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> Results: Rise of Nations
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At the dawn of history an army of Roman slingers, swordsmen, and catapults cross the border to invade their Aztec neighbors. The battle continues with riflemen and cannon, mounted troops with carbines, and a General to keep them in line. The final battle for Tenochtitlan, the jewel and capitol of the Aztec Empire, begins in earnest when the Roman cavalry transform into tanks. It ends, centuries after it began; with Apache Attack Helicopters, modern tanks, missile batteries, stealth bombers, and the horror of a single nuclear missile. The aftermath sees Roman armor and troops capturing the beleaguered capitol, and holding it against the feeble counter-attack. The Aztecs are no more. Ninety minutes, and some 5,000 years, have elapsed.Brian Reynoldsﾒs Rise of Nations is the Alpha & Omega, the Beginning & the End of strategy games. Letting you build a civilization from ancient times all the way to the modern era. From slingers and legionaries to tanks and Apache helicopters. It offers all the strategic depth of a game like Civilization, yet is played like a real-time strategy game like Command & Conquer, or more accurately, Age of Empires.  Reynolds was lead designer on Civilization 2 and Alpha Centauri, and heﾒs brought a lot of turn-based innovations to this game. As the game begins the map is dotted with special resources you can take advantage of (by sending a merchant there) and ruins you can uncover to earn one-time bonuses. Nations have borders, and you can only build new towns and buildings within them. Troops can cross borders and lay siege to enemy towns and you can earn resources by destroying buildings (which models pillaging) and you take damage inside enemy borders (which is mitigated by supply wagon units, and is used to model supply attrition). Like most real-time games you have to mine resources. Here itﾒs wood, food, metal, knowledge, wealth, and eventually, oil. Theyﾒve made it painless to do so. Resources never deplete and most are automatic (caravans automatically trade with your towns as soon as their built (wealth), and idle villagers will find their own work depending on whatﾒs available). Warfare makes use of facing, flanking, rear attacks, air superiority, and there are extensive espionage and special ops missions available to harass your enemy.  The graphics are a stunning mix of well-animated units and gorgeous scenery and special effects. Everything from combat, construction, to the blast from a nuclear weapon, is painstakingly rendered. Most infantry units come in threes, giving the illusion of more troops than there actually are. Which works nicely to keep the micromanagement easy to deal with while maintaining the illusion of epic battles. Rise of Nations is a deep and complicated game. It offers full multiplayer options, sharp AI, and a Risk-like Conquer the World campaign game instead of a story-based campaign. Itﾒs one of the finest strategy games ever made, but some fans will be overwhelmed by the complexity and depth here. Suffice it to say: Any fan of Civilization style turn based gaming and Age of Empires style complex real-time gaming, should give this a try. This is a game for the history books, one designed to stand the test of time.   Ages: 12+ ESRB: T- Teen (Blood and Gore, Violence) Developer: Big Huge Games Publisher: Microsoft Games Italicized Intro by Andrew Bub Read Bub's review at Games Domain 
Rise of Nations is very deep, complicated, and heady stuff. Not for the little kids but any patient kid with an abiding interest in strategy, history, and warfare will probably find the game very rewarding. The ESRB claims the game is gory. It isn't. But there is small use of bloodstains. More disturbing for kids is the use of Nukes and the effects they have on the villagers and army men. The important thing to remember is that Rise of Nations is a classy and mature game, despite the war and carnage, it's tastefully handled and offers multiple victory conditions and encourages creative thinking and strategy.
Kid Factor by Robert M. Andrews
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