Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising
Preview
Serve the empire, brave warrior
by Jebus
previewed on PC
From the land of legends...
By far the most referenced, most revered, most well known mythology is that of the ancient Roman period. Tales of Odysseus, the Labyrinth, the Gorgons, and of course - the Gods, are elements often when attempting to recreate the era. In Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising, the player is completely immersed within the myths and magic of the Italy of eons past, together with other players, in what promises to be a new and interesting MMORPG in the already crammed PC market.
Customisable heroes
In typical RPG fashion, the player is prompted to choose whatever customisable perquisites are offered to them at the start, to ensure their individuality within the net. In this instance, there are six different classes of character (which, if you're looking for a comparison, is less than competitors such as City of Heroes or World of Warcraft). These six are: Gladiator, Soldier, Scout, Rogue, Priest and Mystic. To the typical RPG fan, the first four sound very similar, despite perhaps a difference in their manoeuvrability. Apparently, their differences lie in two areas. The first is that they hold different stats and approaches to combat and NPC interaction. The player determines the second. Each character class can align themselves with two Roman Gods. The outcome of this choice appears to be a difference in powers bestowed upon them (such as raining bolts of lightning from the sky), and the character's abilities more generally (a Gladiator's crippling blow to the limbs, for example). All of the characters have class specific abilities and equipment, which is again subdivided by their choice of God - leaving a comfortable amount of choice for the player.
Onto the fields of battle!
Typical as this may sound, Gods & Heroes seems to reserve its most interesting feature for where the action is: combat. Thankfully, none of the staple modes have been heavily tampered with. The player can opt to adventure solo, encountering a vast array of interesting opponents, from barbarian tribes to Cyclops, colossi, phoenixes and hydras. If you feel brave enough you can even take on fellow players in the coliseum. Those seeking something a bit more social can team up and explore the world together, making the most of your abilities as a unit. This is all pretty typical, but what Perpetual Entertainment have done, is combine something we'd expect of a normal RPG and transferred it as a working element into Gods & Heroes. Basically, when your character has gained a certain amount of renown, they are able to command a 'squad'- be that henchman, mercenaries or anything else of the sort. They come in three types, melee fighters, ranged fighters and healers. When teamed up with other players and their squads, players are able to travel around with what have been described as 'small armies' at their disposal.
Aesthetic pleasure
Using their own brand engine 'Ingot', Perpetual Entertainment have managed to use a custom textures and animations sequence to create what they proclaim to be more than aesthetically pleasing. On top of that, the combat system is said to be intuitive and easy to use. Taking both into account, the combat experience promises to be both interesting and pleasing to the eye - a combination highly guarded in an MMORPG.
The word itself mirrors that of Italy itself, as one would expect, divided into the sections owned by the rulers, or by the triumviri - depending on 'when' this game is actually set. The zones are regions of Rome, and when basing what we should expect on other MMORPGs, should each house their own creatures and increasing element of danger.
Open goals and storyline
Although typical of the genre, the lack of strict goals or a storyline may actually do this game more justice than one would at first think. Roaming the country with your team mates and henchmen in search of the next Gorgon to slay would surely be more appealing to casual gamers than being forced to wipe out some barbarian tribe at the will of the emperor. Having said that, I'm sure it won't be without its quests and rewards.
Interesting period in time, interesting new additions to the over-milked genre, and made all the more interesting by its summer 2007 release date (pushed back from Q4 05). All you online RPG junkies better watch out, this is almost guaranteed to consume a great deal of your time!
