Although Sony Online Entertainment has been around for a while, they are pretty unknown. I mean if Wikipedia doesn't have anything on them, they might as well not exist! Well, indeed they do. In fact, they invited us to check out some of their latest creations at CES 2007.

Gods & Heroes: Rome Rises

The giant didn't notice the skirt cam on the bottom of the shield

One of their most interesting releases this year at CES was their “Gods & Heroes: Rome Rises” demo. The game has all the elements of what it takes to make a great game; components “inspired” from other great games and movies (Eric Nyland style). There is the historical accuracy of Civilization, the action of Troy, the finishing moves of Mortal Kombat, some super god-like special spells, and there is of course that MMORPG Everquest/WoW flavour. It also appears as if they were heavily influenced by God of War. By heavily influenced, I mean that this game basically looked like a God of War MMORPG (SWEET!).

The story is takes place in an ancient roman environment circa the Trojan War. Your basic back story is that you are a half god (like Hercules, Achilles, etc…) and that you are in the Roman Army. The Romans are of course doing what the Romans always do, invade! Your character starts with one basic move, and eventually progresses to the point of being able to have multiple AI units under his command and many different powers.

They even use the same map that the Romans did!

This RPG looks like it will be a nice break from your typical fantasy plot that has thus far overrun the MMORPG titles (Will people ever get tired of D&D?). Gone are the dwarves and elves; replaced with a more realistic foot soldiers and archers. The vast majority of the game is realistic that way, even when it does incorporate the inevitable fantasy aspect with the casters.

There is also some customization when it comes to your super powers. For example, if you chose Mars to be your “god parent”, he will help you out with a hail of flaming spears when you call on him. Each of the gods has their own special that is based on the actual 1000 year old folklore, as opposed to Dungeons and Dragons; again a breath of fresh air. Another refreshing aspect is the combat.

T-U-R-T-L-E POWER

You will see real weapons hitting real weapons, real hand to hand combat moves, and real battle formations. Get ready to head out in tortoise formation in your tactically superior Roman style or custom design your own formation to suit.