Gods and Heroes features minions that can accompany you into battle. Once you reach a certain level, minions can join with you as computer-controlled assistants. Minions are almost a necessity in combating advanced foes; even more, they're critical in balancing out your avatar's weaknesses. For example, picking up a few minions that excel in direct combat is a great way of balancing out your abilities as a non-melee loving Priest. While it certainly would be cool to actually control these sub-characters, at least they're available to lend a helping hand when needed and you're going to need all the help you can get when battling classic foes such as Minotaurs and gorgons.

The game definitely promises to innovate with its combat system, but don't expect too much to differ from other online games in terms of quest structure. The same fetch/hunt/find missions you find in any other titles are here in pristine form. Developer Perpetual Entertainment promises additions to gameplay in updates following the launch, which hopefully will contain a greater variety of quests and player-versus-player combat.

This isn't to say that the game won't ship with enough content to keep you entertained; the game's unique setting, intuitive combat system, and interesting character development options show a lot of promise. Even for skeptics of the genre, Gods and Heroes: Rome Rising could potentially be an entry point due to its more accessible focus on action rather than static button clicking. With a launch slated for the end of summer, we'll keep you updated on any developments leading to its release.