Ever since the cinematic release of Sin City, everything that creator Frank Miller has ever produced has become a hot commodity. 300 is his latest venture into filmmaking and depending on your view of excessive gore, it's either a masterpiece or a disgusting failure. Having never seen the original graphic novel or the film, I can only comment on the glimpses from the trailers that are included as extras in 300: March to Glory - and it does look visually stunning.

The visuals in the game itself are a mixture of the two sources, including cut scenes brought straight from the graphic novel, with narration and voice work from the actors of the film, a blend that allows both fans of the novel and the film to enjoy the game's presentation. 300: March to Glory benefits from having Miller as a creative consultant and in the interviews featured as extras on the game UMD, he shows that he worked hard to make sure that all the familiar elements from the film and the graphic novel were included. 300 tells the historic-fantasy of Persia's invasion of Sparta, who defended themselves with an army of (you guessed it) 300 against the Persian army of millions! This seemingly impossible task is made all the more impossible by the fact that Persia have been delving into black magic, creating supernatural beings to support their already bulging army of slaves, warriors and bowmen.

It seems only logical that a game based on a military campaign would be an RTS involving organising troops, setting targets and defending territory. However, this is not the case, as 300 allows you to control King Leonidas, who must hack and slash his way through each level, destroying every enemy he encounters. In what is almost a throwback to a simpler gaming time, the enemy are plentiful and identical, so those who remember beating up twenty thugs who all looked the same in Double Dragon may find this a joy to behold.

You are equipped with a variety of swords, shields and spears and that can be upgraded as you play, as well as magical Battle Skills. These are mapped to the d-pad and consist of Fortitude to regain your health, Blood Drunk to increase your damage, Defence to block all attacks and Eye of the Warlord, which is an excellent variation of bullet time. To use any of these you must build up your Sparta Bar by performing successful attacks and blocks before you get to 'unleash hell' on the Persian army. Combos are achieved a lot easier here than in some PSP games and they are also far more effective, which is a great bonus for those frustrated with having to remember complicated button combinations. In keeping with the feel of the film, the gore has been cranked up to eleven with the hacking and slashing removing limbs, decapitating enemies or simply slicing them in two. Although gruesome at times, this isn't as excessive as the film and has been judged pretty well.

Each level starts with you entering a danger zone with one other soldier (which does beg the question "why wasn't a two player co-operative mode included?") and then the opposing army sends three to four waves of enemies for you to oust. These usually add up to no more than seven characters at a time, but each one may need a specific move to defeat, which means it's not all random button mashing. Slaves are simply destroyed with a couple of blows from your sword, while soldiers who have shields require you to use your spear to break their shield and leave them vulnerable. Other more powerful enemies require you to perform a certain combo, or can only be damaged during specific circumstances. You continue to kill the oncoming enemies before the screen is clear, which either signals the end of the level (followed by cut scenes to progress the story) or the need to navigate the area to find another waiting group of enemies to attack. This can also involved performing some fairly simple tasks, such as pushing to open a gate, pushing to move a rock or pushing to knock down a wall. This does seem like a secondary thought on the part of the developers, as it doesn't go beyond the constant need to push things! Some variation would have been nice, but the fact they aren't brain-damaging puzzles is great and it does give you a nice breather before the next round of mayhem.

A key element from the film is the Persian bowmen:

Messenger: A thousand nations of the Persian Empire descend upon you. Our arrows will blot out the sun!
Stelios: Then we will fight in the shade.

This is cleverly recreated by having the screen turn dark at intervals, as hundreds of arrows fall upon your characters. To avoid becoming a shish kebab you must cover yourself with your shield using the shoulder buttons. There is no way to tell when this is going to happen, apart from during boss stages where they can summon an arrow attack at certain points and you are only given a second or two to react, but it looks great, especially if you are surrounded by enemies and you see them being taken out left, right and centre. At various points throughout 300 you also get to perform as the Phalanx, where you control a formation of Spartan warriors who walk as one and fight as one. The controls are simplified by having you only use spears to thrust at any enemy who tries to resist you, but it's one of the best parts of the gameplay. I wish it had been used more, but the few instances it appears are certainly highlights. You must continue walking in a line until you reach the end of the level, usually having to oust a larger enemy or in some cases a giant elephant. [Mr. Frodo! Look! It's an oliphant! No one at home will believe this! Hobbit Ed].

One aspect that may get gamers down (as with the puzzle element) is the lack of variation as you go along. Each level looks the same and these locations, though perfectly nice in general, become tiresome to look at, with the odd building here and there made of yellow blocks with no substance to make them feel real. Apart from bosses, the characters are bland and boring, with even the character of Leonidas looking like the designers spent no time creating him whatsoever. The characters all move well and the action is fluid and looks good, but this is just a way of hiding behind what is essentially an Eighties beat 'em up. Though I enjoyed playing the game, I found myself performing the same moves so often that I no longer cared - even the introduction of upgrades and battle skills were a little redundant, especially as it took so long to gain a full momentum bar - and by the time you've achieved that you no longer need the skill.

On the other hand, the sound is perfect! Music taken straight from the film creates a wonderful atmosphere as you play, while the battlefield is filled to the brim with gut-wrenching sounds of carnage that helps keep the atmosphere of the film too. During the cut scenes and at various points in the game, voiceovers provided by the stars of the film move the story along at a comfortable pace. While you're in this bonus features section you can watch all the cut scenes you've unlocked, as well as trailers of the film, interviews with Frank Miller and a multitude of concept art that's unlocked by the usual collecting of items in levels or reaching certain points in the game.

I enjoyed 300: March to Glory because of its relative simplicity. I didn't spend hours looking for keys or figuring out which of the hundred items I should use on an enemy and neither did I have to go through hours of manual reading or tutorials. Instead I turned my PSP on and started playing a game that is probably as simplistic as you can get in 2007. Although we could argue for days on the pros and cons of this, the fact is that until God of War is released on the PSP, this is the closest we will get to pure, bloody battling on your handheld. Gamers! Tonight we dine on 300: March to Glory!

Reviewed by David Simpson for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).