did this game rise to your expectations?
Publisher: Microsoft
Developer: Big Huge Games
Rated:
"Rise of Nations"
[submitted by xboxdude ] If you are a Real Time Strategy (RTS) fan then you have most likely heard of or play the Age of Empires series or its sequel Age of Mythology for the PC. And if you haven�t then you�ve probably heard of Command and Conquer, Either way you already have an idea what Rise of Nations is like. Rise of Nations takes what�s good about every other RTS game throws it all in a pot and mixes until its perfect.
Like every RTS game Rise of Nations has many modes of play including Quick Match, Online Play and Campaign. Quick Match is obvious enough, Pick a Nation, choose the computer, how many players, rules and a map, Then off to battle. Online play is the same thing but against up to eight players. Campaign mode is slightly different in that instead of an involving story it goes for a more strategic battle way of thinking similar to Risk. You start on a big map of the world and then plan your attacks on different Nations and you take turns moving until you begin to fight and enter the RTS view mode. Every mode is enjoyable and each has many options to play the way you want to.
There are 18 different nations to choose from including Aztecs, Germans, Egyptians and so on. Each nation has certain pros and cons and there own special units to deploy. After you start a game you will notice it looks very similar to AOE. You start off with a few peasants along with a scout and a city. City�s are your main base of actions sort of. Like other RTS games you build buildings along with an army as you study upgrades at places like the Library and Barracks and such. As usual you have to gather resources and RON has the usual like Wood, Food, Stone, Oil and others. But unlike other RTS games these resources don�t run out. So you just tell a worker to gather wood and he will continuously and you�ll never have to worry about his pathetic self again and if you do he�ll be in the same spot chopping at the same forest. Another unique feature is boundary�s. The more you upgrade and the more cities you build the more you expand your territory. Your territory marks the land that you own, you can only build in this land. So you wont have an annoying enemy castle right next to your city. But as you lose territory you will notice it gets very difficult trying to defend your land from enemy attacks. So build your city�s at strategic spots on the map.
Another unique feature is upgrading throughout the Ages. AOE has something similar you may say, But AOE only travels to a medieval point. In RON you begin sometime before Christ. And as you expand you will travel through to different Ages. So you will enter Medieval time then on to WW2 time all the way to current and slightly after. You have the average selection of troops including on foot troops on horseback and so on. But as you travel through to more advanced times you can upgrade them to take advantage of technological advances. So infantry on horseback can be upgraded to tanks and men using spears will eventually wield rifles. So a war which started because someone accidentally through a spear at the wrong guy can be ended with a nice little Nuke crashing down in there city.
So we know the gameplay is great but how�s the presentation? The graphics in Rise Of Nations aren�t the most advanced. Its not in 3D, It is very similar to Age Of Empires. But the graphics are still very good. You don�t need spiffy 3D graphics to look good. You can zoom in and out of the action to get better views of what�s going on and the animation looks very good. Cannons are manned by two people one loads it the other fires then when it moves they strap it on a animal and when there done moving they unload it again. Rifleman fire and reload and planes and navy fleets attack with realism. Different ages each have there own looks and watching troops march in 4 different huge groups to battle is awesome. Sound is good but not great. You can hear choppers coming toward you gunfire in the background and cannons being fired. And luckily the annoying voice that always says �Yes Sir� or similar stupid sayings when you tell a unit to move is absent in this game.
Rise of Nations adds originality and depth to a genre that was becoming stale. If you are a RTS player who is looking for a new good game or want to get into the genre Rise Of Nations is a perfect choice. The Expansion Pack Rise Of Nations Thrones And Patriots is coming out in a few months as well which will ad even more to this great game.
Graphics: 8
A Second Opinion:
Sound: 8
Controls: 10
Replay: 9
Overall: 4.5/5
