A few months back, Gamervision sat down with High Voltage and got a sneak peek at Gladiator A.D., the hyper-bloody arena fighter that looked to push the Wii to its limits with violent, brutal combat. We loved where it was going. They, apparently, didn't. Now, it's been re-branded as the T-rated Tournament of Legends, switching the style to a more vibrant, mythical affair. It'll still have blood, but don't expect heads to be cut off or legs to be slashed apart. Instead, expect Minotaurs to rush Medusa into a giant dragon. Yeah, it changed a lot. It also lost Wii MotionPlus support, which made us cry a single, salty tear.

We had a chance to play the game today, so be sure to check back later in the week for our hands-on report, as well as an interview with the developers. In the meantime, here's a press release and a few new screenshots. It's due out in just a few months, so you don't have to wait very long to decide if it was a good move or not. I mean, dismemberment is cool, but Minotaurs? They might just be cooler.

SEGA CHALLENGES Wii GAMERS TO ENTER THE TOURNAMENT OF LEGENDS™

Become a Legend in Epic Weapon & Magic Duels

SAN FRANCISCO (February 3rd, 2010) – SEGA® of America, Inc. is excited to announce a new project in partnership with developer High Voltage Software - Tournament of Legends™. Exclusive for Wii™, Tournament of Legends is a weapon and magic based 3D-fight game featuring some of the biggest playable characters on Wii. Each fighter is based on a legend from world mythology: the Minotaur, a powerful Gladiator, Gorgon, Stone Golem, Valkyrie and other well-known and powerful characters. The game is scheduled for release on May 18th, 2010.

Tournament of Legends features epic battles in fantastic fighting arenas where they will wield mythical blade weapons, launch 40 magic attacks, and dodge giant mythological creatures that protect the battle lairs. In intense one and two-player fights, players master a range of character and weapon based magic attacks; including unleashing, amongst others, a man-eating lion, Jupiter’s Storm, Thor’s Fury and a nest of venomous snakes.

Tournament of Legends strives to offer even the most sophisticated Wii gamer a rich weapon fighting experience. Players will be able to switch weapons and enchantments with other characters or compete in various Wii Remote™/Nunchuk™ controller challenges which include dodging giant mythological creatures or restoring health and armor during fights. The game also features an Interactive Training mode and supports the Classic Controller™.

Tournament of Legends cinematic effects and graphics are fueled by the High Voltage Software Quantum 3 engine, designed and optimized for Wii. Large, 3D mythological fighters move fluidly. Fighting arenas, characters, and magical attacks are polished by advanced real-time lighting, blended animation, cinematic color curves, and more. And the fighters’ mythic journeys are told through beautifully hand drawn in-game cinematics.

“Tournament of Legends is a perfect Wii game” said Sean Ratcliffe, Vice President of Marketing at SEGA of America. “High Voltage are delivering yet another fantastic looking game and their roster of gods, demons and warriors is unlike any other brawler out there. I can imagine that fathers and sons will be using a quick fight on Tournament of Legends as the ultimate tie-breaker in family disputes!”

"With Tournament of Legends, we want to take the Wii weapon-based fighting to a bigger place. Along with a wide selection of blade weapons and animated magic attacks we’ve achieved rich graphical effects and detailed, epic characters with the Quantum 3 engine. The mythological characters are some of the biggest 3D playable characters on Wii.” said Eric Nofsinger, COO of High Voltage Software.

Tournament of Legends is set to release on May 18th, 2010 exclusively for Wii.