November 5^th, 2003 (12:00am) - Sunlight glints off of steel. The coppery stench of dried blood rides the wind. The crowd, a gargantuan organism that feeds off of pain and death, bellows in anticipation of the coming ultra-violence. Your warriors stand confident, as they should be with the amount of training you’ve put them through. And those enchantments you purchased from the Black Priest of Ka’shran weren’t exactly cheap. Hey, exercise is good but sometimes you need an extra edge. But will it be enough? Will your warriors carry the day? Or is it time to find a different vocation from being a gladiator manager?

Find out in the exciting new gladiatorial simulation for Windows, Coliseum! Developed by Stormcloud Creations and published through Shrapnel Games, Coliseum is a sports management simulation for folks who don’t normally think about playing management simulations. Why coach a Major League Baseball team through season after season when you can be in control of three gladiators cutting a swath of gore through tournament after tournament. Forget the designated hitter rule, imagine the designated beheading rule!

In the fantasy world of Coliseum players take on the role of a gladiator manager in charge of three promising young warriors. As manager you’ll have complete control over the development of your team. Train in specific areas to boost certain statistics, purchase magical spells and potions to enhance a fighter’s proficiency (watch out though, as using too much can build a tolerance in your combatant), hire fresh raw talent and free agents while selling off team members who are past their prime, and witness the bloody action found in the Arena.

Combat unfolds in a blow by blow manner, using a vivid text description engine capable of literally hundreds of thousands of descriptions. With over two hundred possible wounds, including ones that can linger over a gladiator’s lifespan, Arena battles are extremely varied. No two games will ever play the same!

One of the more unique aspects of Coliseum is the Potential factor. Each warrior in the game is rated in several areas, and while you’ll know those common stats you won’t ever know the underlying Potential each warrior has. This is a hidden stat throughout the game, and it’s entirely up to the player to figure out if a warrior has reached his peak or is just getting started. Combine this with a realistic aging model and you have the making of a manager’s conundrum. Has your fighter simply pushed to the limit of his aged body, or has he finally reached his hidden Potential? Could he be a late bloomer? Put him out to pasture too soon and he may just be back later for revenge!

With hundreds of thousands of statistical combinations that make up your team and your opponents, a massive library of wounds and disorders, an unlimited number of seasons to nurture your warriors, outside events that can change what’s happening in the Arena, and much, much more, Coliseum is an entertaining management simulation with endless replayability.

Coliseum’s release date is December 10th, and currently it can be pre-ordered for the amazing low price of only $14.95! That’s almost 50% off of its regular price of $24.95. The game will ship in a sturdy DVD case, perfect to keep on your shelf next to your copy of Gladiator or Spartacus.

For more information on this fascinating sporting management title, or to simply pre-order, please visit http://www.shrapnelgames.com/stormcloud/coliseum/.