''Rise of Nations'' is a

real-time strategy Real-time strategy (RTS) is a Video game genre, subgenre of strategy video games that does not progress incrementally in turn-based game, turns, but allow all players to play simultaneously, in "real time." By contrast, in Turn-based strategy, tur ...

video game developed by

Big Huge Games 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 recen ...

and published by

Microsoft Game Studios Xbox Game Studios (previously known as Microsoft Studios, Microsoft Game Studios, and Microsoft Games) is an American video game publisher based in Redmond, Washington. It was established in March 2000, spun out from an internal Games Group, fo ...

in May 2003. Designed as a fusion of concepts from

turn-based strategy Strategy video game is a major video game genre that focuses on analyzing and strategizing over direct quick reaction in order to secure success. Although many types of video games can contain strategic elements, the strategy genre is most commo ...

games with the

genre, the game's development was led by Brian Reynolds, who founded

following his involvement in the development of the

games '' Civilization II'' and ''

Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri ''Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri'' is a 4X video game, considered a spiritual sequel to the ''Civilization'' series. Set in a science fiction depiction of the 22nd century, the game begins as seven competing ideological factions land on the plane ...

''. In contrast to previous historical

games, ''Rise of Nations'' is based on the entirety of history, taking place from the ancient era to the modern age, and features eighteen

civilization A civilization (also spelled civilisation in British English) is any complex society characterized by the development of state (polity), the state, social stratification, urban area, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyon ...

s, playable across eight ages of world history. The game features several innovations on the

genre, introducing novel features such as territory and attrition influenced by the

and 4X genres. ''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 ''Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends'' is a science fantasy real-time strategy video game for Microsoft Windows, made by Big Huge Games, and published by Microsoft. It is a spin-off of the popular ''Rise of Nations'', released in May 2006. However, ...

'', was released in 2006.

was acquired by

38 Studios 38 Studios, LLC was an American video game development studio and publisher based in Providence, Rhode Island. The company was founded in Maynard, Massachusetts, in 2006 as Green Monster Games by baseball player Curt Schilling. Schilling's go ...

in 2009, who sold the rights to ''Rise of Nations'' to

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

following their closure in 2012. ''Rise of Nations'' was published by

as a digital re-release as ''Rise of Nations: Extended Edition'' by developer SkyBox Labs in 2014 for

Steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

and 2017 for

Microsoft Store The Microsoft Store (formerly known as the Windows Store) is a digital distribution platform operated by Microsoft. It was created as an app store for Windows 8 as the primary means of distributing Universal Windows Platform apps. With ...

Gameplay

The core of ''Rise of Nationss 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 Lakota may refer to: *Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes *Lakota language Lakota ( ), also referred to as Lakhota, Teton or Teton Sioux, is a Siouan languages, Siouan language spoken by the Lakota people of ...

). A nation's borders can be expanded by the creation and expansion of cities and forts, a

technology tree In strategy games, a technology, tech, or research tree is a hierarchical visual representation of the possible sequences of upgrades a player can unlock (most typically representing the research progress of a given faction). Because these tre ...

, 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

Aztec The Aztecs ( ) were a Mesoamerican civilization that flourished in central Mexico in the Post-Classic stage, post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central ...

Maya Maya may refer to: Ethnic groups * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (East Africa), a p ...

, and

Inca The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, 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 A pike is a long thrusting spear formerly used in European warfare from the Late Middle Ages and most of the early modern period, and wielded by foot soldiers deployed in pike square formation, until it was largely replaced by bayonet-equipped ...

are better than

cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...

at killing

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

. 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 formation In military operation , military-style operations, a tactical formation (or tactical order) is the arrangement or deployment of movable military or policing forces such as Infantry tactics, infantry, cavalry tactics, cavalry, armoured fighting ...

s 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 Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

, slight

strategic Strategy (from Greek στρατηγία ''stratēgia'', "troop leadership; office of general, command, generalship") is a general plan to achieve one or more long-term or overall goals under conditions of uncertainty. In the sense of the "art o ...

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 A board game is a type of tabletop game that involves small objects () that are placed and moved in particular ways on a specially designed patterned game board, potentially including other components, e.g. dice. The earliest known uses of the ...

Risk In simple terms, risk is the possibility of something bad happening. Risk involves uncertainty about the effects/implications of an activity with respect to something that humans value (such as health, well-being, wealth, property or the environ ...

'', 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 The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in zero-sum games such as chess or esports. It is named after its creator Arpad Elo, a Hungarian-American chess master and physics professor. The Elo system wa ...

to rank players.

