Rise and Fall: Civilizations at War
Summary of the game
Rise and Fall: Civilizations at War is a real-time strategy game (meaning strategies are planned and executed in real-time, versus players taking turns, as with turn-based strategy games), played on a PC. Players can choose to play as one of a possible four civilizations (Egypt, Rome, Greece, and Persia), each of which is represented by two heroes. Players can choose to play in conquest mode, where they seek to conquer the available map, and in hero-mode, where players take control of their hero to play in third-person shooter style. There are two campaigns to choose from, one focusing on Alexander the Great, and a second in which Kleopatra VII endeavors to prevent a Roman invasion led by Octavian.
One of the Kleopatra campaign cut scenes where Kleopatra and Ramses walk together and discuss the grain harvest (Screenshot by author)
Kleopatra views one of her settlements from a tower. The image shows the vaguely Egyptian architecture used in the game along with some of the combat units (archers and camel cavalry). (Screenshot from Rise and Fall Haven, https://raf.heavengames.com/gallery/screenshots/demo-screenshots/)
Egyptomania narratives or motifs
In this game, Kleopatra VII leads the Egyptian playable civilization as a general and warrior, and when the player plays in hero-mode, they can take control of the queen, who shoots a bow and arrow. Her character avatar has the black bob hair style and skimpy clothing that is commonly seen on the queen in video games of this period (see the similar cover image avatar in Imperivm: Great Battles of Rome). She wears a short kilt-like skirt and bikini top (See screenshot). Her special attack is called “betrayal of loyalty” in which she can make the enemy forces betray their own civilization and fight for her on account of her beauty and charisma. References to the characteristics that the Romans ascribed to the queen (sensuality, beauty, etc.) is another common motif seen in the videogames that feature Kleopatra as a playable character.
The second playable hero for Egypt is Ramses the Great. His special power is “Imhotep’s blessing,” which allows him to heal his combat units. With this character, we can see a general combining of popular Egyptian terms that would be recognizable to the target audience but with a general disregard for Egyptian chronology- Ramses, who lived during the New Kingdom, is one of the heroes for a campaign set during the Ptolemaic period (and discusses logistics of the campaign with Kleopatra during cutscenes, see screenshot), and his main skill references a figure from the Old Kingdom period.
The playable units include war elephants, charioteers, cavalry, swordsmen, spearmen, and healers- all of whom are dressed in general Egyptianizing attire. An overview of the heroes and some of the units is available in the Gamesport article linked below. Within the cities, the Egyptian settlements include architecture with some Egyptian motifs (obelisks, pylons, and columns), but in general it also borrows from other styles and periods (such as towers that include crenelations, see second screenshot).
One of the main campaigns for this game focuses on Kleopatra in a fictional storyline where she repels invasions by Octavian and frees Egypt from Rome. At the end of the campaign, Kleopatra battles directly against Octavian. Kleopatra kills him and then dies herself, providing an alternate death for both figures. Ptolemy leads Kleopatra’s funeral procession and then buries her in a pyramid (again making use of a motif, the pyramid, that would be familiar to the audience but is incorrect for the time period). This fictionalized storyline is unique for videogames of the early 2000s. More often, we see the Roman conquest of Egypt glamorized in these types of fighting games, since Rome is considered one of the great empires of history, but here, we see Kleopatra offered as a powerful warrior and savior of her people against expansionist Roman incursion.
The second playable hero for Egypt is Ramses the Great. His special power is “Imhotep’s blessing,” which allows him to heal his combat units. With this character, we can see a general combining of popular Egyptian terms that would be recognizable to the target audience but with a general disregard for Egyptian chronology- Ramses, who lived during the New Kingdom, is one of the heroes for a campaign set during the Ptolemaic period (and discusses logistics of the campaign with Kleopatra during cutscenes, see screenshot), and his main skill references a figure from the Old Kingdom period.
The playable units include war elephants, charioteers, cavalry, swordsmen, spearmen, and healers- all of whom are dressed in general Egyptianizing attire. An overview of the heroes and some of the units is available in the Gamesport article linked below. Within the cities, the Egyptian settlements include architecture with some Egyptian motifs (obelisks, pylons, and columns), but in general it also borrows from other styles and periods (such as towers that include crenelations, see second screenshot).
One of the main campaigns for this game focuses on Kleopatra in a fictional storyline where she repels invasions by Octavian and frees Egypt from Rome. At the end of the campaign, Kleopatra battles directly against Octavian. Kleopatra kills him and then dies herself, providing an alternate death for both figures. Ptolemy leads Kleopatra’s funeral procession and then buries her in a pyramid (again making use of a motif, the pyramid, that would be familiar to the audience but is incorrect for the time period). This fictionalized storyline is unique for videogames of the early 2000s. More often, we see the Roman conquest of Egypt glamorized in these types of fighting games, since Rome is considered one of the great empires of history, but here, we see Kleopatra offered as a powerful warrior and savior of her people against expansionist Roman incursion.
Author: Tara Sewell-Lasater
Other information
Sewell-Lasater, T. 2023. Eternally Maligned as the Power-hungry Femme Fatale: Kleopatra VII in Assassin’s Creed Origins and Other Video Games”, in A.I. Fernández Pichel (ed) How Pharaohs Became Media Stars: Ancient Egypt and Popular Culture: 197. Oxford: Archaeopress.
Open access
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