Horrible Histories: Ruthless Romans is based on the bestselling Horrible Histories series written by Terry Deary and illustrated by Martin Brown.  Indeed, Terry Deary even narrates the story for the title - and very nicely indeed.  The story told is that of a brave young lad - Rassimus - who is separated from his family and enslaved by Lucius.  Rassimus has to train to become a champion gladiator by completing eight sets of challenges and beating a gladiator in the colosseum at the end of each challenge.

Along the way we also learn about Rassimus' past: how he came to be with Lucius, what has happened to his sister and where his parents are.  Rassimus is not only trying to become a champion gladiator but to win his freedom and the chance to be reunited with his family.

Each set of challenges involved in completing the gladiator training include a quiz, a minigame and a training game.  Once all these have been successfully completed Rassimus must successfully defeat a gladiator.  The minigames and training games are very varied, involving anything from throwing a javelin to dropping a rat in a basket.  In total there are over 30 mini-games, each of which are very entertaining.  Many require a certain amount of skill or dexterity but I found that whilst the games got progressively harder throughout the story, I got progressively better at them.  The quizzes, though challenging at times, will encourage children to hunt out facts and absorb them and the facts that come up are quite remarkable. 

Although this is a one-player game, up to four players can play on the minigames.  Therefore, if one player is struggling to get the required number of points, another player (or two or three) can step in to help.  The number of points needed will increase with more players but with a stronger player tipping the balance it can still make a difference.  This is a great feature for children who are old enough to play the game (the game is for 7+) but still developing their skills.

As you would expect given the huge popularity of the Horrible Histories books (and TV show!) the story is very entertaining and well narrated, with some very humorous dialogue (and some slightly suspect rhyming!).  The length of the story is just right - it will be engaging for children and doesn't go on for so long that attention will fade.  Once the story has been completed there are various other play modes, including "Conquest" where players compete to conquer the Roman Empire, "Gladiator duels" for one or two players and "Minigames" where players can train or challenge friends at the various games.

This is a truly superb title, which is both entertaining and educational.  Terry Deary's quest to make history interesting and accessible continues and he is doing so very very well.

**Review by Donna Haw**