Units

There are more than 100 different units in ''Rise of Nations'', ranging from the Ancient Age

Hoplite Hoplites ( ) ( ) were citizen-soldiers of Ancient Greek city-states who were primarily armed with spears and shields. Hoplite soldiers used the phalanx formation to be effective in war with fewer soldiers. The formation discouraged the sold ...

to the

Information Age The Information Age is a historical period that began in the mid-20th century. It is characterized by a rapid shift from traditional industries, as established during the Industrial Revolution, to an economy centered on information technology ...

Stealth Bomber. Military units are created at certain structures: the

Barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

Stable A stable is a building in which working animals are kept, especially horses or oxen. The building is usually divided into stalls, and may include storage for equipment and feed. Styles There are many different types of stables in use tod ...

/Auto Plant, Siege Factory/Factory,

Dock The word dock () in American English refers to one or a group of human-made structures that are involved in the handling of boats or ships (usually on or near a shore). In British English, the term is not used the same way as in American Engl ...

/Shipyard/Anchorage,

Airbase An airbase (stylised air base in American English), sometimes referred to as a military airbase, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base, is an aerodrome or airport used as a mi ...

Missile silo A missile launch facility, also known as an underground missile silo, launch facility (LF), or nuclear silo, is a vertical cylindrical structure constructed underground, for the storage and launching of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM ...

, and

Fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

Castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

Fortress A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from L ...

Redoubt A redoubt (historically redout) is a Fortification, fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on Earthworks (engineering), earthworks, although some are constructed of ston ...

. 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 An arquebus ( ) is a form of long gun that appeared in Europe and the Ottoman Empire during the 15th century. An infantryman armed with an arquebus is called an arquebusier. The term ''arquebus'' was applied to many different forms of firearms ...

of the Gunpowder Age becomes the

Musketeer A musketeer ( ) was a type of soldier equipped with a musket. Musketeers were an important part of early modern warfare, particularly in Europe, as they normally comprised the majority of their infantry. The musketeer was a precursor to the rifl ...

of the Enlightenment Age, representing the great advantage of

flintlock Flintlock is a general term for any firearm that uses a flint-striking lock (firearm), ignition mechanism, the first of which appeared in Western Europe in the early 16th century. The term may also apply to a particular form of the mechanism its ...

muskets over the earlier

matchlock A matchlock or firelock is a historical type of firearm wherein the gunpowder is ignited by a burning piece of flammable cord or twine that is in contact with the gunpowder through a mechanism that the musketeer activates by pulling a lever or Tri ...

muskets and showing increased attack power and reload speed. Also, each nation gets its own set of unique units. For example, the

Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...

can build

Companion cavalry The Companions (, , ''hetairoi'') were the elite heavy cavalry of the Macedonian army from the time of King Philip II of Macedon, achieving their greatest prestige under Alexander the Great, and regarded as the first or among the first shock ca ...

; the

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

ns can build

Red Guards The Red Guards () were a mass, student-led, paramilitary social movement mobilized by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 until their abolition in 1968, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a ...

infantry and

T-80 The T-80 is a main battle tank (MBT) that was designed and manufactured in the former Soviet Union and manufactured in Russia. The T-80 is based on the T-64, while incorporating features from the later T-72 and changing the engine to a gas turbi ...

tanks; the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

can build

Longbowmen A longbow is a type of tall bow that makes a fairly long draw possible. Longbows for hunting and warfare have been made from many different woods in many cultures; in Europe they date from the Paleolithic era and, since the Bronze Age, were mad ...

, Highlanders, and

Avro Lancaster The Avro Lancaster, commonly known as the Lancaster Bomber, is a British World War II, Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to ...

Bombers; and the

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

get the

Tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large Felidae, cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is ...

and

Leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with a ...

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 Colossus, Colossos, or the plural Colossi or Colossuses, may refer to: Statues * Any exceptionally large statue; colossal statues, are generally taken to mean a statue at least twice life-size ** List of tallest statues ** :Colossal statues * ...

and the

Pyramids A pyramid () is a Nonbuilding structure, structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a Pyramid (geometry), pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid ca ...

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". As the game progresses, wonders become more expensive, but generate more points. For example, the Supercollider is worth eight times as many wonder points as the Pyramids.

Multiplayer

GameSpy GameSpy was an American provider of online multiplayer and matchmaking middleware for video games founded in 1999 by Mark Surfas. After the release of a multiplayer server browser for Quake, QSpy, Surfas licensed the software under the GameS ...

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

which makes multiplayer games simple to create.

Development and release

''Rise of Nations'' was developed by

, a studio founded by lead developer Brian Reynolds in April 2000. Reynolds and other key development staff had previously worked with

Sid Meier Sidney K. Meier ( ; born February 24, 1954) is an American businessman and computer programmer. A programmer, designer, and producer of many strategy video games and simulation video games, including the ''Civilization'' series, Meier co-found ...

under

MicroProse MicroProse is an American video game publisher and video game developer, developer founded by Bill Stealey, Sid Meier, and Andy Hollis in 1982. It developed and published numerous games, including starting the ''Civilization (series), Civilizat ...

and

Firaxis Games Firaxis Games, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Sparks, Maryland. The company was founded in May 1996 by Sid Meier, Jeff Briggs, and Brian Reynolds (game designer), Brian Reynolds following their departure from MicroProse, Meie ...

