Rise of Nations

Last updated

Rise of Nations
Rise of Nations Coverart.png
Developer(s) Big Huge Games
Westlake Interactive
(Mac) [note 1]
Publisher(s) Microsoft Game Studios
MacSoft (Mac)
Designer(s) Brian Reynolds
Composer(s) Duane Decker
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows, OS X
Release
  • NA: May 20, 2003
  • EU: May 23, 2003
Gold Edition
  • WW: October 28, 2004 (PC)
  • WW: November 2004 (Mac) [1]
Genre(s) Real-time strategy
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Rise of Nations is a real-time strategy video game developed by Big Huge Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios in May 2003. Designed as a fusion of concepts from turn-based strategy games with the real-time strategy genre, [2] the game's development was led by Brian Reynolds, who founded Big Huge Games following his involvement in the development of the turn-based strategy games Civilization II and Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri . In contrast to previous historical real-time strategy games, Rise of Nations is based on the entirety of history, taking place from the ancient era to the modern age, and features eighteen civilizations, playable across eight ages of world history. The game features several innovations on the real-time strategy genre, introducing novel features such as territory and attrition influenced by the turn-based strategy genre.

Contents

Rise of Nations received positive reception upon release, with praise directed to its novel features in the genre and broader scope of gameplay. Several contemporary and retrospective publications have nominated the game in lists of the best strategy games of the year and of all time.

An expansion titled Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots , was released in 2004, featuring additional monuments, nations, governments, and campaigns. A spin-off title with a fantasy theme, Rise of Legends , was released in 2006. Big Huge Games was acquired by 38 Studios in 2009, who sold the rights to Rise of Nations to Microsoft following their closure in 2012. Rise of Nations was published by Microsoft as a digital re-release as Rise of Nations: Extended Edition by developer SkyBox Labs in 2014 for Steam and Xbox.

Gameplay

A screenshot from Rise of Nations Rise of Nations scene.jpg
A screenshot from Rise of Nations

The core of Rise of Nations's gameplay centers around the concept of "territory". 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 (with the exception of the Lakota). 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 within a nation's borders to suffer attrition over time, which can eventually destroy an unsupplied invasion force.

People in Rise of Nations gather resources, or build or repair damaged buildings. All of the six resource types in Rise of Nations are infinite in supply.

Any of the game's nations can be played during any age, regardless of that nation's fate throughout actual history. Each of the 18 civilizations in Rise of Nations has 4 to 8 unique units. Some unique units are based on units that those nations would have, if they were not destroyed in real-life. For example, the Native American nations (the Aztecs, Maya, and Inca) have unique units in the Modern and Information ages which resemble real-world Iberian-South American guerrillas. There are 4 end conditions: capture, territorial superiority, wonder victory, or score victory.

Gameplay focuses heavily on creating a balance between offense, defense, and economy. Generalship is also needed in this game like most RTS games; this includes a knowledge of the troops and what they are good at fighting. For example, pikemen are better than cannon at killing cavalry. Terrain plays a major part in this game and knowing the terrain is an important asset in battle. Generals can also be created from a fort to aid an army.

Five tactical formations are also available, including the ability to compress or expand the line of battle. When a formation is chosen, the selected units automatically reposition themselves accordingly, typically with faster moving units in the front and slower moving, vulnerable units in the rear.

In a manner similar to chess, slight strategic mistakes early in the game can turn into major tactical problems later on. For example, if a player starts with the nomad setting where no city is built at the start, it is wise to scout for an area that has resources before building a city, for without resources there is no army and the player will lose.

A single-player campaign, Conquer the World, is included in the game. It is comparable to the board game Risk , except that attacks are resolved with a real-time battle, which can last as long as 90 minutes depending upon the scenario. The player can also purchase reinforcements or bonus cards and engage in diplomacy with other nations. Bonus cards and reinforcement cards must be deployed from the Map screen. If the Player attacks a Nation's capital from the Map screen and wins, all of the territory belonging to that Nation come under the control of the Player and that Nation is eliminated. The campaign starts at the Ancient Age and progresses slowly over the course over the campaign to end at the Information Age (present day). During a battle it may be possible to advance to the next available age and upgrade units for the battle.

Rise of Nations uses an Elo rating system to rank players.

Units

There are more than 100 different units in Rise of Nations, ranging from the Ancient Age Hoplite to the Information Age Stealth Bomber. Military units are created at certain structures: the Barracks, Stable/Auto Plant, Siege Factory/Factory, Dock/Shipyard/Anchorage, Airbase, Missile silo, and Fort/Castle/Fortress/Redoubt.

