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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.

The expansion's main menu theme

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 Roman Empire, 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 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.

New features[]

The Rise of Rome features a new Roman architectural design, shared by all four new civilizations (the Romans, Palmyrans, Macedonians, and Carthaginians). Four new researchable technologies have been added. Additional new features include five new units, 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[]

Technologies[]

  • Logistics Logistics - reduces the population count by half for all units created at the barracks
  • Martyrdom Martyrdom - sacrifice priests to instantly convert units
  • Medicine Medicine - increase priest healing rate
  • Towershieldicon Tower Shield - decrease damage received from missiles

Campaigns[]

Main article: Campaign

Four new single-player campaigns are added focusing on the history of the city of Rome.

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 accepted 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.

External links[]

Gallery[]

Age of Empires
Main series
ReturnRome-AoEIcon Age of EmpiresRomeIcon The Rise of Rome
Age of Empires Definitive Edition icon Definitive Edition
AoE2Icon-ReturnRome Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - Return of Rome
AoE2-DLCicon-0 Age of Empires IIAoE2-DLCicon-1 The Conquerors
Aoe2 hb HD Edition: AoE2-DLCicon-2 The Forgotten Ā· AoE2-DLCicon-3 The African Kingdoms Ā· AoE2-DLCicon-4 Rise of the Rajas
AoEIIDE icon Definitive Edition (AoE2-DLCicon-5 The Last Khans) : AoE2Icon-LordsWest Lords of the West Ā· Dawn of the Dukes icon Dawn of the Dukes Ā· AoE2Icon-DynastiesIndia Dynasties of India Ā· AoE2Icon-ReturnRome Return of Rome Ā· AoE2Icon-MountainRoyals The Mountain Royals Ā· Aoe2 hb Victors and Vanquished
Aom original icon Age of MythologyAoM The Titans icon The Titans
AoM Extended icon Extended Edition: AoM Extended icon Tale of the Dragon
AoMIcon-Retold Retold
3Icon48px Age of Empires III3WCIcon48px The WarChiefs Ā· 3ADIcon48px The Asian Dynasties
Age3DE Icon Definitive Edition: AoE3 USA DLC USA DLC Ā· Age3DE Icon The African Royals Ā· AoE3 Mexico DLC Mexican DLC Ā· Age3DE Icon Knights of the Mediterranean
GameIcon-AoE4 Age of Empires IVAnniversary Edition Ā· The Sultans Ascend
Other games
Age of Empires Online Ā· Age of Empires: Castle Siege
HandheldAge of Empires: The Age of Kings Ā· Age of Empires: Mythologies
MobileAge of Empires II Mobile (Deluxe) Ā· Age of Empires III Mobile Ā· Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties Mobile Ā· Age of Empires: World Domination Ā· Age of Empires Mobile
TabletopAge of Empires: Expandable Card Game Ā· Age of Mythology: The Boardgame Ā· Glenn Drover's Empires: The Age of Discovery
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