, developing turn-based strategy games including those in the ''

Civilization A civilization (also spelled civilisation in British English) is any complex society characterized by the development of state (polity), the state, social stratification, urban area, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyon ...

'' 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

to support a proposal to explore

real-time Real-time, realtime, or real time may refer to: Computing * Real-time computing, hardware and software systems subject to a specified time constraint * Real-time clock, a computer clock that keeps track of the current time * Real-time Control Syst ...

gameplay elements in the ''

'' series. ''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

and

. In August 2000,

secured a publishing deal with

to develop multiple titles. The game was announced as the flagship project of

and showcased at the

International Games Festival at

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

in February 2002. Previews of ''Rise of Nations'' were also shown by

at several events, including

Gen Con Gen Con is the largest tabletop game convention in North America by both attendance and number of events. It features traditional pen-and-paper, board, and card games, including role-playing games, miniatures wargames, live action role-playing ...

in August 2002, and E3 in May 2003.

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. In March 2003,

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. 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.

Design

The development process for ''Rise of Nations'' involved considerable use of "prototyping and iteration" to introduce novel features to the

format. 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. 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". ''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

required

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." 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". 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 Diplomacy is the communication by representatives of State (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, non-governmental institutions intended to influence events in the international syste ...

'', with the use of supply centers forming the foundation of the mode. 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.

Audio

The soundtrack of ''Rise of Nations'' was composed by Duane Decker, who had previously worked on sound for the ''

MechWarrior ''MechWarrior'' is a series of video games set in the fictional universe of ''BattleTech''. Games Within the ''MechWarrior'' games, players take control of a single BattleTech technology#BattleMechs, BattleMech and combat other BattleMechs, ...

'' 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." Decker's composition process involved considerable research of "unfamiliar"

world music "World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...

styles, stating "I listened to everything from Irish whistle, to Russian balalaika, to Tuvan throat singers", and was composed as a combination of sampled and live instruments. A DVD of the soundtrack, containing a Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1

surround sound Surround sound is a technique for enriching the fidelity and depth of sound reproduction by using multiple audio channels from speakers that surround the listener ( surround channels). Its first application was in movie theaters. Prior to ...

stereo mix of the game opening cinematics, and production interviews, was released on June 24, 2003. The soundtrack was released by Sumthing Else, the company of musician and executive producer,

Nile Rodgers Nile Gregory Rodgers Jr. (born September 19, 1952) is an American musician, songwriter, guitarist and record producer. The co-founder of Chic, he has written, produced, and performed on records that have sold more than 750 million albums and 1 ...

, who had expressed interest in releasing soundtracks of

titles. The soundtrack is unique as the first video game soundtrack to be released on the DVD format in

Reception

Sales

''Rise of Nations'' and its expansion pack '' Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots'' have received combined sales of over 1 million copies. 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.

Critical reviews

''Rise of Nations'' received a unanimously positive reception from critics, with review aggregation website

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

stating the game received "generally favorable reviews" at an average score of 89%. Many critics praised the innovative design of the game for its fusion of

real-time strategy game 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 pl ...

with

features. Writing for ''

Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 alongside parent company Gamer Network. In 2008, it started in the formerly eponymous trade fair EGX (Eurogamer Expo until 2013) organised by its parent company. Fr ...

'', 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." Elliott Chin of ''

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

'' 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." ''

PC Gamer ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games m ...

'' 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." The 'Conquer the World' mode of ''Rise of Nations'' received particular attention. Writing for ''

'', 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." Rob Fahey of ''

'' 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." ''

GamePro ''GamePro'' was an American multiplatform video game magazine media company that published online and print content covering the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software. The magazine featured content on various video ...

'' 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. Elliott Chin of ''

'' 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 ''

'', isn't as developed as the actual real-time game." Reviewers were also mixed on the ease of use of combat mechanics of the game. Whilst ''

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

'' praised the "extremely good interface", "commonsense approach to grouping units" and "automation applied to non-military units", ''

'' noted that "things can become pretty unwieldy in massive battles", describing multiplayer battles as a "nearly mindless clickfest." Di Luo of ''

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American Video game journalism, computer game magazine that was published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 199 ...

'' 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." Rob Fahey of ''

'' 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." 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. ''

'' remarked that the game was "bloated with features, options and units." ''

Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'' is an American monthly Video game journalism, video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and video game console, game consoles. It debuted in August 1991, when the video game reta ...

