Each arena has its own visual style and design quirks, and each crowd has its own likes and dislikes. Execute audience-pleasing attacks and you receive performance bonuses; fall victim to a series of attacks and those bonuses are quickly lost. It's a mild effect, and one that usually won't provide the winning edge, but it's a unique gameplay element for the genre.
The best strategy/RPGs give you anal-retentive amounts of control over your characters, and Gladius doesn't disappoint in that regard. The game's simple, straightforward interface has been designed to make it extremely easy for players to quickly analyze and alter screen after screen of statistical info.