Rise of Nations -in depth-

[MFalcon]

Got the game, fairly impressed.

Take an RTS like Command & Conquer: Generals.. now.. require research and A LOT more buildings to be constructed. You now have Rise of Nations.

It took me a couple of tries to get used to the gameplay/requirements from various buildings. Then I finally figured out that every city you build, to expand your empire of course, requires five essential buildings. Once those are built, and you span the ages through further research you begin to add more to those cities. Suddenly you are given "wonders" that add more capabilities to your empire. One wonder per city, which requires you to stay fairly equal with your opponent or risk a "wonder victory" for either side.

Now the military! As you span the ages, your units are upgraded automatically AND you can research a better unit to further upgrade them, unless you are at the Information Age (our present age). The game automatically groups them into battle formations for easier deployment. Every unit has a weakness and a strength, so using them wisely helps. Just as in Generals you can build forts, anti-aircraft weapons, ect. However, this game allows you to build generals, spies, and scouts. All of which can do useful "behind the scenes" actions. Aircraft, once you hit the industrial age, are similar to General's design EXCEPT you can actually call all aircraft from one base back from a mission from thier home base.

From the map I was playing.. it only took me an hour to finally beat my opponent, this was on easy though. Multiplayer would be interesting, though I fear with research playing a major role in the game there would be balancing issues. Balancing being that you could suddenly be invaded by someone in the Gunpowder Age and your still fucking around in the Classical Age. To get an idea of how badly that could go.. imagine one side throwing spears while the other simply aims rifles and fires.

[MFalcon]

I finally finished all the tutorial missions and got a more in depth view this time. The game's military strategy is possibly one of the best around. I can't say this enough now.. STRATEGY is the key in this game. I had, in my past few hours of gameplay built only a few types of units and sent the mob to destroy the AI and it worked. However, now that I have learned a little more I am truely impressed with how effective the designers made military strategy.

First, generals increase unit effectiveness on the battlefield. Generals also possess four unique abilities, which can literally turn the tide of a battle. The one I had a chance to use was called, "Entrench". Entrench has your guys dig in and protects them from all other attacking units. With just a group of infantry and anti-tank weapons entrenched I managed to destroy a german group of five tanks and a few infantry that was attacking my position. Another unbelievable ability is "ambush" which camoflages your guys on the battlefield until enemy units enter the area.

Another great thing about this game that actually seperates it from most RTS is the unit effectiveness. Each unit, like I mentioned before has a strength and weakness. However, with a general in the ranks AND a diverse group of units in your army.. you can do A LOT more damage. Certain units will outperform another, so keeping your army differentiated will turn any battle in your favor.

[Monster]

It's definitely a much better game that I thought it was going to be.