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Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends

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8.8 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 46 critic reviews
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Based on 42 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: Microsoft

Developer: Big Huge Games

Genre(s): Real-Time Strategy

Players: 8

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Release Date: May 9, 2006

Summary

Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends evolves the franchise's trademark features such as borders, large-scale battles and city-building in innovative ways. Players are able to transform small villages into powerful civilizations and lead vast fantasy armies into strategic battles using formations, unit control and heroic abilities to destroy the enemy. The popular Conquer the World (CTW) Campaign returns in Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends with exciting updates. The new CTW Campaign guides players through a new world of heroes, monsters, loyalty and betrayal. Gamers follow a story through multiple campaigns with fascinating subplots and heroic characters. The campaigns immerse players in an ever-changing three-dimensional world with terrain and cities that evolve as civilizations grow. [Microsoft]

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What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Game Informer

Everything about this title is simply executed on a level that we rarely see outside a few elite development studios. [July 2006, p.108]

VGPub

Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends is one of those games that you can sit down, have fun then look at the clock and realize two hours have gone by, it’s just that addictive.

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GameZone

The three races, even though there could have been some more differences between them, are really fun to play with and bring a nice breath of fresh air into the genre.

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PC Zone UK

By taking all that's best from the real-time build-and-conquer template, mixing it with elements of Civilization and Total War, and wrapping it up in an impressive (though not quite eye-popping) engine, Big Huge Games have taken the genre in a bold and exciting new direction.

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Gaming Age

It's obvious a lot of thought went into every aspect of the game, from the unique look and functionality of each race to the incredible balancing that ensures each of them are on equal footing.

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Sydney Morning Herald

Visually, the game is spectacular, but the 3D engine demands a fairly powerful PC - the bigger the battle, the slower the performance. Thankfully there are plenty of graphics options to fiddle with.

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Digital Entertainment News

A masterful work.

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Next Level Gaming

This is a solid game, nice graphics, great controls, but most importantly, immersive engaging gameplay that makes you forget to sleep and eat.

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Yahoo! Games

It's generous, detailed, and brainy. If you want cheap thrills, there are some great real-time strategy games out there -- this isn't one of them. But if you want something from the other end of the spectrum that plays unlike anything else, this is the game for you.

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Gamezilla!

Bottom line, if you liked Rise of Nations (and there were few who didn’t), Rise of Legends will be right up your ally.

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1UP

Steampunk and fantasy mesh in a way that's thrilling and engaging, and perilously addictive. It's hard to find a comparison to any RTS you've experienced before; this masterpiece just may become a Legend in its own right.

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PC Format

Intense strategy monster that almost lives up to its predecessor's legend. [June 2006, p.94]

Gamers' Temple

The setting itself and the very unique factions in the game are enough to make the game stand out from the crowd. Back this up with some solid RTS gameplay and you have a winner in Rise of Legends.

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PC Gamer

Given Bug Huge Game's big huge ambition level when crafting Rise of Legends, some dents in the genie lamp are to be expected. But they don't come close to spoiling Legend's fabulous magic carpet ride. [July 2006, p.65]

Games Master UK

A game of non-stop action that spits in the face of its boring real-time strategy rivals. [July 2006, p.80]

ActionTrip

A pretty engaging and challenging strategy, offering a lengthy single-player campaign in a captivating fantasy setting.

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GamingTrend

Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends features the best balance I’ve seen in an RTS – ever.

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Loaded Inc

It is always risky to take something popular and approachable and change it up. That alone is well worth the price of admission. Factor in the enjoyable single player campaign and excellent art design, and I think you certainly have a game worth your hard earned cash.

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Pelit (Finland)

The second game from Big Huge Game designer Brian Reynolds takes careful steps to renew real-time strategy gaming, but does not dare step far enough. The game is beautiful and has lots of great ideas, but lacks in feeling, mostly due to bad sound effects. [June 2006]

PC Gamer UK

Despite providing three well-balanced, distinctive races, a host of spectacular units and powers, and some novel play factors like national borders and peaceful expansion, away from the rationale of the story of RoL can feel a tad generic. [June 2006, p.76]

Game Chronicles

This game ties together many of the great aspects of earlier titles (national borders, heroes, mega-units) seamlessly. The new fantasy setting, with its grand theme of magic versus technology, is a welcome change from orcs versus elves.

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Computer Games Online RO

Although it was more complex and more ambitious in scope than Rise of Nations, Rise of Legends has proven to be another hit for Big Huge Games and as such is a serious contender for the title of “Best real-time strategy game of the year” award. The only negative thing that can be said about it is the singleplayer campaign, which oddly enough should have been one of its strong points. Fortunately, the multiplayer modes, the three different but very well balanced factions, lots of strategies and the art design recommend it to all RTS lovers.

