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Byline: Redmond Carolipio Staff Writer

When in ``Shadow of Rome,'' do as the Romans do - which involves slicing someone's arm off and pummeling him with it.

Capcom's vision of ancient Rome and the story behind the death of Julius Caesar is one of the finer examples of how the game industry playfully repaints history to satisfy the needs of an action-hungry audience.

And few eras provide a better canvas than the time of the Coliseum. Hollywood brought our generation ``Gladiator,'' and now Capcom gives us the story of Agrippa and Octavianus.

At last year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, it seemed easy to look at ``Shadow of Rome'' and mentally rename it ``Gladiator: The Game.''

As far as the arena fighting goes, the mock name wouldn't be that far off, except the industry never fails to add extra flash.

This is about as gory an experience as you can find on a console, yet there's a style here that helps the player resist the temptation to call this a mere hack-and-slash game, much less a cheap capitalization on the bloodletting shown in ``Gladiator.''

In ``Gladiator,'' the hero, Maximus, took out his opponents with a feral, violent efficiency that left little room for theatrics.

The action star in ``Shadow of Rome'' is Agrippa, whose way of doing business is much more fan-friendly. He's capable of completely crushing a man's skull, or sending several limbs flying off simultaneously, as if he was a human food processor.

And then there's Octavianus, the stealthy one, donning disguises and generally doing things ninja-style (or the Roman equivalent of it ... ninjus-stylus?)

These two different playing themes help diversify the experience, but perhaps the most intriguing aspect of this game is its use of history.

The people you encounter in ``Shadow of Rome'' - Agrippa, Octavianus, Sextus, Desius, Antonius - all were real people who were tied together in some way.

For example, the friendship between Agrippa and Octavianus could strike a chord with history buffs. After all, looking up Agrippa in the encyclopedia brings up Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, close comrade of Augustus Caesar ... who used to be known as Octavianus (or Octavian) before he became Emperor of Rome.

But with this slight nod toward real history comes bold characterization for the sake of entertainment. Agrippa is portrayed as a prime-time baddie, while Octavianus is a thinker first, fighter 20th.

That might make academics cringe, but personality of this kind is needed if you're going to make a successful history-themed action game. No one on the planet knows firsthand what these guys were actually like, so why not have a little fun with them and leave the stoic realism to the strategy games?

This isn't the first time Capcom has carved action legend out of historical context. The splendid ``Onimusha'' series did the same thing, turning an actual Japanese warlord (Nobunaga Oda) into a demon-powered and invincible villain. This makes Capcom an unofficial authority on the ``action-history'' genre.

Titles like ``Shadow of Rome'' could touch on something deeper - a desire to learn. Through all the blood and storytelling, someone might actually want to find out if any of these characters existed.

Perhaps then, that person could really find out what it means to do as the Romans do.

SHADOW OF ROME - Three stars

Platform: PS2.

Price: $49.99.

Rated: M for mature

In a nutshell: A bloody history lesson.

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo:

no caption (``Shadow of Rome'')

Box:

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