While attending GDC in San Francisco, Jon Wood had the opportunity to drop by the Perpetual Entertainment studios. While there, he had a hands-on opportunity with their upcoming MMORPG, Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising.

One of the great things, to me, about the Game Developer's Conference this year was that it was held in San Francisco. Not only is San Fran a great place to visit, but it is also the home of Perpetual Entertainment, the people who are bringing us the historically-based MMORPG, Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising.

On Tuesday last, I had the opportunity to not only tour Perpetual's studio, but also to get some hands-on time with Gods & Heroes. That being said, let's start with the cosmetic side of the game. How does it look? Well, I have to be honest when I say that it looks great. On top of the graphics, which are competitive with this new generation of MMOs, it's the animations that really set this game apart. Combat, for example, doesn't feel repetitive as your character not only acts to attack his opponent, but he also moves as not to be hit. I was pleasantly surprised when I killed an opponent and noticed that not only had I reduced his hit points to zero, but that I'd also literally buried my sword to the hilt in his gut. Mobs also get their own love, with special attacks that come with special animations. I watched, helpless, as one of the tiny goblin-esque creatures that I was fighting somersaulted under me, knocking me over, at which point I found myself with the creature on my back, pummeling me by jumping up and down. The animations weren't clumsy either, and the overall effect was quite real. If you're the kind of MMORPG gamer that enjoys graphical quality and interest, you're definitely going to want to at least give this new title a look.

Read the whole article here.

Amazing! 132 different minions you can choose from.

I read on the official forums that Egyptians and Barbarians are propably going to be in future expansions.

Anyway, looking forward to this game

Originally posted by Javamancer
Yeah this is looking really interesting.  This is my second most anticipated MMO in development, after AoC, and it's scheduled to be released several months earlier.  Hopefully it's as fun as the videos suggest.

I was begining to like this game until I saw the word "instance".  Forget it, I hate games that have instances where other's aren't there unless by group.  That's why I didn't like Guild Wars and why I won't take to this one either.

This and WAR are the two games I'm most looking forward to. I really like that these titles are really trying to add something new to the genre, not just making "WoW/EQ with better graphics".

Originally posted by sololoco

I was begining to like this game until I saw the word "instance".  Forget it, I hate games that have instances where other's aren't there unless by group.  That's why I didn't like Guild Wars and why I won't take to this one either.

theres a difference between an instanced game and a game that uses instances. GW and DDO are really instanced games where so much of a players time is spent within an instance that it stops becoming a MMOworld and becomes a series of encounters.

most (not all) MMO's use instances, we have seen descriptions from gaming sites of one of GnH's instances, that enables encounters including large scale warfare here...

IGN "The possibility for some very interesting instanced zones is clear. Large groups can be split and told to take care of several objectives in battle. Objective based instances are definitely going to need some organization to complete successfully, especially when it comes to killing off the Telchine gods. The question is how far Perpetual will go with this in the first retail release. They certainly have a lot of ideas, but making it happen technically is another thing. On Archimedes Island, players will have to storm a beach, defeat enemies in the area and then disable Archimedes mirrors on two bluffs that are burning ships trying to land. Once those ships can land, a base will be set up by NPCs at which point Greek armies will begin attacking at timed intervals. If groups want to keep the camp, they'll need to split their attentions from defending and completing some of the farther objectives. There's also some issue as to how larger multi-group parties might interact with each other in areas such as this. Whether there would be an overall commander watching the battlefield and giving orders or if it would be a more organic approach where players would have to figure out their own strategy on the fly."

however, although there will be a liberal use of quest and raid related instancing, GnH remains a gameworld where players will spend most of their time killing mobs, hanging out at the baths, visiting arenas etc...

Forget it.  This game has already jumped the shark.

I would love to get into the beta of this. I agree with the above poster that looks like a game that is not just a WOW re-work. I am playing the beta of LOTRO now and it's actually pretty good. I already pre-ordered it, but I am interested enough in this title to take a serious look.

As far as instancing, most games have some form of instancing. In LOTRO they took it to a unique level where if a town is on fire, then you see it burnt if you ever go back, while others see it still on fire if they have not completed the quest. That is an example of an instance that doesnt fall under the normal. I happen on the other hand to love instances.

Sometimes you just wanna blow stuff up!

-Savij

Originally posted by Dathmar
Nice one....looks good.
Although this preview mentions the gods of Olympus ?
Isn't this Rome Rising ?
Not Greece Rising

They appear to be using the Roman Gods for the most part. Jupiter, Pluto, Juno etc.

Originally posted by Dathmar
Nice one....looks good.
Although this preview mentions the gods of Olympus ?
Isn't this Rome Rising ?
Not Greece Rising

sounds like a great idea for a single-player game.

But 10,000 demi-gods running around - lol - you will feel soooo special.

Thanks but no thanks.

This is kind of a bummer.  The camp system they have talked so much about is really just visual interface for managing your character and minions... I thought most of this game sounded a lot like guild wars, but the prospect of well done housing, even if you pack it away when it isn't in use, gave me some hope that this would be more of a real, in-depth MMO and not another multiplayer RPG in disguise. 

The combat animations look pretty cool, but I doubt this is going to have the kind of persistent world and player interdependence  that I need in an MMO.

Its all comes down to fun.If the game is fun they will play !

Originally posted by Bzrk

Originally posted by Dathmar
Nice one....looks good.
Although this preview mentions the gods of Olympus ?
Isn't this Rome Rising ?
Not Greece Rising

Yes, the previewer got it wrong.

I can imagine it gets confusing sometimes, but a bit bit more research couldn't hurt either though.

Originally posted by Salvatoris

This is kind of a bummer.  The camp system they have talked so much about is really just visual interface for managing your character and minions... I thought most of this game sounded a lot like guild wars, but the prospect of well done housing, even if you pack it away when it isn't in use, gave me some hope that this would be more of a real, in-depth MMO and not another multiplayer RPG in disguise. 

The combat animations look pretty cool, but I doubt this is going to have the kind of persistent world and player interdependence  that I need in an MMO.