Most Infantry units operate in squads of three, and when a player builds an infantry unit, three soldiers are produced, rather than just one soldier. Exceptions to this rule are: Scout and Special Forces units, armed civilians, flamethrowers, and machine gunners.

Unit types, such as Light Infantry, Heavy Infantry, and Ranged Cavalry, can be upgraded as the player advances through the ages. These upgrades usually represent revolutionary changes in their particular field. For example, the Arquebusier of the Gunpowder Age becomes the Musketeer of the Enlightenment Age, representing the great advantage of flintlock muskets over the earlier matchlock muskets and showing increased attack power and reload speed. Also, each nation gets its own set of unique units. For example, the Greeks can build Companion cavalry; the Russians can build Red Guards infantry and T-80 tanks; the British can build Longbowmen, Highlanders, and Avro Lancaster Bombers; and the Germans get the Tiger and Leopard tanks. In the Thrones and Patriots expansion pack, the Americans can build various Marine units.

Because of the wide variety of units in the game, players have the opportunity to create an army customized to their tastes. Most units have a cost that is roughly equal to that of their peers. Additionally, most units use only two resource types, making the creation of diverse armies easier and almost required. Terraced costs further contribute to the incentive for a diverse army, as each additional unit a player creates of a single type will cost slightly more than the last.

Wonders

Wonders are important buildings in the game. They are real-life structures ranging from the Colossus and the Pyramids to the Supercollider and Space Program. They provide various benefits such as improving resource gathering or making units cheaper. Building wonders can also allow a player to win the game if 'wonder victory' is chosen as a custom setting of the game, as each wonder is worth a preset number of "Wonder Points". Wonders can be built starting in the Classical Age. The only exception is the Egyptians, who can make wonders an age earlier. As you progress in the game the wonders become more expensive, but generate more points. For example, the Supercollider is worth eight times as much as the Pyramids in terms of Wonder Points.

Multiplayer

GameSpy originally used to host the game but currently does not host the game on their servers. The LAN networking, implemented on both platforms, provides a system for people on the same network to play together. There is also a Direct-IP option, allowing non-networked players to connect without the use of GameSpy. Cross-platform play is not supported between Windows and Mac users.

The game is currently available on Steam which makes multiplayer games simple to create.

Development and release

Rise of Nations was developed by Big Huge Games, a studio founded by lead developer Brian Reynolds in April 2000. [3] Reynolds and other key development staff had previously worked with Sid Meier under MicroProse and Firaxis Games, developing turn-based strategy games including those in the Civilization series. Designer Doug Kaufman stated that the decision of Reynolds to lead an independent project was the belief that turn-based strategy games were "on the decline" and the resistance from Firaxis Games to support a proposal to explore real-time gameplay elements in the Civilization series. [4] Rise of Nations was developed by a team of twenty-five full staff and several additional contractors, with the core team largely composed of the former developers from MicroProse and Firaxis Games. [5]

In August 2000, Big Huge Games secured a publishing deal with Microsoft to develop multiple titles. [6] The game was announced as the flagship project of Big Huge Games and showcased at the Microsoft International Games Festival at Las Vegas in February 2002. [7] Previews of Rise of Nations were also shown by Microsoft at several events, including Gen Con in August 2002, [8] and E3 in May 2003. [9] Microsoft released a public beta of Rise of Nations in February 2003 with a competition to receive one of 1,000 beta copies of the game. [10] In March 2003, Microsoft announced a minor delay of the game from the originally planned release date of April 22 to May 20 to allow the development team to refine the game. [11] The gold master of Rise of Nations was finalised in April 2003, and released on May 20 for North America and May 23 for Europe. [12]

Design

The development process for Rise of Nations involved considerable use of "prototyping and iteration" to introduce novel features to the real-time strategy format. [13] Lead developer Brian Reynolds stated that the game was developed by brainstorming "ten random ideas" of "cool things to do in a real-time game...those things that didn't work we took out, and some of them worked really well." Reynolds stated that the inclusion of attrition, national borders, and city capture were features adopted from the turn-based strategy game genre. One idea abandoned in early development, the inclusion of different models of government, later became a core component of the Thrones and Patriots expansion. [14] In other areas, prototyping led to refining and "radical scaling back" aspects of gameplay that were not working, including a complex technology tree, described by Reynolds as "a disaster" and "totally unworkable", simplifying the design of technology to be "more distinct" and "exclusive". [13]

