Like other strategy RPGs, Gladius is squarely focused on combat. As Valens or Ursula, you'll be able to travel from town to town on an overworld map, but the action takes place exclusively on the battlefield--and almost exclusively in organized tournament settings. The game's towns are nothing more than an interface for choosing from the various battles available in that location. The structure of the game is straightforward: You compete in leagues to earn cups; cups are earned by winning a number of matches within a league (not necessarily all of them). Once you've earned a sufficient number of cups, you may enter that town's tournament. If you win that town's tournament, you're one step closer to qualifying for the regional championship of that country. There are a number of different towns spread across four main regions. This may not sound like a lot of content offhand, but since the battles can be quite lengthy, by extension, so is Gladius. This definitely isn't a game you could finish in a weekend, even if all you did was play it.