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Gameplay: '300: March to Glory'
Hack and slash the road to glory
By Heather Embrey
hembrey@mscd.edu

300: March to Glory Platform: PSP Publisher: Eidos $24.99

Appearing first as a graphic novel, then translated to a Hollywood blockbuster and now finally available in game form, the release of 300: March to Glory for Sony’s PSP system completes the nerd trifecta of media.

For those unfamiliar with the material, the various iterations of 300 tell the story of 300 Spartans who held off hordes of invading Persians in 480 B.C.

The Spartans ultimately lost, but the valor demonstrated in holding off the enormous Persian army inspired Greeks from all over to unite and take arms in battle, possibly saving Greek civilization.

Two key, interrelated questions must be answered when any popular franchise is made into a video game. First, is the game any good? Second, does it do justice to the source material?

In 300: March to Glory, players take control of King Leonidas, the self-appointed king of the Spartan army. Initially equipped with a sword and shield, players will eventually acquire spears and heavier armor. The majority of the game is a generic hack-and-slash through innumerable Persian troops, gaining experience points on the way. These points increase the character’s power and can be used to purchase weapons of mass destruction.

The action in the game is ultimately mediocre, and the game becomes extremely repetitive quickly. Poor design decisions attempt to break up the monotony but only succeed in making things worse. For example, several times throughout the game it’s necessary to form a phalanx, a historical military formation usually composed of heavy infantry armed with spears. Unlike the true phalanx, the formations are set in a line and as a result characters sustain more injury than in a normal fomation. Just as bad, this new line of defense slows down the gameplay considerably, leaving the player frustrated and impatient.

Another example is the stealth mode, which allows the Spartans to sneak up on enemies and get them from behind. The only problem is that sometimes they fall out of the player’s line of sight and end up turning the tables. The stealth mode can work when characters are backed up against walls or on ledges, but for the most part, it’s better to simply hack and/or slash all the way to the end.

The game falls flat as a game, and it doesn’t do much to live up to the high standard set by the movie. The movie offered a riveting, emotionally engaging tale of loyalty, patriotism and courage in the face of overwhelming odds, brought to life by breathtaking action sequences. The game offers a clunky, repetitive and ultimately boring grind, crippled by poorly implemented game mechanics.

Game developer Collision Studios prides themselves on handheld wonders, but they failed to capture the movie’s realistic battles and beautiful, computer-generated scenery enough to keep anyone interested.