Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome (Demo Version)

As with the demo versions of the original Age of Empires, the demo release of its expansion includes a unique short campaign not found in the retail version of The Rise of Rome. The three-mission campaign casts the player as the commander of Carthaginian forces during the First Punic War, fighting against the Romans. With the first level filling the role of a simple sandbox tutorial, the other two cover the events of historical battles of Mylae and Tunis (albeit treated with artistic license, as is usual for the series). The demo also includes one 4-player scenario for multiplayer mode.

The demo showcases three of the five new units added in the expansion, namely the Slinger, the Camel Rider, and the Fire Galley, as well as some of the new technologies. Because many expansion additions only become available with the higher technology levels, the player is allowed to advance to the Iron Age in both battle scenarios, unlike most other demo releases of Ensemble games that limit technology to the third tier.

The demo also includes a short manual that contains descriptions of all additions and balance changes in The Rise of Rome, as well as technology tree tables for the new civilizations.