Rise of Nations Thrones and Patriots (PC G8+)

By PETER ELEY

Herald rating: * * * *

Age of Empires was one of those pivotal points in gaming. It merged the traditional real-time strategy game of the Command & Conquer style with the empire-building of Civilization.

This blending of two great titles into one created a best-seller and gave Microsoft credibility on the gaming scene.

Like all good games, AOE evolved into a franchise, with a sequel, a makeover for Age of Mythology, and numerous expansion packs.

Rise of Nations expanded many aspects of AOE leading the player on a voyage of conquest over six millennia, from pre-history to the information age, using a mix of turn-based and real-time play. While there was some initial resistance, it quickly gained a big following, winning a PC Game of the Year award last year.

One of the strong points of such titles is that they have great shelf life, mainly because of the different maps and styles that are generated for each new game. So expansion packs need to have strong selling points as the original games can never be played out.

Thrones and Patriots includes six new nations — the migrants who founded America, the Lakota Native Americans, their northern counterparts, the

Iroquois, Persians, Indians, and Dutch.

All have different units and abilities. Americans, for instance, get the Power of Innovation, and can build particle supercolliders or fund a space programme. By contrast, the Iroquois get the Power of the Forest which makes their scouts hard to spot and lets them gather wood more easily.

There are also four new campaigns, chronicling Alexander the Great's conquests, Napoleon's career, the mass exodus from Europe to the New World, and the Cold War. The game also introduces a range of political styles and economic systems.

Microsoft

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