Gladius

Gladius is a strategy/RPG with a very unusual trait: it was designed and programmed in America. I salute the suits at LucasArts for having the guts to enter a console genre dominated by Japanese developers, and the skill to deliver a game that competes with the best in the category. Would that more American game companies, with a lot less to lose than LucasArts, were as willing to experiment with their creative power.

Gladius has two lead characters, and while the male lead's battles are generally more difficult than the female lead's, both offer plenty of challenge. The sprawling storyline for each character isn't presented with the battle/cut-scene rhythm of a typical strategy/RPG, since the game is built around gobs of non-linear gladiatorial combat; instead, cut-scenes interject themselves as you reach certain gameplay milestones. These real-time-rendered scenes are decently presented and quite well-acted, with a cast that includes a dude from the TV show "Smallville" and a chick from the now-canceled TV show "Freaks and Geeks." Voice acting is a category in which LucasArts has always ruled.

The ultimate goal of Gladius is to whoop up at tournaments across the game's fictional land, working your way from mud-splattered arenas in backwater towns to glorious coliseums in big cities. You start the game in charge of a tiny gladiatorial "school" with only two students, but as you proceed to the more difficult leagues and tournaments, you can (and must) recruit additional fighters to your cause.

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.

Gladius favors deep gameplay over flashy presentation, to the point where it feels as if LucasArts intentionally refrained from spicing up the interface visuals. (Screenshots of the interface on LucasArts' website are much slicker than the interface of the final version.) However, this depth is also a potential flaw, as the slow pace can sometimes cause battles to drag out longer than you might like.