Rise Of Nations Review - PC Game Reviews

Rise Of Nations Review

classic real-time strategy game (RTS) with a pinch of world building flair thrown in. In its fundamental gameplay, Rise of Nations plays partly the other Microsoft RTS stronghold, the Age of Empires series but under the hood packs an entirely new and deeper real time strategy experience.
As most multi race strategy games Rise of Nations features many races (18 in all) from around the world.

This includes the familiar ones like French, British, Germans and so on, and also the not so familiar ones like Nubians and Bantu (with each race having their own unique units). While nowadays every real time strategy game now so many eras, both real and imaginary, that they must be running out of time periods, Rise of Nations neatly sidesteps that issue by simply having all of them. From the dawn of civilization, enforced by wooden spears, to the latest in stealth technology and nuclear weapons, Rise of Nations is a tour through history. Obviously with so many eras, there are umpteen upgrades to go with as the game progresses.

Not only Rise of Nations features lots of races and eras, it is the number of gameplay options that make this game a cut above the rest. There are so many options available that even the most pissed off RTS fan should find something that suits him. There are countless number of game options available of which the 'no-rush' option is my favourite. This feature can be customised to a time or an age before which combat is not allowed. But where Rise of Nations really sets itself apart from the pack is with two innovations: territorial control and a big Risk-like macro game. In other RTS games, you build a base or two and try and overwhelm your enemy with little concern about location, other than perhaps control of a rare resource.

But in Rise of Nations, it's all about map control. All your cities and castles/forts/bunkers radiate a sphere of influence that connects to others in your territory, and which actually defines your territory. This is important in three major ways. First is that you can only build on your territory (and the enemy in his). Second, your tax revenue is largely based on how much of the map you control. And third, unsupplied enemy units and buildings in your territory will take constant "attrition damage."

On the graphics front, this is 2-D gaming at its very best. As you advance through different ages the details become more and more outstanding; the little men, horses and machines all animate well and have various different sized models for zooming in and out of the map. There are unique structures and units for each of the 18 nations represented in the game. I only missed the 3D effect with the larger, more modern units like battleships and aircraft carriers.

The sound is even more striking, with battle screams, guns and explosions sounding as chaotic as they look. The music is orchestral-themed and ranges from very dramatic to quite peaceful, which is a bit odd during a large war.

Keeping everything aside, it the remarkable AI that keeps Rise of Nations away from other real time strategy games. The designers obviously understand that managing peasants is really a pain in the rear so there is a new feature that makes them super intelligent. No longer the peasants run to the countryside in search of wood like dimwits.

Everything is automated so farmers stay out and manage farms without worry; miners work mountainsides and fishermen work the waterways without the hassle and time-wasting task of finding new places to harvest resources. Also the game assigns a new task each time a villager is idle so no more idle villagers hassles. Moreover there are no confirmation sounds for the citizens.

There are a few annoyances which sometimes can make your life miserable at times. Firstly the game crashed several times spitting me out to the desktop. This really sucked because most of the times the error message never made sense (to me at least). Other than the crashes the gameplay, being too much rationalized, can at times make you hurt your head.

Hindrances aside, Rise of Nations has everything that makes it better than any of the RTS games available at the moment. If ever a game were assured of being a hit, this is the one. Definitely a cut above the rest, real time strategy games simply can't get better than this.

GAME RATINGS

Gameplay - 9/10
Graphics - 8/10
Sound - 8.5/10
Technical - 8/10
OVERALL - 9/10
Note - The Overall rating is not an average but reflects the reviewer's thoughts on the game as a whole.

Pros - Great looking game, an outstanding AI, great sound, great campaign, lots of gameplay options.
Cons - Technical quirks, streamlined gameplay can be mind-numbing.

The final word.

Classic real-time gaming simply doesn't get much better than this.