E3 06: Rise & Fall: Civilizations at War Preshow Report

Midway will be showing off its upcoming real-time strategy game, Rise & Fall: Civilizations at War during the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2006 in Los Angeles. Rise & Fall will let you control the fate of one of four different ancient empires--the Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, or Persians. As in many other real-time strategy games, you'll be able to control dozens of different types of units, including footmen, archers, and cavalry, as you assault enemy cities and fortifications. Siege weapons such as siege towers, ladders, and battering rams are available for you to use against walled-in opponents. The game will offer naval combat, where you can use massive biremes and triremes outfitted with catapults, rams, and infantry against opposing navies.

Rise & Fall will try to set itself apart from other RTS games by letting you choose from eight different heroes, who you can directly control in third-person combat to try and swing the tide of battle. The game's heroes will include Julius Caesar, Cleopatra, Ramses, Nebuchadnezzar, Achilles, and Alexander, each of whom will have his or her own unique strengths and weapons. The multiplayer aspect of the game will offer a number of different modes, and allow up to eight players to duke it out online. Rise & Fall: Civilizations at War is currently scheduled to ship this June for the PC.