Sometimes we miss the gods of old. With scandals aplenty, reading up on Greek and Roman mythology feels like flipping through the ancient equivalent of those titillating, yet trashy, rags near the cash register at the supermarket. "Cephalus kills wife by accident." "Tereus tricked into eating own son." The headlines scream out with tragedy soaked in bloody betrayal and irony.

They sure knew how to weave a good tale, but gaming's fascination with toga-clad history and legends are nothing new. From Kid Icarus to Rome: Total War and God of War II, the mythology and even reality of the swords-and-sandals era continues to be a juicy topic for games' tale tellers to take on today. With a wealth of rich characters and stories that runs as deep as the ocean and as long as the Nile, the excess of lore to be found in the mythology of Greece and Rome can make the entire collection of Tolkien look like a particularly small newborn hobbit.

With the steely Spartans of 300 and the dramatic finale of HBO's Rome still fresh on our minds, we'd like to bring you juicy details on Gods and Heroes: Rome Rising straight from the developers. Check back here throughout the week to get the latest scoop on the game's classes, combat system and deadly dungeons as we bring you five days of in-depth coverage.

Day One, Freedom: Join our journey from prisoner to free man as we break our bonds of enslavement, learn about the immortal blood in our veins.

Day Two, Getting Godly: Sometimes you need to know where you're going before you can decide where to begin. Check out the list of minions exclusive to each god and the high level skills and god powers available to each hero to help you build the character you want.

Day Three, Minion Madness: You can convince over a hundred NPC minions to join your cause in Gods and Heroes. Today, we'll take a closer look at combat with these Spartan pokemon, and how they balance out strengths and weaknesses of each hero.

Day Four, A Roman Holiday: From the Tyrrhenian Shores to the Cliffs of Anxur, we explore the exotic and dangerous environs you'll stomp through in your quest for glory and greatness.

Day Five, Volcanic Vents: Running an instance with a competent tank who knows how to keep the pulls coming while holding aggro is nice. But running an instance with lead designer of Diablo II fame, Stieg Hedlund was a blast. Check out our virgin impressions of Gods and Heroes: Rome Rising's dungeon, the Volcanic Vents.