For starters, it says a lot that the name of Rise of Nations' developer is called Big Huge Games. I can't think of a better impression of Rise of Nations than its large size: the expanse of the concepts covered and the depth in which they are implemented. This giant of a game is so ambitious that it actually wraps its arms around two genres of strategy games (turn-based and real-time) and swallows it in one big bite! The game covers the span of human history through eight different ages, and each age is made up of four general areas of human knowledge: military, civic, commerce and science. The technology tree in Rise of Nations is reminiscent of turn-based strategy games like Civilisation, with research into a wide variety of concepts from learning to write with an alphabet to building supercolliders. As this is a real-time strategy game, expect to see researched technology come into effect immediately...it's fast-paced win or loss when you put your nation into the gunpowder age and fire back at enemy archers with speeding bullets. Another great aspect of Rise of Nations is the role of cities and national borders. Expanding your borders will give you access to more resources and more space to build, plus enemy troops will suffer attrition in your territory (taking damage from being too far away to be properly supplied). It's a joy to watch your borders expand, suffocating your rival's puny nation. With that in mind, the pen can indeed be mightier than the sword in Rise of Nations, as culture (build the Pyramids, the Eiffel tower or other wonders of the world) is one way to expand your borders. Of course if you fancy the more direct approach in altering the political world map, by all means take up your sword or musket or bazooka and plunge into the great battles that Rise of Nations can deliver.

To take things to the extreme, Metaboli packages this version of Rise of Nations with the expansion pack Thrones & Patriots! Six new nations to control, four new conquer the world campaigns (fight in the Cold War and avoid [or encourage] mutually assured destruction!) and numerous tweaks and improvements, making this already huge game truly TITANIC!

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