I have the game, and Rise & Fall is by far the most advanced and entertaining RTS to date. Combining RTS with Hero Command has been by far the most successful ever seen in the history of RTS gaming. No RTS game on the market today competes with the exhilerating, fun, and entertaining experience as that in Rise & Fall. Gamers out there that give Rise & Fall a rating below 80% are pure nuckle heads. They are console freaks who appreciate nothing about the RTS genre. I despise their reviews---my recommendation, BUY the game for yourself and see what I mean. Naval combat is unsurpassable. The ship-combat mechanics are by far the most advanced; ever seen in an RTS. It's no longer a matter of "if my ship fires first, I'll have 1HP left, and you'll be sunk". Now it's a matter of "how do I position my ship so that the enemy can't ram it?", "What units do I train on my ship to counter his units on his ship?", "How do I efficiently line up to board is ship?" "How many sailors do I need to repair my ship before it is destroyed?" ...these are just some of the strategic decisions that need to be made in Rise & Fall. With Persia, you have an "Elite" button command for which you can assign on a single formation at one time. Any unit that gets added to that formation acquires the "Elite" status. This game is unbelievable!