Spartan is a typical hack-and-slash game, which is quite boring in my book (oh, nevermind that X-Men Legends 2 I have at home, only playing it because I'm bored).
And skiddy, the other Total War games are strategy games (atleast afaik), while this isn't. It's mostly only made by the same people, so they sell it based on their reputation.
Sorry for not being able to help you, though
Tried gamefaqs.com yet?