Rise of Nations was developed with the core design objective of ensuring that rounds of the game could be played within a short timeframe. Brian Reynolds stated that Microsoft required Big Huge Games to demonstrate the "feasibility" of the game's progression, as "no-one could imagine very well that you could do a history game of all of history and not have it take six hours to play. To this end, they even had software milestones to achieve along the way to prove (the game) could play within an hour." [13] Reynolds stated that some of the key challenges of implementing this pacing were "developing enough different types of artwork" between eras, and creating balanced gameplay across the large amount of unit types in the game, acknowledging "we erred in making aircraft and the offensive units in general too powerful". [14]

The 'Conquer the World' campaign of Rise of Nations formed a major undertaking in the development process, taking over six months to integrate in the game. Designer and scenario editor Ike Ellis stated that the developers abandoned an original plan to involve a chain of linear single player scenarios, stating the idea was "too boring" and that the game lacked "graphic scale small enough to make it work around individual characters". Ellis stated that the design of the mode was heavily influenced by the board game Diplomacy , with the use of supply centers forming the foundation of the mode. [15] Producer Tim Train stated that combat in Rise of Nations was developed with an "epic" and "more strategic" scope, and determined the preference in gameplay design towards "directing armies and troops" and away from "a smaller focus with only a few units on the screen" and the inclusion of special units and abilities. [5]

Audio

The soundtrack of Rise of Nations was composed by Duane Decker, who had previously worked on sound for the MechWarrior series of games. Decker described the soundtrack as a "combination of world music with unique cinematic music styles", featuring "some very expressive performances on rare, ethnic instruments and mixes in modern elements." [16] Decker's composition process involved considerable research of "unfamiliar" world music styles, stating "I listened to everything from Irish whistle, to Russian balalaika, to Tuvan throat singers", [17] and was composed as a combination of sampled and live instruments. [18] A DVD of the soundtrack, containing a Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 surround sound stereo mix of the game opening cinematics, and production interviews, was released on June 24, 2003. [16] The soundtrack was released by Sumthing Else, the company of musician and executive producer, Nile Rodgers, who had expressed interest in releasing soundtracks of Microsoft titles. [16] The soundtrack is unique as the first video game soundtrack to be released on the DVD format in surround sound. [19]

Reception

Sales

Rise of Nations and its expansion pack Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots have received combined sales of over 1 million copies. [20] In the United States, Rise of Nations sold 420,000 copies and earned $15.9 million by August 2006, after its release in May 2003. It was the country's 35th best-selling computer game between January 2000 and August 2006. Combined sales of all Rise of Nations-related games released between January 2000 and August 2006 had reached 700,000 units in the United States by the latter date. [21]

Critical reviews

Rise of Nations received a unanimously positive reception from critics, with review aggregation website Metacritic stating the game received "generally favorable reviews" at an average score of 89%. [22] Many critics praised the innovative design of the game for its fusion of real-time strategy game with turn-based strategy features. Writing for Eurogamer , Rob Fahey praised the game as an "innovative and massively enjoyable strategy title that incorporates many of the best elements of two well-loved genres...and this combination has yielded one of the most accessible, playable and deep strategy games of all time." [25] Elliott Chin of GameSpot stated the "two distinct styles of strategy have come together in the form of a truly excellent game", stating "what really sets Rise of Nations apart are all the new concepts it introduces..(making) the game deeper and in many ways more enjoyable than any other real-time strategy game to date." [2] PC Gamer stated that "Rise of Nations genuinely pushes the genre forward by introducing, and then perfectly using, some very cool gameplay mechanics such as the impact of national borders, attrition, alliances, and how cities are captured." [32]

The 'Conquer the World' mode of Rise of Nations received particular attention. Writing for GameSpy , William Abner stated that the mode was "an absolute blast...it's a great minigame that an infinite amount of replay value for the solo gamer. It helps make Rise of Nations a complete game." [2] Rob Fahey of Eurogamer stated the mode was "an excellent substitute for a linear campaign mode, although we're a little disappointed at how simple the turn-based boardgame play is." [25] GamePro stated that the mode was a "great twist on the usual story mode", but critiqued the "deja vu" and "lack of variety" after successive rounds in this mode. [27] Elliott Chin of GameSpot praised the mode as "enjoyable, if a bit simple, (as) it adds a substantial single-player component to the game," whilst noting that "this campaign, which is really just a glorified version of Risk , isn't as developed as the actual real-time game." [2]