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eToychest

When push comes to shove, Rise of Legends is a lateral step for the Nations franchise. The game is sound mechanically and brilliant visually, but it lacks the staying power that kept Rise of Nations in players’ disc drives for so long.

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Gaming Horizon

Taking the best interface cues from genre stalwarts like Command and Conquer, Warcraft III and Age of Empires, the player will become immersed in a global conflict pitting two well-balanced yet different powers against an unimaginable foe.

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Jolt Online Gaming UK

Rise of Legends may not break new ground, but it certainly adds to what has gone before and presses all the right buttons along the way to becoming one of the more entertaining RTS games out there.

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IGN

The introduction of the new unique races and their distinctive abilities and art styles helps give the game a much needed fantasy flavor.

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Worth Playing

It doesn't tamper too much with the underlying engine that made the first game so great but adds just enough novelty to justify a second iteration.

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Edge Magazine

Big Huge Games has dressed the RTS in its finest coat-tails, sent it on the most captivating of journeys and transformed its communication skills. There's no question it has become a creature with broader horizons and more refined taste, but there's also no question it's still a familiar figure. [June 2006, p.84]

Game Over Online

Whether you think Rise of Legends is a masterpiece or whether you think it is a hard to swallow piece of fiction with a great strategy game underneath is dependent on how much you admire the backdrop that the creators have fleshed out.

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3DAvenue

Very much worth your time and money if you can't get enough RTS gaming, it's just a shame it wasn’t more than yet another solid RTS.

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Games Radar (in-house)

Exactly what anyone craving an eclectic director's cut of Rise of Nations could want, and just as playable, thanks in part to three well-balanced antagonists. If it's not terribly inventive, well, there's always "Rise of Nations 2," right?

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Eurogamer

I need to stress that even when it abstractly fails - like the campaign mode - it falls comfortably above the vast majority of its peers. When it excels it excels in the same way as an aged whiskey or a finely made leather sofa does: it exudes quality and craftsmanship. Rise of Legends is an extremely-good-to-great game. Give it time and you'll love it.

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WHAM! Gaming

When it’s all said and done Rise of Legends is a solid RTS. The single player skirmishes with the computer are much better than playing the campaign and the multiplayer option is an absolute blast.

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G4 TV

Rise of Legends is a very different sort of RTS game that genre fans will be able to pick up and play but yet will find themselves drawn into thanks to its very different look and feel.

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Computer Games Magazine

Following up a grand slam nuclear blast like "Nations" with a bottle rocket may seem like an odd choice. But in many ways, the smaller fiddle plays the sweeter music. [Sept. 2006, p.54]

Gaming Nexus

An original, attractive world full of interesting beings to kill. Just oozes interesting ideas we’ll see more of in the future. Path-finding and networking bugs add a fly to the ointment.

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AtomicGamer

I think this game could have used a few more months in development to tighten up the campaign and make it more fun, but at the very least I've found the multiplayer to be very entertaining.

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GamingExcellence

Multiplayer is the tarnished jewel in the crown.

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Gamer 2.0

With a less slapdash campaign and tighter AI, it could have been great, but even now, Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends is worth playing—just not legendary.

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GameSpot

Rise of Legends is a bit flat in comparison to Rise of Nations, but quirky races and units provide a lot of off-the-wall appeal.

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DailyGame

Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends is an atypical real-time strategy game that manages to draw attention with its unique style, but ultimately plays like any other game in the genre.

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GameShark

This is yet another Reynolds strategy game that aims to please the hardcore gamer while being accessible enough for new players to learn the ropes if they are willing to put the time in thanks to the amazingly intuitive interface and striking game balance.

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Strategy Informer

The turn based combined with RTF is unique and fun, providing a little time for thinking and not so much twitchy trigger finger.

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Game Revolution

A playable piece of art, Rise of Legends is a very pretty painting even if it is on a very standard canvas. Leonardo would probably approve.

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GameSpy

Elegant and beautiful and quirky, and shows (in multiplayer at least) flashes of undeniable brilliance. Unfortunately, also like Leonardo's gadgets, Rise of Legends never quite gets off the ground.

