Rise of Nations (RoN) ranks highly amongst my favourite strategy games and while it may not be as exhilarating as later games such as Company of Heroes and World in Conflict, it was probably the best of its time. For comparison, RoN is very similar to Age of Empires or the Civilisations series, combing interesting elements of both RTS and TBS systems.

Strategy and Gameplay

RoN did not feature a story-based campaign but rather a single-player “conquer the world” campaign. This is somewhat similar to Total War. Accordingly, players start with a single nation and must try to conquer the entire world. This element is turn-based but once players enter into territory they don’t control, the game changes to RTS. However, not all scenarios feature the same requirements.

Objectives of the mission depend very much on the territory and type of attack. For instance, in some missions players are tasked with defending themselves against enemy raids for a set period of time while in other missions, they are tasked with conquering and holding territory. Capturing new territory provides players with various bonuses.

Similar to Age of Empires, RoN features eight stages of development: classical, medieval, gunpowder, enlightenment, industrial, modern and information. Different countries have different strengths at different stages of development. Therefore, players have to ensure they make maximum use of their temporary advantage to expand, attack or defend their territory.

The starting point is obviously getting hold of resources. However, unlike AoE or C&C, resources in RoN did not deplete. All players had to do was build the appropriate resource gathering site on the resource and assign villagers. Unlike most other games, players also needed to gather knowledge, which is vital for new technologies. Depending on the strategy players could opt for one of four main areas of research: military, civil, commerce and science. Each area of research had eight different levels.

The strategy is focused almost entirely on the city. Expanding a city or cities also helps expand territory within the map. Importantly, players can only build buildings within the radius of their cities. To discourage players from investing too much in any particular city, there was a strict limit on the number of buildings you could build in each city. Anyone who played RoN will also fondly remember the Wonders of the World, which provide players with additional benefits. However, building and defending these amazing structures was another task in itself.

This in turn, forces players to build more cities and expand their production or military capabilities. Boarders were not just for building, they also had a military purpose. Sending large-scale armies outside your territory exposes units to attrition damage unless properly supplied with logistical equipment.

Combat was interesting for the most part, battles started and ended quickly but the innovative use of special units such as generals and special forces, provided plenty of opportunity to turn the tide of the battle in their favour. Generals for instance, allow players to use a variety of tactical moves including defence, ambush and forced march. Special forces, on the other hand, were perfect for neutralising enemy infantry and destroying strategic buildings.

The Bugs

Personally, I found the gaming experience quite good but one problem I still remember is relatively dumb AI. Enemy AIs would generally build a large amount of units and keep them grouped together like sitting ducks. In addition, abrupt technological changes would force players to make radical changes to their strategy. For instance, if an enemy unit built a missile shield, your stockpile of cruise missiles and nuclear missiles are automatically made redundant. This is something you don’t have to worry about with games like Supreme Commander.

Verdict

Despite its flaws, RoN is fondly remembered in my game archives. The wide variety of units, technology and expansion options, allowed players to have diverse gaming experiences. In some ways the combination of RTS and TBS represented by RoN is quite unique and still remains that way.

By Navam Niles