You'll never take our freedom!
If you're a real-time strategy fan and you don't have the original Rise of Nations in your collection, there's something seriously wrong with you, as it's a first-rate example of the genre. And if you are going to grab it, you may as well pick this up too, as it brings in a bunch of cool extras to make what is an already excellent game even better. If you're not familiar with the first game in the series, it's essentially an RTS which is a mix of Age of Empires and Civilization and which takes you from the early Stone Age up to modern times and which features a number of unusual elements alongside the standard genre concepts. This expansion pack brings in six new historical races, including the Dutch, the Lakota, the Persians and the Indians, each of which have unique powers and units. Furthermore, you also have four new campaigns with 130 scenarios which feature Alexander the Great, Napoleon and the Cold War, while to round things out, you have another 20 units and three new wonder buildings. As far as expansion packs go, this really is a superb example of how it should be done. The base gameplay remains essentially unchanged but the new units, scenarios, and other elements just remind you how good a game Rise of Nations really is. The scenarios are difficult and inventive, while the new races really do feel different and offer up their own unique challenges. The visuals are as good as ever and the gameplay is just as addictive, so if you have any interest in RTS games, grab this now.
