This game iis underrated to a point where it seems to be being attacked.
Gameplay:
I thought the gameplay was very respectable. The RTS mode is simpler than most other RTS's since the only two resources that need to be gathered are wood and gold, but there is also glory which you gain by expanding your empire, capturing outposts, and killing enemy units. Glory should be treated as a resource because it's what you use to upgrade your soldiers and your Hero. Hero mode is quite simply amazing. Its fast paced and relentless. Its a little mindless, just clicking and you swing your sword, but you're always going to hit something. There's also a few hotkeys while in hero mode so you don't lose your control over your whole army like Run, Charge, and Follow. Also, each hero has their own special power that can turn the tide of war at the players consent. What hurt the gameplay was the glitches. In the campaign, one level my citizens were stuck outside of the town center in some invisible wall. Along with the archers being able to shoot through walls and cliffs brings down the gameplay score. It just felt a little rough around the edges, but enjoyable nonetheless.
Graphics:
The graphics in Rise and Fall are not astounding by any means. The units are sometimes blocky and some buildings are a little boring and almost lifeless. But, the reason I gave the graphics a good score was because of its potential. You have the potential to go into Hero Mode, zoomed in to all the action, with over 5200 units on screen at once. There is a bit of slowdown when this happens but it's nothing that can't be bared. I don't think any computer today would fully render 5200 units close up and still run it more than 15 FPS. Alas, the terrain is bland and uninspired. I still believe its an amazing feat that SSSI has accomplished.
Sound:
The sound in this game is quite good. The moment this game hit the CD tray I felt like I was part f something epic. The music is done too well to be imagined. I love the orchestral feel of the gameplay and it's real time sound. You don't just loop the same songs, you get different musical scores for when you attack, for when you're being attacked, and when you're hero levels up. The campaign has some pretty well done voice acting too. I think the theme song is overused a bit, but not to an abysmal point.
Value:
I honestly think I will be playing this game for years. I love the skirmish mode and its way variable difficulty. It's not just easy, medium, hard, the difficulty ranges from 1-10. Its great for gradual increases in difficulty instead of a sudden one. You can fine tune the population and choose your own unique civilization to play as. The multi-player is great as well. There are still some problems on the server which need to be fixed but once that is updated I believe I'll be playing a lot more multi-player. There are some lagging problems on the server as well which are kind of annoying, but a patch is probably in the making. Patience is a virtue.
Reviewers Tilt:
I do honestly think this game is superb. There are some glitches and flaws that you may have to overlook, but once you do, you'll see the game for what it is. Just don't over analyze every aspect of the game and don't compare it to any other game because there is none. This game kind of reminds me of Deus Ex. It doesn't do just one thing great. Though they are almost nothing alike, they do share the concept of genre blends. Very few genre blends actually work, but Rise and Fall did. If this game was just an RTS, I wouldn't have liked it. If this game was just a 3rd person action, I wouldn't have liked it. But its the blend of the two that make this game worth playing.
Thank You Stainless Steel Studios
Final Score: 9.0