300: March to Glory

300: March to Glory - (PSP)
Developer: Collision Studios
Format: PSP
Genre: action

A small screen movie licence with even smaller ideas

As sure as night follows day this game wasn't going to be up to much. Let's be honest movie licenses hardly ever are. And movie licences of sandal wearing swordsmen slashing each other to bits are frankly going straight in the mindless beat'em-up tray. Rarely do those games get much in the way of playtime when there's so many more worthier games vying for attention.

But hey, if you're a fan of the Frank Miller graphic novel that has since been turned into a big screen special effects laden romp then step this way 300: March to Glory may have your name scratched all over it in Spartan blood.

Players take on the role of King Leonidas, who leads the brave 300 Spartans against Xerxes and his massive Persian army. Sadly as bullets and bombs were still some way from being invented, the tools of the trade are the basic sword, spear and shield. Which means you get to go through each level hacking and slashing a conveyor belt of enemies in a brain numbingly predictable and repetitive fashion.

There are a wealth of problems with this game so we'll start at the beginning. There's no depth - just hack and slash, button bash, rinse and repeat again and again. There's no hint of free form gaming, you are literally dragged by the nose through mundane and frankly quite empty looking levels, with little reason or plot. There's no real visual appeal which is the biggest crime considering how good the movie looks and how distinctive the original graphic novel was. And above all else, it's just plain boring - but also thankfully quite short so you won't waste too much of your life playing it.

Take our advice - go and watch the movie instead.

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