Reviewers were also mixed on the ease of use of combat mechanics of the game. Whilst IGN praised the "extremely good interface", "commonsense approach to grouping units" and "automation applied to non-military units", IGN noted that "things can become pretty unwieldy in massive battles", describing multiplayer battles as a "nearly mindless clickfest." [31] Di Luo of Computer Gaming World observed combat to feature too many "overwhelming" mechanics, stating "throw in attrition, supply, spies and commandos into the mix, and you'll probably need four hands and eight eyes to manage everything properly at normal speed settings." [23] Rob Fahey of Eurogamer noted the game's speed "makes it a little too tricky to pull off tactical moves, with frantic mouse clicking required in combat to get your units to perform flanking manoeuvres and the like." [25]

Some critics of the game noted that Rise of Nations lacked depth in its variety of ages and nations due to the broad scope of the game. GameSpy remarked that the game was "bloated with features, options and units." [29] Game Informer critiqued the variation of abilities across nations, stating "such a varied array of nationalities is a beautiful thing, but not all nations are created equal. Some have excellent bonuses incorporated with them, and others are decidedly ho-hum." [26] Similarly IGN stated "yes, there are many races available, but none of them have a personality as such...(they) look the same, since they only employ three different graphic sets...so the racial distinctions feel abstract, rather than part of an immersive experience." [31] However, John Dewhurst for PC PowerPlay noted that "harsh critics could label its diversity too light to be truly immersive and they may have a point. However, for once, a game trying to do too many things is its greatest asset." [33]

Accolades

GameSpot named Rise of Nations the best computer game of May 2003. [34]

Rise of Nations won PC Gamer US 's 2003 "Best Real-Time Strategy Game" award, and was a runner-up in the magazine's "Best Game of 2003" category, which went to Knights of the Old Republic . The publication's William Harms called it "a blueprint for the genre's future" and "how RTS games should be made from here on out". [35] Computer Games Magazine named Rise of Nations the fifth-best computer game of 2003, and presented it with an award for "Best Interface". The editors wrote that the game "succeeds in a big way, and is about as addictive as they come." [36] The editors of Computer Gaming World nominated Rise of Nations for their 2003 "Strategy Game of the Year" award, but it lost to Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic . [37]

During the 7th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Rise of Nations for four awards: "Game of the Year", "Computer Game of the Year", "Computer Strategy Game of the Year", and "Outstanding Innovation in Computer Gaming". [38]

Retrospective reception

Rise of Nations has received a favorable retrospective reception. Several publications cited the game as one of the best strategy games of all time, including PC Gamer , who praised the game's "smartly-introduced elements from turn-based strategy games like Civilization , [39] and Rock Paper Shotgun , praising it as a "complex and rewarding game" and "the closest thing to a real-time take on Civilization that we've seen", [40] and PC PowerPlay , who praised the game as "cohesive and elegant", stating "the real accomplishment is that it manages to make a flowing tech tree from (the) Stone Age to (the) Information Age and keeps the action pumping the whole time." [41]

The game was included in the 2010 book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die , with contributor Alec Meer praising the game for the "speed, focus, and its tightness" of its gameplay, stating "the key is that it takes the core model of turn-based strategy games...then implants it at the warlike heart of a real-time strategy game." [42] Also writing for Rock Paper Shotgun , Nate Crowley stated Rise of Nations was an underappreciated game that "just hasn't stuck around in the collective understanding of the RTS pantheon, praising the game as "well-balanced, diverse in its offering of civ-specific perks, and a superb choice for fast-paced, messy multiplayer games." [43]

Legacy

In a postmortem of the game in 2003, Brian Reynolds discussed that the developer was "extremely happy with how Rise of Nations turned out", highlighting the game's development team and design approach, and the level of support from publisher Microsoft. Reynolds stated that the failure to identify a "clear idea of the kind of game we were making" in the first year of development, and difficulty with the design of linear scenarios leading to the decision to design the Conquer The World mode, were major lessons learned in the development period for the game. [44] In a retrospective for Rock Paper Shotgun in 2007, Reynolds stated he was "hugely proud of" the game, linking the game's commercial success to its innovations on the "merging of two genres", whilst noting the game featured some minor disappointments, including the "cool but half-way polished" city capture system, and the potential to have developed "better graphics" for the game. [43]

Rise of Nations was influential to the development of Age of Empires 4 . Executive producer Shannon Loftis stated that as the game was influential as a "spiritual successor" to the Age of Empires franchise, and lessons learned from its development assisted in setting expectations for the content of Age of Empires 4 . [45]

Expansions and sequels

Thrones and Patriots

On April 28, 2004, Big Huge Games released the expansion pack Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots . The game includes several additional nations, units, wonders, and campaigns, and new features, including the selection of governments that influence gameplay mechanics. [46] In October 2004, a Gold Edition of the game was released for Windows and Macintosh, combining the original game with the Thrones and Patriots expansion. [47]

Rise of Legends

In May 2006, Big Huge Games released Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends , a fantasy-themed spin-off with similar gameplay.

