Last month, High Voltage Software said that they had a few announcements on the horizon. The first of two game announcements, Gladiator A.D., was recently revealed to IGN.

Gladiator A.D. is a brutal fighting game for the Wii that takes place in ancient Rome. Featuring two-player split-screen, RPG elements, Wii MotionPlus compatibility, and a variety of characters, it promises to be an extremely robust fighting game that will "redefine the fighting game genre on the Wii," according to design director David Dellas.

The game, inspired by Frank Miller's graphic novel/movie 300, features arena-based combat that promises to be authentically violent, but not over the top. There will also be numerous playable characters, each with their own unique combat style and storyline. At the outset, players choose from several different gladiators and go through a variety of challenges ranging from one-on-one fights to more complex battles. As the initial characters' stories develop, players unlock even more gladiators, such as the reigning arena champion or even the emperor. Along with different story-based decisions, new gladiators will also be unlocked through different achievements.

Characters will have tons of different weapons ranging from the standard gladius sword and shield to the more exotic dual scimitars. Players will be able to use environmental hazards, such as lions, to their advantage. The general gameplay promises to be a mixture of intense action and strategic combat.

"Gladiator A.D. is not a traditional 3D fighting game. It's more of a hybrid between 3D Fighting games like Bushido Blade and Boxing games like Fight Night," said Dellas. "There is no button-mashing here."

The game will also feature motion-based controls with the Wii Remote and Nunchuk each representing a hand. Attacks will diff depending on what motion is performed. Players will hold a button down for blocking and then use the analog stick to tweak it, and there will even be slow down for big 300-inspired attacks as well. More importantly, the controls will be compatible with Wii MotionPlus.

"The Wii MotionPlus will be used to add variance to the attacks to break up what could possibly be seen as mechanical attacks," said Chief Creative Officer Eric Nofsinger. "We are also looking into other applications for optional game-play with this peripheral."

The game, which runs on an updated version of High Voltage's Quantum3 engine, is "the distillation of everything that made Conduit what it was," according to Nofsinger.

High Voltage teased the possibility of online play, but would not confirm that it will be in the finished product. What will be there is two player split-screen, as well as music from Emmy-winning composer Jeff Beal (who worked on the music for HBO's Rome).

Gladiator A.D. is currently set for a Q1 2010 release. Currently, no publisher has been confirmed.