Doomlord52

By far, this is one of the greatest RTS games of all time - and easily one of the best games of all time. In terms of gameplay, it is superb. The detail and complexity of its resource system ties in amazingly well with its technology and research aspects, which in itself is still unrivaled even in modern games. In addition, the building aspect itself ties into these extremely well. Each city provides bonuses to nearby resources, as well as to nation borders, which in turn help with resource generation. Then the combat adds another layer, with certain units countering others, terrain types affecting combat, generals giving combat bonuses, and so on. On top of this, the game itself is setup exceedingly well. There are a massive number of nations to choose from, each with their own distinct economic and military bonuses, as well as unique units. The user interface is amazingly intuitive as well as fluid. The multiple campaigns allow for the connection of separate skirmishes to a larger picture. As a single player game, Rise of Nations is simply a masterpiece. The AI offers many different levels of play, ranging from basic to very challenging. However, it also offers multilayer, for those who have exhausted the extensive single player AI. While multiplayer plays exactly like single player, the ability to use diplomacy only increases. Two players can team up to defeat a stronger opponent, or to gain an even stronger dominance of the map. In addition, diplomacy can be used to solve long battles with no clear winner in sight. Over all, Rise of Nations is an absolutely astonishing game. Anyone with any interest in strategy games should pick this up (preferably along with the expansion pack). I purchased Rise of Nations only a few weeks after its release, as well as its expansion pack (also a few weeks after release). To this day I still play and enjoy the game, and is easily one of the best games of all time.