'' 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." Similarly ''

'' 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." 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."

Accolades

'' named ''Rise of Nations'' the best computer game of May 2003. ''Rise of Nations'' won ''

PC Gamer US ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games ma ...

''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". ''

Computer Games Magazine ''Computer Games Magazine'' was a monthly computer and console gaming print magazine, founded in October 1988 as the United Kingdom publication ''Games International''. During its history, it was known variously as ''Strategy Plus'' (October 1 ...

'' 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." The editors of ''

'' nominated ''Rise of Nations'' for their 2003 "Strategy Game of the Year" award, but it lost to '' Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic''. During the 7th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the

Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) is a non-profit organization of video game industry professionals. It organizes the annual Design Innovate Communicate Entertain Summit, better known as D.I.C.E., which includes the presentation ...

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".

Retrospective reception

''Rise of Nations'' has received a favorable retrospective reception. Several publications cited the game as one of the best

strategy game A strategy game or strategic game is a game in which the players' uncoerced, and often autonomous, decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome. Almost all strategy games require internal decision tree-style think ...

s of all time, including ''

'', who praised the game's "smartly-introduced elements from turn-based strategy games like ''

''", and ''

Rock Paper Shotgun ''Rock Paper Shotgun'' is a British video game journalism website. It was launched in July 2007 to focus on PC game, PC games and was acquired by Gamer Network, a network of sites led by ''Eurogamer'', in May 2017. History ''Rock Paper S ...

'', praising it as a "complex and rewarding game" and "the closest thing to a real-time take on ''

'' that we've seen", 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." The game was included in the 2010 book ''

1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die ''1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die'' is a video game reference book first published in October 2010. It consists of a list of video games released between 1970 and 2013, arranged chronologically by release date. Each entry in the list ...

'', 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." Also writing for ''

'', 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."

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

. 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. In a retrospective for ''

'' 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. ''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 ''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 title in the series, ''Age of Empires'', focused on events in Europe, Afri ...

'' franchise, and lessons learned from its development assisted in setting expectations for the content of '' Age of Empires 4''.

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. In October 2004, a ''Gold Edition'' of the game was released for

Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

and

Macintosh Mac is a brand of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 1984. The name is short for Macintosh (its official name until 1999), a reference to the McIntosh (apple), McIntosh apple. The current product lineup inclu ...

, combining the original game with the ''Thrones and Patriots'' expansion.

''Rise of Legends''

In May 2006, Big Huge Games released '' Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends'', a

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

-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

on June 12, 2014, and for the

Windows 10 Windows 10 is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. The successor to Windows 8.1, it was Software release cycle#Release to manufacturing (RTM), released to manufacturing on July 15, 2015, and later to retail on July 2 ...

Store on September 14, 2017, including

Xbox Live The Xbox network, formerly known and commonly referred to as Xbox Live, is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Gaming for the Xbox brand. It was first made available to the origina ...

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 Steam is a digital distribution service and storefront developed by Valve. It was launched as a software client in September 2003 to provide video game updates automatically for Valve's games and expanded to distributing third-party titles in l ...

integration, adding cloud saves, Steam Trading Cards, achievements,

Twitch Twitch may refer to: Biology * Muscle contraction ** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation ** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction ** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle c ...

integration and multiplayer with Elo ranked matches to the game.

Cancelled sequels

Following release,

cancelled its deal with

to produce successive ''Rise of Nations'' titles, including plans to develop ''Rise of Nations 2''. In addition,

developed an unreleased ''Rise of Nations'' game, titled ''Rise of Nations: Tactics'', following their acquisition of

in 2009. ''Tactics'' was a completed but unreleased title, discovered following the examination of

servers by liquidators prior to auction of the company's assets. Developer Stuart Jeff, who worked on ''Tactics'' for the studio, described the game was a mobile turn-based strategy game for

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

inspired by ''

Advance Wars ''Advance Wars'' is a turn-based strategy video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. It is the seventh title in the Wars (series), ''Wars'' series of video games, and the first in the ''Advanc ...

'' 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

ceased operations in 2012. Assets and intellectual property for the ''Rise of Nations'' games were sold to an unknown buyer in December 2013.

Notes

References

External links

Official website for ''Rise of Nations: Extended Edition''

from

MacSoft MacSoft was an American video game developer and publisher founded in 1993 by Peter Tamte as a subsidiary of WizardWorks, specializing in the production of video game ports from Microsoft Windows to Macintosh operating systems, as well as prod ...

* {{Portal bar, Video games 2003 video games Microsoft games Microsoft franchises MacOS games Real-time strategy video games Video games developed in the United States Video games with historical settings Windows games Video games with Steam Workshop support MacSoft games Multiplayer and single-player video games SkyBox Labs games Big Huge Games games Westlake Interactive games Panhistorical video games