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This article is about the expansion of Age of Empires. For the campaign in the same expansion, see The Rise of Rome (campaign). For the re-release of Age of Empires and the expansion of Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, see Return of Rome. |
Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome, commonly referred to as RoR, is an expansion pack for Age of Empires. It is based on the rise of the Romans as a superpower and adds four new playable civilizations to the main game. Together with the original content, the game was released in a Gold Edition, and later was remastered into a Definitive Edition.
Overview[]
The Rise of Rome includes a few changes, including the new Roman architectural design shared by all four new civilizations.
Four new research technologies have been added, most providing very good bonuses and making a large change in the gameplay strategy. There are also additional new features and five new units for the game.
Some other changes include larger maps and new ways to play such as adding unit queuing, using the period key to cycle through idle villagers, balancing damage done by Catapults, and increasing the population limit.
Additional new features include the ability to double-click a single unit and select others of the same unit-type, and unit-build queuing.
Gameplay changes include adding larger maps and tweaking the interface.
Civilizations[]
Carthaginians: Bonuses in nautical and war elephant units.- Macedonians: Bonuses in siege units and missile resistance.
- Palmyrans: Bonuses in economy and trade.
- Romans: Bonuses in infantry and construction.
Units[]
- Armored Elephant: An upgrade of the War Elephant which deals trample damage.
- Camel Rider: A new unit which is effective against cavalry.
- Scythe Chariot: An upgrade of the Chariot which damages adjacent units.
- Fire Galley: A new ship unit which applies fire to enemy units.
- Slinger: A new infantry unit which is effective against archers.
Technologies[]
- Logistics: Reduces the population count by half for all units created at the Barracks.
- Martyrdom: Sacrifice Priests to instantly convert units.
- Medicine: Increases Priest healing rate.
- Tower Shield: Decreases damage received from missiles.
Campaigns[]
- Main article: Campaign
Four new single-player campaigns are added focusing on the history of the city of Rome.
| Campaign | Civilization | No. of scenarios |
|---|---|---|
| Rise of Rome |  Romans
|
6 |
| Ave Caesar | 4 | |
| Pax Romana | 5 | |
| Enemies of Rome |  Carthaginians Macedonians Romans Palmyrans |
4 |
The demo version also includes the First Punic War (Carthaginians) campaign, which was later included in the Definitive Edition.
Soundtrack[]
- Main article: Soundtrack (Age of Empires)#The Rise of Rome
A new soundtrack was created by the Age of Empires composers Stephen and David Rippy, with Chris Rippy, Kevin McMullan, and Mark Terrano collaborating on the credits theme. Five of the fourteen tracks are alternate mixes of Age of Empires songs, and the rest are new to the series.
Reception[]
Although the expansion was criticized due to the minimal number of new features introduced, it was well-received on the whole. The most praised features were The Rise of Rome's unit queue feature and the improved all-around gameplay and balance. Review website GameWorldNetwork gave the game a score of 93% and commented that it seemed to be a whole new game.
To celebrate its release, several tournaments were held at Age of Empires Heaven, inviting players from around the world to test their skills in this new game.
Multiplayer[]
MSN Gaming Zone and IGZones no longer support the original multiplayer services, but the game can still be played via online gaming programs like GameRanger, Voobly, Garena, CGA, and QQ BattleZone.
Gallery[]
External links[]
- Official Microsoft website for The Rise of Rome
- Official Ensemble Studios website for The Rise of Rome
- Age of Empires IGZones
- Collection of reviews of Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome
- Age of Empires Heaven
- Title at Moby Games
- Title at GameFAQs
References[]
- ↑ Microsoft UK GamesZone - News (archived)
