Build Rome In Less Than A Day

Author's Rating:

Pros: Improved maps, game play, civilizations and scenarios

Cons: none

The Bottom Line: 
If you like ancient history and want to pretend you're some big-shot from times past, then this game was designed with you in mind.

Author's Review
Recently receiving Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome expansion disc was a welcome surprise. Having played the original Age of Empires virtually non-stop for the past three months I was thrilled to try something new. With very few games in my collection and a preference for real-time strategy scenarios, I held high expectations for this hugely popular add-on. So was I disappointed? No-way!

For those who do not know Age of Empires is a computer game where the player must assume the identity of a glorious civilization. Your goal is to build an empire, make alliances, and conquer your enemies. You must learn how to manage your economy and strike a balance between exploration and expansion, while consolidating your position. Should you strike out too soon or fail to provide adequate protection from outside attack, then you will fall victim to an enemy who has mastered the situation before yourself. Put simply Age of Empires is an intelligent game which requires intelligence and cunning in order to succeed.

What does The Rise of Rome have that the original doesn't?
Purchasing The Rise of Rome will not replace your original copy of Age of Empires. The Rise of Rome is a supplement. Having listened to suggestions and complaints from players of the original, the makers' have done some fine tuning whilst including some exciting additions.

New Civilizations
Four to be exact. Players now have a total of sixteen civilizations to choose from. The four new civilizations are:

Carthaginian
Macedonian
Palmyran
Roman

New Weapons
When I use the term "new" I'm not referring to the latest ICB Missile or nuclear submarine. The new weapons featured here can now be incorporated into your original Age of Empires game. The five new weapons are:

Armored Elephant
Camel Rider
Fire Galley
Scythe Chariot
Slinger

New Technology
Four new technologies:

Logistics
Martyrdom
Medicine
Tower

Four New Campaigns
Based on historical figures and events.

Other Improvements
The makers' of Age of Empires have also fixed up a number of technical glitches to the original. Unlike some "improvements" other game makers have made to their originals, these improvements really do make the playing of Age of Empires more believable and enjoyable.

Queuing
This was perhaps one of the more frustrating aspects to the original. Should you have found yourself under pressure from enemy attacks you would have found it almost impossible to co-ordinate a counterattack. In the original production of war units and villagers was limited to one. With The Rise of Rome players can now choose to have multiple units employed so long as you have the sufficient financial and environmental resources to create them.

Size, Maps and Terrain
The first important difference is the inclusion of a "gigantic" map size. If you're like me you will enjoy the bigger map and challenge. With a bigger maps players can now play for longer. There are also four new map types:

Continental
Hill Country
Narrows
Mediterranean

With the new map types comes new terrains to explore. One of the most enjoyable aspects to the new maps is the inclusion of cliffs and hills. Learning how to manipulate the environment to your advantage is very interesting. For example if you have ever wondered why so many castles are built on cliffs or mountain ranges, then this game will help you understand. Try building a settlement high up and notice how difficult it is for your enemies to defeat you. Location, location, location as real estate agents often say.

Head Straight for Home
This is another big improvement. When you are under attack a sound cue informs of your situation. Playing a big map or having multiple settlements sometimes made it difficult to locate exactly where the attack is coming from. With The Rise of Rome the player needs only to press the "home" key or click the middle mouse button (if you have a mouse with three buttons) and you will automatically be taken to the battle front.

Cheating can be Fun
No I'm not talking about your partner or job. Shame on you if you thought I was. Almost every game now includes cheat modes. Many PC game sites list games and their cheats. If you can't be bothered searching for a game site then try going to "Google" and entering your game name and cheat alongside it. (ex. "Age of Empires" "cheat"). Doing this should give you a list of dozens of relevant sites.

The makes of Age of Empires have provided some very useful and somewhat bizarre cheats. In order to activate a cheat you must firstly hit the enter key, type in the command, and then hit enter. Should you be running low on resources, activating a cheat can save you a lot of time cutting down trees or digging for gold. I'll list the cheats and their actions in two categories: useful and bizarre.

Useful Cheats:
Reveal Map: Reveals the map
Pepperoni Pizza: 1000 food
Coinage: 1000 gold
Woodstock: 1000 wood
Quarry 1000 stone
No fog: no fog
Hari Kari: suicide
Steroids: build instantly
Home Run: you win the scenario
Kill X: X is the player's position
ICBM: ballistics have 100 range points
Hoyohoyo: 600 hit points and very fast Priests


Bizarre Cheats: (Try these for a bit of fun)
Photon man: receive a man with a nuclear gun
Gaia: play the game with control over all the animals
Big Daddy: drive around ancient Rome in a big black car that shoots rockets
Jack Be Nimble: shoot peasants from your towers instead of arrows
Black Rider: have your horse archer turn into a catapult when he dies
Dark Rain: composite bowmen turn into trees when they stand still
UPSIDFLINTMOBILE: very fast chariot archers

Final Words
Age of Empires would still be a great game even without the release of The Rise of Rome. What The Rise of Rome does is add new features to an already exciting real-time strategy game. The new game now includes Rome and three other empires to the fold, while smoothing out some of the minor problems with the original. Bigger maps, new terrains and more weapons make for longer and more difficult campaigns. If there is a better game out there with a base in ancient history, then I haven't found it yet.