The fighting is a clever mix of real-time and turn-based combat, with a healthy dose of tactical strategy tossed in. You can take your time and ponder all of your fighting options as in most turn-based games, but once you've made your decision, you're going to have to rely on your fast-twitch fibers to make it happen. You attack by using a strike meter. Hitting the correct button when the sliding cursor is in the target zone lands a real skull-crusher. The worse your timing is, however, the lamer your attack. I was a big fan of this kind of combat in the greatly underappreciated Shadow Hearts, so it's nice to see it pop-up again.

Gladius is a wonderful combination of combat and role-playing. The combat is somewhat reflexive in that you have to time the swing meter, but there is a lot of cerebral, chess-like elements involved as well. Moving your characters into position to optimize attacks while forcing your opponent into a less-than-advantageous attack position is key.