Spartan: Total Warrior

Spartan: Total Warrior is a hack-and-slash combat game by The Creative Assembly and Sega, released in 2005 for the PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, and Xbox. It is a spinoff of the Total War series. While most of the series is geared towards historical accuracy, this game takes a different direction, drawing from Greco-Roman mythology instead.

Plot
In an alternate version of 300 BC, the Roman Empire launches an invasion on Greece, defeating all of the city states and kingdoms with the exception of Sparta. King Leonidas rallies all of the city’s warriors, including Castor, Pollux, and your character, known simply as "The Spartan", to prepare for a last stand against the Roman invaders.

Little do the Greeks know, however, that The Spartan is being guided by the war god Ares, who aids him in defeating the Roman invaders in exchange for revealing the truth about his past.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) Lots of crowd combat involving hundreds of combatants.
 * 2) You can use either an individual or radial attack; the former deals more damage on one enemy while the latter deals less damage on multiple targets.
 * 3) You are equipped with a bow that more often than not can one-shot weaker enemies. You can also equip yourself with special flaming bows that incinerate enemies overtime.
 * 4) Six weapons, each with their own advantages and disadvantages.
 * 5) You can also use either rage mode, which allows you to perform a one-hit kill, or magic powers. Magic powers vary with each weapon; you can either turn your enemies into stone or become invulnerable for a short while.
 * 6) Well-written story, which feels and plays like the sword-and-sandal and fantasy movies that inspired this game.
 * 7) Various enemy types, ranging from Roman soldiers to barbarians, undead soldiers, and gladiators.
 * 8) Awesome rock-orchestra soundtrack, courtesy of regular series composer Jeff van Dyck.
 * 9) Good graphics by 2005 standards, comparable to Rome: Total War.

Reception
The game was met with mostly positive reviews. Most of the quick reviews in GameFAQs gave it more than 4.5 out of 5, one of which describes it as a "bastard child of God of War (which was released in the same year as this game) and Dynasty Warriors".