We obtained a preview copy of The Gladiators: The Galactic Circus Games from Eugen Systems and Arxel Tribe that allowed us to try out the game's first two levels.  While probably best classified as a strategy game, when you sit down and play the game it quickly becomes apparent that The Gladiators will be a genre-bending game, as it has strong action and arcade elements to it. 

In The Gladiators you take on the role of Major Callahan of the US Marines.  You are the champion for an alien princess in a galactic death match, played for the entertainment of the galactic empire's masses, with the throne of the empire at stake.  Just how you got yourself into this situation is a long story which involves space shuttles, black holes, stays of execution, usurpers to the throne, and justice minded princesses.  The bottom line is that you are now forced to battle your way through different arenas, trying to survive and being entertaining while doing so.

The arenas in the game's preview consisted of linked islands which featured rolling landscapes partially covered with trees and other vegetation.  Although the game's graphics are not finalized yet, its 3D graphics look pretty good, with bright colors, animated landscapes, smooth character animations, and a movable game camera.  The water effects look particularly interesting, with lakes that ebb and flow and reflect the world around them.

The basic goal of the arenas is to get from Point A to Point B while keeping Callahan alive.  Out to prevent you from doing so are a variety of creatures that exhibit unique modes of attack.  The creatures in the preview exhibited some advanced tactics, such as using the cover of vegetation to set up ambushes and concentrating their attacks on your key units.  As you progress further into the game, the creatures not only get tougher, they also begin to coordinate their attacks so that you will face "combined arms" attacks by fast melee creatures supported by ranged creatures with long distance attacks.  How you meet these attacks is a tactical decision you'll need to make on the fly, and is a big part of the game's strategic element.

Creatures are not the only obstacles facing you in the arenas.  Minefields and other obstructions will sometimes bar your way.  How you negotiate these, especially if you are under attack at the time, adds a puzzle-like element to the game.

Luckily for you, the arenas provide you with a few assets that you can use to your advantage.  Special power-ups are placed around the arenas that award you with support troops, health boosts, stronger weapons, or special cards that can be used at unit generation points to create more support troops.  The arenas also have a few defensive structures which you can man to fend off a particularly strong attack.  These include bunkers which provide protection while increasing your firepower and towers which give you an elevation advantage over attacking creatures.

The game is easy to control and play, and supports many of the unit controls familiar to strategy gamers.  Movement and attacks are conducted with simple mouse clicks, and multiple units can be grouped and given orders.  The game also supports formations for grouped units, allowing you to effectively manage your units when advancing through the arenas.  This also gives you far more tactical leeway when facing the arenas' various creatures, making The Gladiators much more of a thinking person's game than most games with arcade-like elements. 

Since we were only playing a preview copy of the game, there are other game elements still to be added before The Gladiators will be released.  It will be interesting to see how the crowd plays into the game, and what the consequences will be if you are not entertaining enough.  It will also be interesting to see how the other champions will come into play.

If you're tired of strategy games that require a lot of time invested in establishing a base, gathering resources, and building up an army, you'll definitely want to give The Gladiators a look when it is released.  The game should also appeal to anyone looking for some good shoot-em-up action that requires a little bit of thinking and strategy on the part of the player.  It is always nice to see a game that tries to breathe a breath of fresh air into a gaming world too full of copycat and unoriginal titles.