American Gladiators came out in around 1991 and was for almost every home consol available at the time I believe. It was, of course, based on the very popular and entertaining, if not cheesy television show of the time. If you have never watched the show before, check it out on Classic Sports, it will be worth the time just for the laugh.
The game followed the basic premise of the show in that players matched strengths against a host of gladiators in various events of skill and stamina.
The game includes Powerball, The Wall, Joust, Human Cannonball, and Assault. After completing all of these events, the player competes in the ultimate challenge of the dreaded Eliminator! I am telling you watch the show they actually talked like that.
The graphics of this game are typical of the time and really are not that bad. Where this game falls short is in the area of gameplay. It was so hard to make your competitor do what you really wanted him/her to do. Another problem with the game, for those who liked the show, was that the events in the game are not really like they are on the show. The rules are totally different in most cases. Instead of fighting one opponent in the
joust, you have to go through several gladiators; instead of one gladiator chasing you up The Wall, there are several that attack from nowhere and move much faster than you can. The only game that was any good at all was Powerball. Oh and by the way, the game gets progressively more difficult after each round.
I remember as a child being a big fan of the American Gladiators television show. I thought it was a great idea for a video game. The graphics were actually pretty good, for the time and the platform I played it on. In fact, American Gladiators was one of the first games that I bought.
