Back in Rome, Agrippa, Octavianus and Claudia mourn Sextus. She tells them she is leaving Rome, but will keep her eye on things. As she leaves, Agrippa asks her to promise she will return, but she doesn't answer him. Octavianus then vows to fulfill Caesar's dream of the Pax Romana, with Agrippa vowing to help him any way he can. In the epilogue, a content Iris and Charmian state it is time to tell their mistress they have "reached the end of the beginning."

Tags: violence

Review:
Shadow of Rome is awesome!!. Shadow of Rome is the best action game ever!! Since all the other games Capcom has developed over the years id have to say this one is about 3rd place Now to the game, in the game u can chop guys arms off heads off and they bleed like a fire-hose and after u cut an arm or and they are rolling back and forth u can stab them to make them stop!! The weapons variety is awesome as well, u can have a parma, spike shield, gladius, halberd, maul, mace, scimitar, bow, fire bow, and the kind of all swords the MAGNUS! There are a couple of bosses to keep your adrenaline rush throughout the game including one that comes back...I'll admit sadly that yes the Octaianus levels are puzzles but you get to strangle guys will string bash them over the head with pots and take their clothes and dress yourself in them!! And finally i would just like to say if u want a challenge of both body and mind Shadow of Rome is the game for you.. My favorite next to GTA. This game is basically about a ex-soldier named Agrippa who's father is accused of murdering Ceaser.He is accompanied by Octavinous, a close relative to the late Cesar, you will be doing puzzle missions in the game using him. Which some are easy, actually most are easy but a few are really annoying.Some other characters Pansa- he and Octavinous know each other, you frequently go back to his house, you can save your data there as well.Brutus- the true killer of Cesar, you will face him in a match near the end of the game, watch out, he is hard Sextus- a gladiator promoter who trains Agrippa to fight Claduia- the "sister" of Sextus, he saved her when she was a child, she fights as well Barca- The German king, you fight him two times, one in a battle, and two, in a final match at a arenaDema- A vertran of fighitng, he suffers from a condition in which he cant be in the sun, he really does not have any effect on the game, he gives you advice on stuff but that's really it.Miceanus- A person in the royal court, he is involved in some pretty suspicious things, but he is not bad, you follow him a littl bit for a mission or so.Vipsanius- The father of Agrippa who is accused of murdering CeaserAntonius- The person who is falsely named the Roman Emperor. Loving It!. Bascily, the game is split into two parts. Agrippa is a bear of a man trying to free his father who has been arrested for Julius Ceaser's murder. But to do that he has to enter the games as a gladiator and must defeat all his opponents, from big guys with maces to wimpy women with fire arrows and blood-thirsty tigers to killer elephants. (Yes you actually have to fight even elephants in this game! Trust me, I find animals are much better fighters than warriors.) Also another good bit is Agrippa can cut arms clean off and chop people in half, though for people who fell sick at this can turn this effect off. While Agrippa has a hellish time battling, his best friend Octavisnus (who is also Ceaser's nephew) sneaks around Rome trying to find out who is the real murder of Ceaser. He has to use whatever he can find such as vases and slippy banana skins to knock out his enemies. (You'll love the banana skin part!) Octavisnus must keep hidden and keep changing his costume to 'blend in' with the crowd. The one thing I didn't really like about this game was how much blood was in it but for anyone who can't stand a lot of blood is given the choice to take it off at the beginning of the game, making it a hell of lot less violent. The game starts slow but as it goes on it gets much better. You get really attached to your characters and I was so mad when I found out that some maddo wanted to kill Octavisnus. (I won't say who it is as I have spoiled enough but you get to beat the crap out of the killer, as well as some other cool bosses. Trust me, revenge has never been sweeter!) Overall mark: 9/10 (the producers went a little over the top by putting blood everywhere.)