• Rise of Nations
• Rise of Nations: Thrones & Patriots Expansion Pack

Rise of Nations

Rise of Nations is a new historical real time strategy game developed by Big Huge Games’ Brian Reynolds, designer of PC game classics such as Civilization 2 and Alpha Centauri.  In Rise of Nations, you'll create new cities, improve city infrastructures and expand national borders. Conquer foes through military might using everything from sling-shots to cannons to stealth bombers to nuclear weapons; corner the market on key commodities and consolidate power under your rule; wheel and deal across time with history's eminent cultures.

More than 200 military units appear in Rise of Nations. Each of the 18 nations has at least special units of its own, and all share several types of units in common. Each military unit looks slightly different depending on which nation deploys it, and will change in appearance over time.  18 nations and over 200 military units combine in Rise of Nations, and move through 8 epochs of history. Each nation also has its own special units. The thousands of variations within the game's elements will take you hours of play to see.  6,000 years of human history unfold across 8 distinct epochs in Rise of Nations. Each of the 8 epochs in the game represents a time period from history in the real world. Key technological changes like the invention of gunpowder serve as lines between ages. As the game and your nation advance, you will have newer and more powerful units at your disposal.

Ancient ca 2000 BC:  The starting age of the game. The Ancient age offers only Foot troops and Tower defenses. Cities cannot increase above Small size, and Knowledge and Metal do not yet exist, so technologies and units that would cost Metal or Knowledge in future ages cost extra Wealth and Timber.

Classical 1999 BC - 500 AD:  Stables, Siege Factories, and Forts can be built, adding to the power of the attack. This is countered by cities increasing to Large size if there are 5 different types of buildings in their sphere of influence. Knowledge and Metal are introduced, and Universities and Mines can be built.

Medieval 501 AD - 1299 AD:  Forts become Castles, and Catapults can be upgraded to Trebuchets, which are significantly more powerful. Also, the key Supply Wagon unit is introduced (along with Spies), allowing for effective siege attacks. All unit types can receive upgrades. The Medieval age is considered the “height of the defense curve,” as it gets easier to attack after the introduction of the Supply Wagon, and in subsequent ages.

Gunpowder 1300 AD - 1715 AD:  The introduction of Arquebuses, Bombards, and Dragoons pushes the balance of power toward the attacker. The introduction of Gunpowder is one of the most significant developments in history, and in the game. Getting here with a significant lead could end the game in your favor — if you haven’t sacrificed defense to do so, and been conquered in the Medieval Age!

Enlightenment 1716 AD - 1880 AD:  Heavy Infantry first gain ranged weapons in the Enlightenment Age, and all units gain significant upgrades, especially Cannon, which go from being primarily siege weapons to having a strong anti-personnel role as well.

Industrial 1881 AD - 1935 AD:  A key moment in history and in the game, as new rare resources are introduced, and Oil becomes a necessary commodity. Offsetting this additional economic worry are the enormously powerful Tanks and Airplanes that defined modern warfare.

Modern 1936 AD - 1968 AD:  Primitive unit types introduced in the Industrial Age now become potent weapons of war, as Tanks, Fighters, Bombers, and Cruise Missiles become available. The all-important Tactical Nuclear Weapon makes its first appearance in this era, which should incite the wise commander to spread his forces a little more sparsely on the battlefield.

Information 1969 AD - future:  All modern upgrades to Economy, Technology, and Military are now available, including Stealth Bombers, ICBMs, and powerful Main Battle Tanks. Once all technologies in the Information Age are researched, special additional technologies become available to bring the game to a dramatic finish.

Features:

• Cross genre gameplay – Real time strategy games give you the thrill of racing against time; turn-based strategy games give you the depth of centuries of history. Rise of Nations gives you both. The mysteries of ancient philosophy and the Wonders of the world are at your disposal in your campaign to dominate the world.
• Zooming scale - Track the progress of enormous campaigns or isolated skirmishes; monitor individual camps and workers or survey sprawling territories. You change the view of the game to stay abreast of everything under your command. As your nation grows, national borders stay clearly defined so you can focus on nation building.
• Streamlined Fast Paced Multiplayer - Challenge other players on the Internet or over a LAN. Gather up to 8 players per game. In-game matchmaking lets you pick up games online against others waiting for foes.
• Research more than 50 different technologies - Accrue Knowledge and gain the advantages of new technologies through 8 defined epochs of history.
• Lead one of 18 Historical Nations - Each of the 18 Nations boasts special units unique to them, and each nation benefits from particular attributes that give them distinct advantages in battle or another aspect of the game. Nations include Aztec, Bantu, British, Chinese, Egyptians, French, German, Greek, Incans, Japanese, Koreans, Mayan, Mongols, Nubians, Romans, Russians, Spanish and Turks, and all change distinctively through the passage of time.
• Conquer the World Campaign - This unique single player campaign lets you take over the world one territory at a time. Victory in each territory gives you tribute, special resources, or bonus powers to attack a strong enemy.
• 32 Rare Resources – Gather rare resources to earn extra bonuses. Rare resources include: Salt, Amber, Sulpher, Coal, Whales, Dye, Diamonds, Sugar and Uranium.
• Never depleting resources – The basic resources in the game (Food, Timber, Metal and Oil) never deplete once you accumulate them.
• Smart Citizens – No need to micro-manage your citizens. If citizens are idle for a few seconds they will automatically start collecting resources and / or help build buildings. If you like to micro-manage your citizens, simply turn off this option.
• Learn to play - 6 tutorials for beginning to experienced strategy gamers allow you to learn at whichever speed is most appropriate.
• In-depth game features - National Borders, Flank Attacks, Generals, Spies and much more create a truly strategic game experience.
• Multiple victory conditions – Brute force can and does bring you total victory, but you can choose how you want to take over the world by setting victory conditions to your liking. Make raw power the only condition for success, or choose another strategy like espionage, diplomacy, technology races, territory expansion, or others. You can also set multiple conditions simultaneously and defeat opponents using strategies completely different from your own.

