Frank Miller's 300 Graphic Novel has now been made into a film and a game. I'm a big fan of Frank Miller and i absolutly love the original graphic novel. I also love the film just as much and thought that film portrayed the graphic novel very well. But this game is quite a let down.

Gameplay:
The game is a third person combat fighting game, but rather than this being based on theg rpahic novel it is based on the film. The combat is very simple and moves can be unlocked as you progress through the game by earning kills. Action is made slightly more interesting by the choice of two weapons - sword, or spear. Each of these has a variety of different moves but theres still nothing special to be seen. The action is slow paced and it is an individual battle with every single enemy, this holds you back and makes gameplay very repetitive. Theres only ever about 50 enemies in a level as well, which in a fast combat game would be killed within 1 minute but on here it fills a whole level. Levels are also split into different sections thanks to boring slow cutscenes of talking. This really adds nothing to the game and may as well have been left out. There is a phalanx mode to the combat, this is when the spartan warriors join together and strive forwad as one unit. This is also slow and only gives you two different moves to use. A bit of variety in combat is amde by throwing in a few special ability Leonidas can do, one of these is the blood drunk mode which effectively just makes you more powerful. This is sometimes needed to kill certain enemies, which can be irritating if you enter the battle with an empty bar. Another of these is a slow speed time where the enemies move at half the speed. All these modes are simple gneric ideas used in many games and so there is nothing new or original to 300.

Visuals:
300:March to Glory could have been one of the best looking games around, not just in how good the graphics are but the style it uses, the graphic novel and even the film are heavyily stylized and so this game could have built upon those orignal graphics. As for how the game graphics look, they don't look too bad but don't look too good either. The characters look abit blotchy and misshapen and the animations arn't anything new. The animations don't look unreal but then it doesn't fool you into thinking you have a genuine little Spartan on your PSP. Some cutscenes in the game however do look really good, as they use some still comic like graphics, some from the graphic novel and some completely new, these look superb and it would have been amazing to interpret some of this into the actual gameplay.

Sound:
The soundtrack has its own voice acting, different to the film but it is still very good. Without the voice acting this game would have lost a vital part to it. The music behind the gameplay is also great, taken directly from the film score. This helps create the epic battle experience and adds well to the game.

300: March to Glory had a chance to be magnificent and epic, along with the graphic novel and film. Unfortunately it is just another film turned game to make more money and not made to actually satisfy gamers. After playing this you will be left dissappointed and will need to watch the film or read the graphic novel again so as to not lose your love for 300. Stay away from this game unless you are a fan and just need to experience it yourself, but hold on to the receipt as you will probably be needing it within a few days time.