Rise of Nations (PC) > Reviews > most addictive RTS of all time

Author's product rating:   

Playability & Enjoyment	Excellent - very playable game
Graphics	Good
Sound	Not bad - needs improving
Difficulty & Complexity	A difficult game - needs a lot of patience

Advantages:	great combat / logistics, 18 very different nations and an infinite number of strategies
Disadvantages:	misses option to build defensive walls and transport systems

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I have been a fan of both 'world building' strategy and real time strategy games for as long as I can remember. The beauty of Rise of Nations is that it perfectly balances the role between the logistics of building cities and the combat aspect.

Nations
Players can start the game as one of 18 nations, including the British, French, German, Roman, Mayan, Greek, egyptian and Japanese - and must guide them through the ages. Each nation has various unique units and a special nation power, which can range from the Egyptians having the option to build 2 wonders in a city, to the Bantu having a greater population limit. The nation powers greatly increase the replayability and the strategy in Rise of Nations, and set it aside from many RTS games.

Ages
You begin in the Ancient age, where you can build very primitive buildings such as farms, woodcutters camps, and a library, the latter of which is how you can research in different areas (namely Military, Civic, Commerce and Technology) in order to gain access to new buildings, units and upgrades. Once you have researched a certain number of new areas, you will be given the option to move to the next age. From the ancient age through the Classical - Medievil - Gunpowder - Enlightenment - Industrial - Modern and finally Information age.

Units
Typically, you will begin the game with a handful of citizens, (who have the power to construct and repair buildings) and a scout (who can explore new territory) As you construct a barracks you will be able to build primitive military units such as slingers and archers. And with a stable you will be able to build Horse Warriors and Archers. However once you begin to progress through the ages, units such as riflemen, Flamethrower units and Commandos are available. Air based units are available once you have reached the Industrial age, and offer fighters, bombers and attack choppers. The ultimate unit is the ICBM Nuclear Missile, which can destroy the best part of any city, but is very expensive to build.

Wonders

Another inclusion that sets this game apart is the 'wonders' feature. Wonders have been included in previous Civilization games but not to anywhere near the level that is shown in Rise of Nations. At every age, 2 or more wonders have the opportunity of being built, but where they differ from Civ is that a wonder can only be built once, and by one nation. Meaning a race for the completiion of a wonder is almost like a battle in itself. Wonders range from the Pyramids, which increase the rate of food that your city brings in, to the Terracotta army, which produces free infantry every 30 seconds. These constructions can weigh greatly on a game, and are great fun to play with.

Resources

Scattered all over the maps are various resources, ranging from Coal, to aluminium, to Silk. These resources can be harvested by sending a merchant to it. again they can only be taken by one player so, as with wonders, very often a battle will break out over control of a resource, especially later in the game when oil becomes an important factor.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I have been playing Rise of Nations for over 2 years now, the learning curve and the longetivity of this game are matched by no other RTS games on the market, and the enjoyment of a large battle between 4-8 other players is very difficult to find elsewhere. I would recommend it (and the Thrones and Patriots add on pack) greatly to anyone who is a fan of RTS games or strategy games in general.