Build one, or more, of 14 Wonders of the World and you'll gain unique advantages. As you advance through the Ages and accumulate Resources, more Wonders become available, but they're expensive and time-consuming to build. Construction races can tie up dozens of citizens. If you choose a Wonder Victory, build the majority of Wonders and win the game.

Wonders are significantly larger than other buildings in the game, and they should be considered in combat. Destroying an opponent's Wonder negates his advantage, and the Wonder can never be rebuilt. Capturing the Wonder not only takes away your foe's advantage, but transfers it to you as soon as the captured city is assimilated.

A structure capable of holding 20,000 people in surroundings of unparalleled opulence, the Versailles Palace was built by King Louis XIV of France in 1668 on the outskirts of Paris. Immense in size and overwhelming in its grandeur, Versailles was copied by many other kings across Europe.

Building the Palace of Versailles improves the rate of construction of all subsequent buildings. It also reduces the costs of researching technologies in every resource price except Knowledge, and permits Siege, Artillery, and Supply units to move more quickly as well. Your Supply units can heal your troops in the field once you build the palace of Versailles.

Rise of Nations: Thrones & Patriots Expansion Pack

Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots introduces six new nations, four unique single-player campaigns, more than 20 original units, new wonders, and new government types. Unlike other historical RTS games, the Rise of Nations franchise allows gamers to quickly play through eight historical epochs of time from the Ancient Age to the Information Age.

Features:

• Highly diverse new nations: Players can lead one of six new nations--Iroquois, Lakota, American, Dutch, Persian, and Indian--in the single-player campaigns or on a multiplayer battlefield. Each nation has its own distinctive national powers and special units, such as the Lakota who have no national boundaries, or the Americans whose marines can hide anywhere without the need of a General nearby.
• Rich new campaigns and scenarios: Four new non-linear, single-player campaigns based on historical epochs will keep players busy as they plan their moves on the strategic outer map and play out the battles in over 130 new scenarios. The new campaigns include Alexander the Great, Napoleon, the New World, and the Cold War.
• Choose a government type: As a nation advances through the ages, players can decide between six different government types. From socialism to capitalism, despotism to republic, each government type has a different power that allows players to customize their nations and open up new tactics and strategic possibilities. A unique Patriot unit is available with each government type, bringing a variety of powers to the battlefield.
• New units: More than 20 new units, which are graphically unique to each new nation, are available for players to command including the massive Persian War Elephants, armed Dutch merchants, unique ships, and supply wagons.
• Achieve greatness by constructing three new wonders of the world:
  • Forbidden City: Walled city built in 1407 within Beijing for the Imperial Court of the Chinese emperor. Entry was forbidden to ordinary citizens until 1912.
  • Red Fort: Massive fortification built of red sandstone in 1618, it served as the palace of India's Mughal Emperors. The outer defense wall was 1.5 miles long and 110 feet tall.
  • Hanging Gardens: One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, these gardens were built by Nebuchadnezzar II for his queen in ancient Babylon, circa 600 BC.

• Windows 98, Me, 2000, XP
• Pentium II 350 or Athlon processor or higher
• 128 MB of RAM
• 2000 MB of Hard Drive space required (plus 200 MB for Windows swap file)
• 3D Hardware Accelerator Card required - 100% DirectX 9.0 compatible 16 MB Video Card and drivers  (Matrox G550, Kyro II, nVidia TNT 2 and TNT2 Ultra, ATI Radeon, nVidia GeForce 256, Geforce 2, GeForce 3, and GeForce 4 Chipsets
• DVD-ROM drive and drivers
• 100% DirectX 9.0 compatible 16-bit Sound Card and drivers
• 100% Windows 98/Me/2000/XP compatible Mouse, Keyboard and drivers
• DirectX 9.0c

• Pentium III 750 or Athlon processor or higher
• Internet (TCP/IP) and LAN (TCP/IP) play supported
• Internet play requires 28.8 Kbps (or faster) modem and drivers
• LAN play requires network interface card and drivers