Gladiators

Gladiators is a Physical Pinball Table by Jon Norris, with artwork by David Moore and Constantino and Jeanine Mitchell. It was released by Gottlieb under the "Premier" label in 1993.

The player is an armor-clad warrior in a featureless abstract cyberscape, where the goal is to survive the six rounds of the Battle Pyramid. Drop off the swinging Catapult crane into the pit, bring down the Rain of Terror, slingshot around the upper playfield ramp, and build up the Cataclysm bonus. Synchronize the left and right sides for Attack Mode, advance the WEAPON and DOUBLE powers for greater scores, then spell M-U-L-T-I to start a two-ball multiball. If you can survive the Pyramid, proceed to the Beast Challenge and behead the three-headed monster, and become recognized as a Beast Slayer.

In spite of the sketchy artwork and the Cliche-loaded premise, Gladiators has attracted a fair number of fans for its fast, flowing action and intense gameplay. While not a classic by any means, this is a solid game that's easy for beginners to pick up and provides satisfying game sessions.

According to designer Jon Norris, this was originally intended to be a pinball based on The Legend of Zelda, to be released after the Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. Mushroom World tables. Midway through development, Gottlieb had an agreement for the American Gladiators license on the condition that they have a game released quickly. This pin was rethemed and reprogrammed to match, but the deal fell through; without time to revert the game to Zelda, it was decided to release it as Gladiators.

Not to be confused with Last Gladiators, a similarly-named pinball video game.