Gladius takes place in a time imagined. It’s a world that mirrors our ancient past, but takes in several elements of mythology. It may look like the Roman gladiator games, but there’s no Nero dropping his thumb to extinguish the life of a peasant gladiator, no lions gnawing on Christians, and no gluttonous orgies for the privileged. Instead, we see many nation-states after many years of warring, exhausted to the point of desperation. Peace is declared across the land and differences are settled in the arena, mano y mano. At the onset of the game, players can choose between two characters, the manly Valens or barbarian princess Ursula. These two will come to uncover information about the games, the “Dark Lord”, and themselves while on the way to becoming the most powerful gladiator in the land. Or something like that. The story of the game really isn’t that important, nor does it factor greatly in the enjoyment of the game. The real fun comes in fighting and building your characters up.