Extended Edition

Rise of Nations: Extended Edition was an enhanced re-release of the main game and its expansion released by SkyBox Labs for Steam on June 12, 2014, and for the Windows 10 Store on September 14, 2017, including Xbox Live achievements and cross-play with the Steam version. Graphical changes to the game included updated textures, lighting and water. Other changes to the game included Steamworks integration, adding cloud saves, Steam Trading Cards, achievements, Twitch integration and multiplayer with Elo ranked matches to the game. [48] [49] [50]

Cancelled sequels

Following release, Microsoft cancelled its deal with Big Huge Games to produce successive Rise of Nations titles, including plans to develop Rise of Nations 2. [51] In addition, 38 Studios developed an unreleased Rise of Nations game, titled Rise of Nations: Tactics, following their acquisition of Big Huge Games in 2009. Tactics was a completed but unreleased title, discovered following the examination of 38 Studios servers by liquidators prior to auction of the company's assets. [52] Developer Stuart Jeff, who worked on Tactics for the studio, described the game was a mobile turn-based strategy game for iOS inspired by Advance Wars with multiplayer and social networking features, but left the studio before the game was complete. Development was later led by Andy Johnson, who stated the game needed "three months of proper development time" for the game to launch at the time 38 Studios ceased operations in 2012. Assets and intellectual property for the Rise of Nations games were sold to an unknown buyer in December 2013. [53]

Notes

  1. ↑ SkyBox Labs worked on the Extended Edition.

Related Research Articles

<i>Myth</i> (video game series) Video game series

Myth is a series of real-time tactics video games for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS. There are three main games in the series: Myth: The Fallen Lords (1997), Myth II: Soulblighter (1998), and Myth III: The Wolf Age (2001). The Fallen Lords was developed by Bungie, and published by Bungie in North America and Eidos Interactive in Europe. Soulblighter was also developed by Bungie, and was published by Bungie in North America and GT Interactive in Europe. The Wolf Age was developed by MumboJumbo, and co-published by Take-Two Interactive and Gathering of Developers for Windows and by Take-Two and MacSoft for Mac.

Real-time strategy (RTS) is a subgenre of strategy video games that does not progress incrementally in turns, but allow all players to play simultaneously, in "real time". By contrast, in turn-based strategy (TBS) games, players take turns to play. The term "real-time strategy" was coined by Brett Sperry to market Dune II in the early 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Reynolds (game designer)</span> American videogame designer

Brian Reynolds is an American videogame designer. Reynolds has designed at SecretNewCo, Zynga, Big Huge Games, and MicroProse and has been chairman of the International Game Developers Association. He has played a major part in designing a number of multi-million selling games including Civilization II, Rise of Nations, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, and FrontierVille. He has also founded or co-founded three game companies, SecretNewCo, Big Huge Games, and Firaxis Games.

<i>Dungeon Siege</i> 2002 action role-playing game

Dungeon Siege is an action role-playing game developed by Gas Powered Games and published by Microsoft in April 2002, for Microsoft Windows, and the following year by Destineer for Mac OS X. Set in the pseudo-medieval kingdom of Ehb, the high fantasy game follows a young farmer and her companions as they journey to defeat an invading force. Initially only seeking to warn the nearby town of the invasion of a race of creatures named the Krug, the farmer and the companions that join her along the way are soon swept up in finding a way to defeat another race called the Seck, resurgent after being trapped for 300 years. Unlike other role-playing video games of the time, the world of Dungeon Siege does not have levels but is a single, continuous area without loading screens that the player journeys through, fighting hordes of enemies. Also, rather than setting character classes and manually controlling all of the characters in the group, the player controls their overall tactics and weapons and magic usage, which direct their character growth.

<i>Age of Empires II</i> 1999 real-time strategy video game

Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings is a real-time strategy video game developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft. Released in 1999 for Microsoft Windows and Macintosh in 2001, it is the second game in the Age of Empires series. The Age of Kings is set in the Middle Ages and contains thirteen playable civilizations. Players aim to gather resources, which they use to build towns, create armies, and defeat their enemies. There are five historically based campaigns, which conscript the player to specialized and story-backed conditions, as well as three additional single-player game modes; multiplayer is also supported.

