RISE OF NATIONS

GAME DETAILS :-

Developer : Big Huge Games

Publisher : Microsoft Game Studios

Engine : Not Revealed

Genre : Historic Real-Time Strategy

Release Date : May 20 , 2003

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS :-

Operating System : Windows 2000 / Windows XP

CPU : AMD Athlon 2600+ / Intel Pentium 3 Processor

Memory (RAM) : 128 MB

Graphics Hardware : DirectX 9.0 Compatible Video Card with Memory 16 MB

[NVIDIA : GeForce FX 5500 Series
ATI : Radeon 9500 Series]

Hard Disk Space : 800 MB

GAME FEATURES :-

Rise of Nations employs the concept of "territory," as employed in the Civilization long series of games; the area near the player's settlements is considered their territory, and players may only construct buildings within their territory or that of an ally. A nation's borders can be expanded by the creation and expansion of cities and forts, a technology tree and obtaining access to certain rare resources. Other technologies and resources cause enemy units to suffer attrition over time, which can eventually destroy an unsupported invasion force. Citizens (resource-collecting workers) in Rise of Nations don't remain idle after creation until orders are given to them; rather, after a brief pause, idle citizens look for any nearby construction sites, unoccupied resource gathering sites, or damaged buildings and automatically move to build, gather, or repair there. This option can be disabled if desired. Each of the 18 civilizations in Rise of Nations has its own set of between four and eight unique units spread throughout the ages, as well as a graphics set unique to their cultural group. Rise of Nations uses a hybrid 2D/3D engine to render buildings, but a 3D engine to render units, terrain, and special effects. A single player campaign, Conquer the World, is included in the game.

Since expanding your empire depends entirely on your cities, the game makes you think harder about how and where you should expand. This focus on cities also means that each one will become a distinct community, with its own farms, temples, universities, and so on--actual cities will populate your empire, unlike in other real-time strategy games, where most of your structures are at your main base, while your additional town halls exist in isolation near some resources. National borders add depth to the game without being overwhelming. National borders grow with the number of cities you control, you may wish to aggressively expand your empire by building lots of cities, but you'll be limited by the extent of your research in civics. The knowledge resource, which is vital for most technologies, comes only from the universities that you build for your cities. You can also find rare resources--such as precious minerals, crops, or furs--around the map. If you station a merchant at these sites, they'll give you bonuses to your resources and other benefits. Rise of Nations makes it easy to understand how many resources you are getting and how additional villagers can help you get more. Each building can have only a certain number of villagers in it, and the interface clearly shows how many resources you get per villager working there, though you can research improvements to make your villagers even more efficient. Rise of Nations' research fields are still broader than those of just about any other real-time strategy game yet. There are four main areas of research: military, civil, commerce, and science. Each area has eight levels, as well as a top-level technology for each area once you reach the eighth stage.

The only really serious complaint that hard-core strategy fans could level at Rise of Nations is that the game doesn't have a story-based campaign like so many other recent real-time strategy games. Instead, Rise of Nations features a single-player "conquer the world" campaign in which the world is divided into sections, like in the classic board game Risk. You start out as one nation on this map and attempt to literally conquer every other country in the world. Controlling your nation on the world map is turn-based, but when you enter into territory you don't control, the game changes to real-time mode. Interestingly, the campaign offers different scenarios for different territories. In one territory, your mission might be to withstand a barbarian raid for 30 minutes. There are more than 200 different types of units in Rise of Nations, ranging from the Ancient Age Hoplite to the Information Age Stealth Bomber. In many ways, Rise of Nations is better than the strategy games that have come before it. It's smarter. It's more challenging. It gives you more to do. It also has a highly customizable multiplayer component, as well as good tutorials that will help new players get started quickly. But what really sets Rise of Nations apart are all the new concepts it introduces--cities, attrition damage, commerce caps, caravans, rare resources, a broader and more distinct technology element, national borders, and more make the game deeper and in many ways more enjoyable than any other real-time strategy game to date. By combining some of the concepts of Civilization with the general gameplay of Age of Empires, Big Huge Games has created a truly outstanding game.

GAME REVIEW :-

9/10

Rise Of Nations Trailer :-