300: March to Glory
Mar 13, 2007
The creators of 300: March to Glory are in the unenviable position of distilling down to the PSP a lush big-screen extravaganza depicting the battle of Thermopylae. The film adaptation of Frank Miller's comic is nothing if not spectacular, and this PSP game is conspicuously absent of that spectacle. But as a relatively short and somewhat repetitive fighting game, it makes for an enjoyable diversion.
The graphics are a combination of low-poly-count characters, good animation, and some evocative artwork. Different types of enemies are clearly identified, usually by color coding. This has the unfortunate side effect of making some of the characters look like they're dressed to go to a disco. The Mongols in their bright green outfits and Xerxes in his gold lame underwear are particularly ridiculous. But the outrageous Persians contrast nicely with the Spartans, decked out in regal crimson capes, bronze shields, and Greek helmets. At the level of mano-a-mano, 300 looks pretty good, and the blaring martial music and Persian trills of the movie's soundtrack certainly help.
The problem comes when the graphics try to do spectacle, at which point 300: March to Glory falls apart. Clumsy attempts at sinking ships, rampaging rhinos, grand temples, and avalanches have a chintzy retro look that might have been better off suggested rather than presented. Given the nature of the graphics engine, perhaps the set pieces should have been a little more, ahem, Spartan.
But in 300: March to Glory, the bloodsport's the thing. The game does a good job of slowly layering in various fighting options, starting you off with your sword and shield, introducing your block-breaking spear, and finally giving you the option for shield-less dual swords. About a third of the way into the game, you've seen everything you're going to get and from here, you have free rein to upgrade your weapons and combos however you like.
Each set of weapons has a very specific role, and many of the combos are crucial for getting through certain situations. A lot of 300 is about choosing the right tool for the right situation, and for a fighting game, it's got just enough tactical depth to keep things interesting. There are ranged weapons, poison, unblockable attacks, enemy armor, and characters who buff other characters. The various dynamics are gradually introduced and then mixed together to present increasingly challenging situations. This isn't a mere button mashing game.
What's more, you also have quasi-magical powers which draw from a resource called wrath. As you build up wrath, you have to decide whether to use it on instant-kill attacks, or whether to save it for your battle powers, many of which heal you. As the manual notes, "Spartans don't rely on potions, ointments, or anything of the sort. The only healing instrument of the Spartan is his inner resolve and strength." In other words, there's no futzing around with collectibles or an inventory. 300 is true to itself, and a lean mean fighting game.
The battle against the Persians progresses in a largely seamless sequence of fights. There are attempts at breaking up the action with stealth sequences, boss battles, and trigger point puzzles involving slapping horses, or pulling levers, or taking out distant archers with a spear throw. These are just token interludes, but they never feel like cheap attempts to make the game more difficult. There are also occasional cutscenes, nicely drawn with stylized Frank Miller-esque artwork and written with the appropriate Spartan bluster and trash talking.
It works best as a tie-in to the movie for how it gives you the opportunity to get a better - albeit more modest - look at some of the things that were only glimpsed in the movie. You'll get to kill some of those leaping blade-fingered warriors, the executioner, the primitives with their calf-skin shields, and the grenade throwers, for instance.
You can get through the game in probably about five or six hours, and there's not much incentive to replay it. This march to glory might be short, and it's sometimes awfully low-rent. But if you want your own private Thermopylae, complete with blood, shields, and spears, you'll find it here on your PSP.