<i>Shogun: Total War</i> 2000 video game

Shogun: Total War is a turn-based strategy and real-time tactics video game developed by The Creative Assembly and published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows personal computers. Released in June 2000, the game became the debut title in The Creative Assembly's Total War series. Set in Japan during Sengoku jidai—the "Warring States" period from the 15th to the beginning of the 17th century—the game has players adopt the leader of a contemporary Japanese clan, attempt to conquer the nation and claim the position of shōgun. The turn-based aspect of the game focuses on a map of Japan where military force, religion, diplomacy, espionage and economics all influence the player's actions, whilst battles are fought in a 3D real-time mode.

<i>Medieval: Total War</i> 2002 video game

Medieval: Total War is a turn-based strategy and real-time tactics computer game developed by Creative Assembly and published by Activision. Set in the Middle Ages, it is the second game in the Total War series, following on from the 2000 title Shogun: Total War. Originally announced in August 2001, the game was released in North America on 21 August 2002 and in Europe on 30 August for Microsoft Windows.

<i>Rome: Total War</i> 2004 video game

Rome: Total War is a strategy video game developed by The Creative Assembly and originally published by Activision; its publishing rights have since passed to Sega. The game was released for Microsoft Windows in 2004. The Mac OS X version was released on February 5, 2010, by Feral Interactive, who also released the iPad version on November 10, 2016, the iPhone version on August 23, 2018, and the Android version on December 19, 2018. The game is the third title in The Creative Assembly's Total War series, following Shogun: Total War, and Medieval: Total War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4X</span> Genre of strategy-based video and board games

4X is a subgenre of strategy-based computer and board games, and includes both turn-based and real-time strategy titles. The gameplay generally involves building an empire. Emphasis is placed upon economic and technological development, as well as a range of military and non-military routes to supremacy.

<i>Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome</i> 1998 video game

Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome is a 1998 expansion pack for the 1997 real-time strategy video game Age of Empires, developed by Ensemble Studios for Windows and published by Microsoft. The expansion adds four new playable civilizations, including the Romans, as well as new units, map types and minor improvements to the game. Development of The Rise of Rome was prompted by delays to the creation of a sequel, Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings, leading to Ensemble Studios creating an expansion to maintain sales of the original game. Upon release, The Rise of Rome was commercially successful and received positive reviews from critics, with praise directed to the expansion's inclusion of features and gameplay mechanics beyond the expected addition of new maps. Reviewers later expressed that the expansion set the standard for the sequel to Age of Empires II, The Conquerors, released in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Huge Games</span> American video game developer

Big Huge Games, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Timonium, Maryland since 2000, known first for real-time strategy games such as Rise of Nations, later for the console RPG Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, and more recently for mobile games such as DomiNations and Arcane Showdown. Throughout most of its history the company has been associated with its best-known founder, Brian Reynolds, whose prior career already included work as lead designer of Civilization II and Alpha Centauri, and co-founder of Firaxis Games. The studio's ownership has changed hands several times over the years, and it became briefly defunct in May 2012, but it was revived by Reynolds along with several original alumni and new partners. The company is presently owned by Nexon, and actively runs its mobile titles DomiNations and Arcane Showdown, while continuing to develop new games.

<i>Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots</i> 2004 American strategy video game expansion

Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots is the official expansion pack to the real-time strategy video game Rise of Nations. The game is the second in a series of Rise of Nations games by Big Huge Games. Thrones and Patriots had its premiere release for Microsoft Windows on April 27, 2004 in North America, and was later bundled up with Rise of Nations as the Gold Edition, which was released for Windows on October 28, 2004, and for Mac OS X in November 2004. Rise of Nations: Extended Edition was released on Steam on June 12, 2014 and includes both the original game and Thrones and Patriots with updated graphics and Steamworks integration for multiplayer.

<i>Empires: Dawn of the Modern World</i> 2003 video game

Empires: Dawn of the Modern World is a 2003 real-time strategy video game developed by Stainless Steel Studios and published by Activision. Set in a world-historical period that extends from the Middle Ages to World War II, the game tasks players with guiding one of nine rival great civilizations to victory. The game contains both a single player campaign as well as multiplayer gameplay mode.

<i>Age of Mythology</i> Spinoff video game of Age of Empires

Age of Mythology (AoM) is a real-time strategy video game developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was released on October 31, 2002 in North America and on November 14, 2002 in Europe.

Age of Empires is a series of historical real-time strategy video games, originally developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Xbox Game Studios. The first game was Age of Empires, released in 1997. Nine total games within the series have been released so far as of October 28, 2021.

