Rise & Fall: Civilizations at War finally went gold last week, which meant that this real-time strategy game is done and currently in the process of being duplicated and shipped to a store near you. Before that happens, though, we're giving you a glimpse of the Persians, one of the four playable factions in the game. The Persians were the superpower of their day, and that's reflected in the units at their disposal. They also had an incredibly rich history, steeped in art, architecture, literature, and, of course, famous generals and their conquests. Thanks to the game's hero command feature, you can take direct control of these generals and play Rise & Fall as an action game, or switch back to the traditional top-down view and play it as a real-time strategy game. Rise & Fall arrives in stores in mid-June, and you can play around with the single-player demo until then.

Heroes

　　Nebuchadnezzar (630 BC to 562 BC): Although Nebuchadnezzar is best known for his military campaigns against Syria and Judah, during which he destroyed Jerusalem and its temple, he also devoted much of his life and considerable wealth to rebuilding his beloved city of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar showered his city and its citizens with riches and built great canals and reservoirs, as well as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the Hanging Gardens.

　　Solidifying his rule over Babylon and turning it into a beautiful and unparalleled metropolitan city, as well as an empire that would last over 1,000 years, was more important to Nebuchadnezzar than conquering enemy kingdoms or waging never-ending war. His mild temperament made him the consummate empire builder and benevolent ruler who was adored by his people.

　　Nebuchadnezzar can cut a swath through enemy forces.

　　Although he is slow to anger, Nebuchadnezzar will quickly leap into the fray if his people are in danger. For melee combat, he uses a curved blade, but he's also extremely proficient with his bow, which fires arrows in lighting-fast succession. As Nebuchadnezzar levels up, the firing speed of his bow gets faster and faster. Nebuchadnezzar is extremely agile and fast on the battlefield, able to slash his foes and move on before they know what happened to them. However, his low stamina limits the amount of time that he can spend in hero command.

　　Sargon II (763 to 705 BC): Not content to simply rule Assyria, Sargon II embarked on a bloodthirsty campaign to conquer the entire Middle East as soon as he ascended the Assyrian throne in 722 BC. Simply killing his enemies didn't go far enough in satiating Sargon II's bloodlust, however, so he utterly annihilated any kingdom that he conquered. Sargon II ordered his men to destroy orchards, burn crops, raze entire villages, and ransack any temples that they came across. In fact, during the sack of Musasir, Sargon II plundered more than one ton of gold and five tons of silver from the city's temples. King Rusa, the ruler of Musasir, was so despondent over this that he killed himself.

　　Sargon II looks like a ninja, which is why it's no wonder that he was such a great king.

　　The crown jewel in Sargon II's life as a warrior king, though, was the capture of Babylon in 710 BC. Early in his career, Sargon II made a pact with Marduk-apla-iddin, who went on to capture Babylon for himself. Once Sargon II reached the height of his power, he betrayed Marduk-apla-iddin and laid siege to Babylon. After he captured Marduk-apla-iddin, Sargon II was declared the dual monarch of both Assyria and Babylon. In a fitting end, Sargon II died as he lived, in battle against the hated Cimmerians.

　　Sargon II wields a massive scythe, which he uses to slice his enemies to ribbons. When he needs to attack from a distance, Sargon II switches to the Bow of Fury, a weapon of incalculable power that fires multiple arrows simultaneously. And as Sargon II levels up, he can fire even more arrows, which will utterly decimate enemy formations. A master archer, Sargon II carries more arrows than any other hero and inflicts the maximum damage with each shot. However, his low constitution and hit points make him susceptible to melee attackers.

Units

　　Royal Guard: The backbone of the massive Persian army is the royal guard, elite swordsmen that are specially trained to attack and conquer outposts.

　　Noble Archer: Only the most elite among Persia's archers attain the rank of noble archer. Deadly accurate, they can attack the enemy from astonishing distances. Unfortunately, they have little defense against attacking enemy cavalry.

　　Noble Cataphract: Extreme skill with a weapon and expert horsemanship are the requisites to join the ranks of the noble cataphract. When deployed against enemy archers and siege weapons, the cataphract are nearly unstoppable.

　　Trireme: This massive ship is the largest in the Persian fleet and is the primary reason the Persians are able to control large swaths of the Mediterranean. An essential part of any extended military campaign, the trireme pulls double duty as both a heavy siege weapon (when outfitted with a naval onager) and as a floating barracks.

　　Bigger really is better when you're talking about war elephants.

　　Elephant Archers: War elephants were brought to Persia and used against Alexander the Great in the Battle of Gaugemela. These massive creatures inspired fear in their opponents, so much so that Alexander sacrificed to the god of fear the night before facing these creatures in battle for the first time. In Rise & Fall, players are able to use these massive animals to trample through enemy ranks. They are also a platform for archers to rain down arrows upon their enemies.

　　Scythe Chariot: Also used against Alexander, the scythe chariot can tear a wide swath through an unsuspecting army, leaving a trail of bodies behind. Equipped with giant blades on either wheel, this fearsome machine must be monitored carefully by opposing forces, unless they wish to see their men literally torn to pieces.

Advisors

　　The royal armorer can make your hero more survivable on the battlefield.

　　Royal Armorer: Without a great leader, an army can easily go astray. When the great leader marches out into battle with his troops, it is of the utmost importance that he has superior defenses. The royal armorer is charged with maintaining the leader's armor and creating newer, stronger defenses, as well.

　　Benefit: The royal armorer increases the defenses of your hero, letting him absorb much more damage in battle.

　　Trainer: All good generals know that an army fights on its stomach, but it travels on its feet. The wise military trainers of ancient Persia knew this and trained their warriors to be fleet of foot. Getting to the field of battle first or beating a hasty retreat, speed is an advantage that is not to be overlooked.

　　Benefit: All human troops gain an increase in their speed.