Rise of Nations
MSRP* – $29.99 (Includes add-on)
Published by Microsoft
Buy Online
Review by Gordon Freeman
Interface: 8
Level Design: 8
Graphics: 8
Sound: 7
Music: 8
Fun Factor: 9
Overall Score: 8
What a Wonderful World
Rise of Nations plunges you into an epic struggle of world domination. Sound too complicated for a real-time strategy game? At first glance, it might be. It takes about an hour to really get used to the interface and layout of the game. Once you do, this game is pure fun. The level design is very detailed ranging from grasslands to deserts to swamps. A random map generator almost guarantees you won’t play the same level twice. The sheer number of upgrades and technologies you can explore makes this a game you can play for hours at a time without getting bored.
My, What a Detailed City You Have!
One of the fun things to do while playing this game is to zoom in as far as it will let you and watch all the small details. The character animations and city design are very intricate. You can see things you never knew were there. The overall graphics engine seems a little cartoonish, but it works well for this genre. It blends in with the overall feel of the game so it isn’t a distraction.
Do you hear what I hear?
The sound design in this game is ok. The individual units don’t have much to say other than grunts of acknowledgment. The background sounds like animals or weapons seem based on real life but again it blends so much it kind of fades in to the background. The musical score on the other hand does stand out. There are at least five main themes depending on where you are in the map. They repeat often but never get old. I’ve even found myself humming some of the tunes afterwards.
We don’t need no stinking nukes!
As I said before, this game is pure fun. There are multiple modes of play including a random map generator. There are also different victory conditions, such as Domination, Wonders, Wealth, etc. You can customize the game play to your liking. The units all seem to be balanced enough to where there aren’t really any Trojan Horses. The exception would be the nuclear missile. However, the nuclear missile is very expensive and between the two teams you can only fire ten nuclear missiles per level. This prevents someone from nuking every one of the other player’s cities over and over again. Another positive thing about the game play in Rise of Nations is resource gathering. It is a set it and forget it type of gathering. This forest allows nine workers so I send nine workers and they gather. I never have to move them. This lets you spend a lot more time with research and development of technologies as well as building up other cities.
Overall…
Overall, this game is one of the best real-time strategy games on the market. They came out with an add-on for it too (which will be covered in another review). If you are looking for a great game to occupy several hours of your time, Rise of Nations is definitely one you should look in to.
*MSRP may change without notice. All views expressed in this review are that of the reviewer, not that of Twisted Frog Design©.