<i>Need for Speed: High Stakes</i> 1999 video game

Need for Speed: High Stakes is a 1999 racing video game developed by EA Canada and EA Seattle and published by Electronic Arts for the PlayStation and Microsoft Windows. It is the fourth game in the Need for Speed series and a follow-up to Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit. The game features more realistic elements than its predecessors and introduced a damage system that allows cars to take damage when colliding with objects, affecting their appearance and performance. It also introduced a series of economy-based tournaments, awarding players with a cash prize that can be spent on repairing, purchasing, or upgrading cars for subsequent races. The game's Hot Pursuit mode, which was introduced in Hot Pursuit, was expanded with more options, allowing players to control police pursuits attempting to stop racers.

<i>Midtown Madness 2</i> 2000 video game

Midtown Madness 2 is a 2000 open world racing video game for Windows. It is the sequel to 1999's Midtown Madness, developed by Angel Studios and published by Microsoft. Unlike its predecessor, which is entirely set in Chicago, it features two open worlds in which to race, fictional representations of San Francisco, California and London, England. Players can choose from a variety of American and British vehicles including sports cars, buses and taxi cabs. The game has various modes of multiplayer connectivity, and included support for the now defunct MSN Gaming Zone. A sequel Midtown Madness 3 was released for Xbox in 2003.

<i>Close Combat: A Bridge Too Far</i> 1997 video game

Close Combat: A Bridge Too Far, or Close Combat II, is a World War II real-time computer wargame, developed by Atomic Games, and released on October 13, 1997. The second installment of the Close Combat series, the game is played on a two-dimensional map, between two players.

Strategy is a major video game genre that emphasizes thinking and planning over direct instant action in order to achieve victory. Although many types of video games can contain strategic elements, as a genre, strategy games are most commonly defined as those with a primary focus on high-level strategy, logistics and resource management. They are also usually divided into two main sub-categories: turn-based and real-time, but there are also many strategy cross/sub-genres that feature additional elements such as tactics, diplomacy, economics and exploration.

<i>Age of Empires</i> (video game) 1997 real-time strategy video game

Age of Empires (AoE) is a real-time strategy video game based on history, developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft, and the first game in the Age of Empires series. The game uses the Genie Engine, a 2D sprite-based game engine. The game allows the user to act as the leader of an ancient civilization by advancing it through four ages, gaining access to new and improved units with each advance.