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PALGN

The gameplay is solid, but there are far too many mistakes and flaws that really hurt what could’ve been a solid sequel.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 8.8 (out of 10) based on 42 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

J G gave it a9:
In my opinion this game, that came and went like a flash, is a good successor to Microsoft's Rise of & Age of games. It truly combines the best features of all of them. It answers the question of, "What if Rome never fell, and Leonado had become the great inventor -- rather than Edison or Newton, etc.?" It answers the question of "What if the Age of Mythology existed & never ended?" Finally, it answers the question of, "What if we add some aliens into the mix?" Rise of Legends has gameplay that is very similar to Rise of Nations. It continues to use the concept of national borders. When enemy units cross these borders, they suffer attrition. In addition, one can't normally build any buildings outside these borders. This should be familiar to those that have played Rise of Nations. However, Rise of Nations also adds in a town center system similar to Age of Mythology's where you are only allowed to build a city after occupying an existing city. All cities not occupied by enemies or allies are guarded by neutral parties. In some cases, you can buy the allegiance of these neutral sites. In addition to cities there are also other types of neutral sites that have various benefits to your nation when captured. Another aspect of Age of Mythology that was incorporated into this game is that each civilization has three unique heroes that can be summoned during gameplay. If you play the campaigns, you might have even more than that at your disposal. The final aspect of the game that was borrowed from the "Age of" series, are some well written campaigns. There are three campaigns that have multiple scenarios, and a story in the background -- along with a final goal. Like Rise of Nations, you choose your scenarios from a larger world map. Unlike Rise of Nations, a story was developed that guides you through the map. The result is that each game has familiar characters -- even the "random map" games. There is enough variety in the technologies that you could play the same game over again a few times, and it wouldn't necessarily turn out the same. For one civilization in particular, you have to choose from three different technologies when you upgrade. You can only choose one. Random map games are also made more interesting, because occasionally, the map will be rotated. Not only might you start in a different location on the map, the orientation might also be different when you begin playing. I know this game is a little old now, but it is a game that I have found to be enjoyable, and I continue to find it enjoyable. The campaigns are nice, and they have some interesting cut-scenes. The story would probably never make it to the theater, but it is good for a computer game. It's enough to sustain the game and give one an excuse to keep playing, in my opinion.

C. W. gave it an8:
Where Rise of Nations was a compelling hybrid between RTS and turn-based 4X games (particularly Civilization), Rise of Legends is just plain real-time strategy--which is both its greatest strength and its greatest weakness. The RTS aspects of Rise of Nations were undeniably the most entertaining part, which accounts for why Rise of Legends is still fun--and it IS still fun, especially for more casual gamers (like myself) who want the thrill of watching waves of soldiers overrun enemy installations without any of the skull sweat involved in other genre gems like WarCraft 3 (ugh, micromanaging!) or Homeworld (ugh, 3D navigation!). But RoN was enhanced, not shackled, by the infusion of 4X elements; by taking the "Nations" part out of RoL, Big Huge has left us with a game that looks gorgeous but plays like a rather tame StarCraft. It's a better RTS, but a worse game--and, seriously, how many more of those do we need?

TJ gave it a9:
A wonderful game! Amazing graphics, good story, fun campaigns, very unique factions and units, and some nice UI features. I highly recommend this game to any RTS afficionado.

Nate H. gave it a10:
Great use of physics. The campaign is great in the sense that you can choose what you want to do AND the fact that you can upgrade your heroes.

Casper J. gave it a10:
Underrated game. I'm playing through the campaign and find the 3 uniques races very cool and fun. The 3 race design in a 'single time-period' is quite similar to starcraft. But I like Legends more than starcraft, (never finished starcraft, probably due to my 'total annihilation' fascination at the time). I'm surprised so many people compare this game to 'age of empires' or 'rise of nations', because legends is not an 'advance through history' style game. Nations is closer to Command & Conquer Generals, Dawn of war, Warlords battlecry, Act or War etc. (games with 2 or 3 races, 2 resources and a single time period). Pros: No builder type units needed, yeah! Very Cool flying units. Pause and still give orders Excellent interface. Neutral buildings to capture for bonus Very Good AI Board game style strategic map. Territory boundries affect gameplay 2 resources (i don't like more than 2, ideally just 1) Cons: Online multiplayer is sparse. Need an above average computer to play. Weapon sounds could be louder

K Dep gave it a5:
Average game. A lot like the original RON, so the gameplay is solid. It's similar to AoE or Warcraft for those who didn't play the original. However, it can get tedious and boring fast. There is no really good way to get ahead fast, so a lot of time is spent waiting for resources or upgrades. After that, it basically becomes a trench war to see who can pump out the units fastest. Don't pay $50 for this game, wait for the price to drop to less than $30.

Johhny R. gave it a6:
not too bad ,but not too good,the original rise of nations was much better if you can compare them at all.

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Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends

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