posted 03-18-09 11:34 PM CT (US)
Edited by General_II and Alex
Rise of Legends is just one of those hidden gems that nobody seems to notice. Who can blame them though? When it came out, everyone still had their eyes on Age of Empires III and this brilliant title got pushed aside. Now with it going as low as $19.99 on
Big Huge Games’ first title, Rise of Nations, brought the RTS world a dozen new features that refreshed a genre that was running out of creativity. Critics gave it a dozen “Game of the Year” awards and the effort to create a new experience in the genre did not go unnoticed. Rise of Nations brought us national territories, city building (in real time), an amazing Conquer the World campaign and other game play mechanics that were unique to it. These new features added a mile of depth to the game, and happily made their way back to Rise of Legends.
The Conquer the World campaign now features a storyline and some new game play mechanics that make it all the more exciting. Fighting to expand your national borders takes a whole new level as you struggle for special buildings around each map, fending off its guardians and your enemies to acquire the building’s bonus. The city building aspect was toned down, but it’s still very deep as you pick which districts to add on to your cities as the game evolves and your city grows into a massive empire. Conquer neighboring territories and claim your enemies’ as your own to expand your empire or set up send tribute to ally with neighboring cities to set up trade routes.
So your immense army is being outnumbered by your enemies. You’ve been saving up on buying new units to purchase that special secret weapon. Your enemy THINKS he’s about to win, when a gigantic goddamn STEAMPUNKROBOTIC SPIDER appears from underground and completely wipes his army clean. You think he’s going out that easily, huh? Oh noes! He’s got a HUGE GLASS DRAGON coming up, beaming light and burning your poor soldiers that survived the fight. Yeah, yah.
One complaint I had about Rise of Nations was how boring and uninteresting its units were. If a few of my soldiers died I would have no concern. It felt like I was losing a few pieces of papers in a play fight. In Rise of Legends, things change. Each unit is unique and deep. As if that wasn’t enough, there’s also a LOT of them. Unit variety is enormous and during the first few days of playing the game you’ll wonder if it’s even finite. The many strategies that spark up from this variety makes the game so much more interesting; it’s hard to ever get tired of it.
That's not even speaking of the Civilizations. I just don’t think it’s POSSIBLE for the civilizations in Rise of Legends to be more different than the other. You get a steam-punk themed Italian civilization with amazing Vinci-like structure and units, a magic themed Arabian Knights civilization with the power to summon entire armies from sand, and a Mesoamerican civilization that mixes extraterrestrial technology with the power of Mayan gods. When you mix it all together into gigantic armies of amazing unit and art design, you get teary eyes of enjoyment.
Although it’s hard to pick a single favorite out of this vast assortment, the ‘Coliseum’ map is pretty high up there. It's a quick, yet highly entertaining and strategic battle. In this map, the players battle to take the title "King of the Hill" by ensuring that their own units are the only ones in the arena and keep control of it for the designated time. All of these maps will provide you with hours of entertainment, leaving you wanting to come back for more again and again.
With Big Huge Games, the developers behind Rise of Legends at the brink of closure following the economic crisis and THQ layoffs, there's no better chance to
For more information, articles, discussion, and screenshots of Rise of Legends, be sure to check out