References

  1. ↑ "Rise of Nations: Gold Edition - Macintosh". IGN . Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on January 9, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Chin, Elliott (May 21, 2003). "Rise of Nations Review". GameSpot . CBS Interactive . Retrieved April 26, 2018.
  3. ↑ Ajami, Amer (April 26, 2000). "Reynolds Founds Big Huge Games". GameSpot.
  4. ↑ "Interview with Doug Kaufman". Rise of Nations Heaven. March 2004.
  5. 1 2 Trivedi, Dilip (June 7, 2003). "Rise of Nations Interview with Big Huge Games' Tim Train". Sharky Extreme. Archived from the original on June 9, 2003.
  6. ↑ Parker, Sam (August 29, 2000). "Big Huge Signs". GameSpot.
  7. ↑ "Bright Lights, Hot Games: Microsoft PC Games Unveils 2002–2003 Titles". Microsoft. February 27, 2002.
  8. ↑ Park, Andrew (August 9, 2002). "Gen Con 2002: Rise of Nations hands-on impressions". GameSpot.
  9. ↑ "Rise of Nations E3 2003 Preshow Report". GameSpot. May 13, 2003.
  10. ↑ Calvert, Justin (February 10, 2003). "Rise of Nations beta contest this week". GameSpot.
  11. ↑ "Rise of Nations Delayed a Month". IGN. March 12, 2003.
  12. ↑ "Rise of Nations is Gold". IGN. April 22, 2003.
  13. 1 2 3 Gillen, Kieron (November 16, 2007). "Making Of: Rise of Nations". Rock Paper Shotgun.
  14. 1 2 "Interview with Brian Reynolds". Rise of Nations Heaven. March 2004.
  15. ↑ "Interview with Ike Ellis". Rise of Nations Heaven. March 2004.
  16. 1 2 3 "Rise of Nations DVD Game Soundtrack Release". GameZone. May 4, 2012.
  17. ↑ Decker, Duane (June 16, 2013). "World Music". Duane Decker Music.
  18. ↑ Decker, Duane (October 28, 2012). "'Rise of Nations' - Questions Answered". Duane Decker Music.
  19. ↑ Decker, Duane (May 30, 2012). "The First 5.1 Game Soundtrack". Duane Decker Music.
  20. ↑ "Rise of Nations: Gold Ships". Big Huge Games . October 27, 2004. Archived from the original on September 22, 2007. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
  21. ↑ Edge staff (August 25, 2006). "The Top 100 PC Games of the 21st Century". Edge. Future plc. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012.
  22. 1 2 "Rise of Nations for PC Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive.
  23. 1 2 Luo, Di (August 2003). "Rise of Nations" (PDF). Computer Gaming World . No. 229. Ziff Davis. pp. 72–73. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  24. ↑ Edge staff (July 2003). "Rise of Nations". Edge . No. 125. Future plc.
  25. 1 2 3 4 Fahey, Rob (June 27, 2003). "Rise of Nations". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved April 26, 2018.
  26. 1 2 Brogger, Kristian (July 2003). "Rise of Nations". Game Informer . No. 123. GameStop. p. 119. Archived from the original on February 25, 2005. Retrieved April 26, 2018.
  27. 1 2 Star Dingo (May 27, 2003). "Rise of Nations Review for PC on GamePro.com". GamePro . IDG Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 9, 2005. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  28. ↑ Ferris, Duke (May 2003). "Rise of Nations Review". Game Revolution . CraveOnline. Archived from the original on August 9, 2014. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  29. 1 2 Abner, William (May 24, 2003). "GameSpy: Rise of Nations". GameSpy . Ziff Davis. Retrieved April 26, 2018.
  30. ↑ Knutson, Michael (May 12, 2003). "Rise of Nations - PC - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on October 2, 2008. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  31. 1 2 3 Brenesal, Barry (May 21, 2003). "Rise of Nations Review". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved April 26, 2018.
  32. 1 2 Harms, Williams (August 2003). "Rise of Nations". PC Gamer US . Vol. 10, no. 8. Future US. p. 74. Archived from the original on March 15, 2006. Retrieved April 26, 2018.
  33. 1 2 Dewhurst, John (August 2003). "Rise of Nations". PC PowerPlay (89): 78–79.
  34. ↑ The Editors of GameSpot (June 1, 2003). "GameSpot's Month in Review: May 2003". GameSpot . Archived from the original on April 8, 2004.
  35. ↑ Harms, William (March 2004). "The 10th Annual PC Gamer Awards". PC Gamer US. Vol. 11, no. 3. Future US. pp. 38–40, 42, 44, 45.
  36. ↑ CGM staff (March 2004). "Best of 2003: The 13th Annual Awards". Computer Games Magazine . No. 160. pp. 58–62.
  37. ↑ CGW staff (March 2004). "Computer Gaming World's 2003 Games of the Year (Strategy Game of the Year)" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. No. 236. Ziff Davis. p. 60. Retrieved April 26, 2018.
  38. ↑ jkdmedia (May 4, 2012). "AIAS Announces Finalists for Annual Interactive Achievement Awards". GameZone. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
  39. ↑ Brown, Fraser (March 9, 2023). "The best strategy games in 2023". PC Gamer.
  40. ↑ Castle, Katharine (January 1, 2023). "The 50 best strategy games to play on PC in 2023". Rock Paper Shotgun.
  41. ↑ "The Top 100: PCPP's Best Games of All Time". PC PowerPlay (101): 62. July 2004.
  42. ↑ Meer, Alec (2011). "Rise of Nations". In Mott, Tony (ed.). 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die. Cassell Illustrated. p. 540. ISBN   978-1-84403-681-3.
  43. 1 2 Crowley, Nate (August 19, 2020). "Have You Played... Rise Of Nations?". Rock Paper Shotgun.
  44. ↑ Reynolds, Brian (June 27, 2003). "Postmortem: Big Huge Games' Rise of Nations". Game Developer.
  45. ↑ Bailey, Dustin (November 20, 2019). "Rise of Nations helped teach the Age of Empires 4 devs what Age fans want". PCGamesN.
  46. ↑ Butts, Steve (April 28, 2004). "Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots Review". IGN.
  47. ↑ Sanchez, Rick (October 15, 2004). "Rise of Nations Gold Edition". IGN.
  48. ↑ Matulef, Jeffrey (May 30, 2014). "Rise of Nations: Extended Edition due next month on Steam". Eurogamer . Gamer Network. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  49. ↑ "Rise of Nations: Extended Edition". Steam . Valve . Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  50. ↑ "Rise of Nations: Extended Edition". SkyBox Labs . Retrieved July 22, 2014.
  51. ↑ Goldman, Tom (March 29, 2010). "PAX East 2010: How Big Huge Games Barely Survived". The Escapist. Archived from the original on April 1, 2010.
  52. ↑ "Intellectual Property Rights Auction of 38 Studios and Big Huge Games". Business Wire. November 13, 2013.
  53. ↑ Tach, Dave (December 26, 2013). "The Rise of Nations game that might have saved 38 Studios". Polygon.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.