High Voltage is currently working on three titles: The Conduit, which is a first-person alien shooter, The Grinder, which is a first-person monster shooter, and Gladiator A.D., which is a fighting game set some two thousand years ago in Rome. It might just be me, but it looks like one of these games is the odd man out. At a behind-closed-doors meeting, the game's developers showed off the Wii-exclusive title. It's bloody, it's gory, and it looks completely and utterly badass.

Gladiators battling each other in an arena isn't a new phenomenon, and this is far from the first game to be set in that time period. Players fight in one of many different arenas, playing as any of the game's unique fighters, each with his own fighting style. After watching it for a few minutes, the developer's goal was clear. It's not really like most other fighting games on the market, since it's much slower and more precise, but it's also not like any sports game. It looks like it plays like Fight Night mixed with Soul Calibur, taking the better aspects of both and mixing them together. At the same time, it also tries to be stylish like 300, slowing down time during precise blows, and brutal like Mortal Kombat, allowing for over-the-top finishing moves, like slicing apart a fighter's body or stomping on his crotch over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over again. There are apparently dozens of these finishing moves, which come in different categories. For instance, the crotch stomp is considered a "humiliation" for... obvious reasons.

The game's arenas are going to take advantage of the setting, with environmental obstacles that might have troubled fighters of the time. Rival gladiators might be roaming the arena fighting battles of their own, which can spill into larger brawls if the players get too close. On the exact opposite side, lions may burst out of cages, charging the dueling combatants. It's not going for exact historical accuracy, but rather taking the cooler aspects of the time and mixing in the ones that work with the gameplay.

Gladiator A.D. looks to go beyond a typical fighter, going into the darker side of blood sports. Yes, the darker side of men killing each other for the amusement of an audience, that's how jaded our society has become. Contestants can attempt to please the crowd by performing honorably, allowing opponents to get up after being knocked down or fighting in an entertaining fashion. If they're successful in earning the crowd's attention, food can be thrown at them, replenishing their health. Other aspects make it sound like Blitz: The League, but with Gladiators instead of football players. Combatants will be able to contact the "Man of Shadows" in order to poison opponents, leading to hindered battle ability. How this might penalize the player is unknown, but there's little chance it will be as easy as hitting a few buttons and making the following battle easier.

We only saw the game being played for a few minutes, but it definitely seems to be one of the more interesting fighting games currently in development for the system. Add in gallons of blood and 1:1 controls and High Voltage has another killer app on their hands. Hopefully it's as fun to play as it is to watch, unlike the actual Gladiator arenas.