Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots
Image:Rise of Nations - Thrones and Patriots Coverart.png
Developer(s) Big Huge Games
Westlake Interactive (Mac port - along with BHG)
Publisher(s) Microsoft Game Studios
MacSoft Games (Mac port)
Designer(s) Brian Reynolds
Series Rise of Nations
Version 03.02.12.0800
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X
Release date(s)
Microsoft Windows
NA April 27, 2004[1]
JP June 10, 2004[1]
Mac OS X
NA November 2004[2]
Genre(s) Real-time strategy
Mode(s) Single-player, Multiplayer
Rating(s) ESRB: T
PEGI: 12+
Media CD
System requirements
Microsoft Windows

500 MHz processor, 128 MB RAM, 750 MB free hard drive space, 16 MB GPU, Windows 98 or newer OS, Original version of Rise of Nations installed, Online/Multiplayer: 56 kbit/s modem or LAN[3]

Mac OS X

Mac OS X v 10.2.8 or higher, 600 MHz processor, 256 MB RAM, 32 MB GPU, 1024x768 or higher resolution monitor, CD-ROM drive, 1 GB free hard drive space, Online/Multiplayer: 56 kbit/s modem or LAN, 512 MB RAM[4]
Input methods Keyboard, mouse

Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots is the official expansion pack to the real-time strategy computer game Rise of Nations. The game is the second in a series of Rise of Nations games by Big Huge Games.[5] Thrones and Patriots was released for Microsoft Windows on April 27, 2004 in the United States, and was released in Japan on June 10, 2004.[1] It was ported to and released for Mac OS X in November 2004.[2]

Thrones and Patriots expanded on a variety of features in the original game, such as new monuments (called "Wonders"), nations, governments, and campaigns.[6][7][8][9] Gameplay still remains similar to Rise of Nations, with its wide span of ages and players still manage and expand their nations at the macro and micro levels.[10] However, Thrones and Patriots has campaigns which offer more turn-based strategy features than the original and the ability to make decisions outside of combat. Up to eight players can play in multiplayer matches, with artificial intelligence being able to fill slots at the server host's choice.[8]

Tim Train, executive producer of Thrones and Patriots, stated that various features were added to the game in an attempt to balance gameplay, including the addition of armed caravans and merchants.[11] IGN claimed that Thrones and Patriots is "a great game [which] gets better," in reference to its predecessor Rise of Nations and other critical reviews also praised many features of the game, though some noted deficiencies.[7][8][12][13] As of 2008, Rise of Nations has received a compilation score of 88% on both Game Rankings and Metacritic.[14][15]

Contents

[edit] Gameplay

The Korean War during the Cold War campaign

Within Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots players control various units during battles, including land, sea, and aerial units. Units used during gameplay include slingers, musketeers, tanks, large Persian war elephants, aircraft carriers, and nuclear missiles. Players progress in different ways in Thrones and Patriots by using various means including espionage, political strategy, technology races and population growth.[16] The gameplay takes place from ancient history to modern times. Players are able to lead their nations at the macro and micro levels, and build their nation up and expand it throughout the game.[10]

Thrones and Patriots added six new nations to the original Rise of Nations of game. The 'New World' situation playable in the game was enhanced by the introduction of the European nation—of the Dutch. Three North American nations were added, the Americans, referring to the ex-colonial civilization, and two Native American nations were added, which were the Lakota and the Iroquois. Two Asian nations: the Indians, and the Persians were introduced. New Wonders were made available for building, such as the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Forbidden City, and the Red Fort.[17]

New features of the game were added to the new nations, for instance the Lakota, which is unable to build farms to generate food, instead receive a constant food supply for each of their citizens, scouts, and cavalry units. They can make buildings in any region that is not possessed by their enemy, can raze buildings quick while receiving a full refund, and receive resources when enemy resources are destroyed.[18]

[edit] Campaigns

The Iron Curtain in Europe during the Cold War campaign

Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots added four new "Conquer the World" campaigns: Alexander the Great, Napoleon I of France, the New World, and the Cold War.[6] The Alexander the Great campaign allows the player to choose whether or not to raze or incorporate conquered territories. A player's decision to raze may cause the rest of the enemies to either fight harder, or question their casus belli and ally with you.[7] The Napoleon campaign challenges the player to conquer Europe in a limited amount of time, with diplomacy, alliances, conquest, and bribing with land.[8] Players must have intuitive leadership in this campaign because faulty decisions by the player can force themselves, Napoleon, into exile.[6] The New World campaign allows the player to choose either the Americans, a European power, or a Native American tribe.[8] If the player chooses to lead the Americans, they must pay taxes to Great Britain, until they declare independence.[6] The map of a battle incorporates the region's environment, for example large forests in the Pacific Northwest.[8] The Cold War introduces the ability to fire nuclear missiles in the main map and initiate espionage missions.[6]

Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots' campaigns now offer more turn-based strategy into the game rather than real-time strategy being the only gameplay aspect.[11]

[edit] List of campaigns and the nations involved

Below is a list of campaigns in the game and the major nations involved.

Alexander the Great Campaign

Napoleon Bonaparte Campaign

New World Campaign

Cold War Campaign

[edit] Governments

Once the player builds the Senate building, he or she may choose a government "upgrade" of either a Despotism or a Republic, each giving the player a different permanent gameplay bonus. Each government has a different "Patriot", effectively a stronger version of the "General" unit with different bonuses, depending on which government is chosen. They are used during combat to assist players in battle. A player can only have one Patriot unit at a time. When a Patriot unit is killed, a new one is automatically created in the Senate afterwards.[9][11]

After reaching the Gunpowder Age, the player may choose to upgrade to either a Monarchy or a Democracy, each with its own different permanent gameplay bonus, and then after reaching the Industrial Age, the player may upgrade again, to either Socialism or Capitalism. The previous gameplay bonuses remain, allowing players to select the most appropriate combination of benefits as the game evolves.[9]

[edit] Unique units

Every new nation in Thrones and Patriots received units exclusive to their own nation, called unique units.[17]

Nations\Ages Ancient Classical Medieval Gunpowder Enlightenment Industrial Modern Information
Americans[19] Continental Marine Rifleman Marine Infantry Marine Assault Marine
Dutch[20] Armed Caravan, Armed Merchant Brig, Armed Supply Wagon Fluyt Clipper
Indians[21] War Elephant Mahout Gun Mahout Culverin Mahout
Iroquois[22] Takohs, Spearmen Mohawk Spearmen Heavy Mohawk Spearmen, Akweks Elite Mohawk Spearmen Okwari
Lakota[18] Sunka Wakan Eagle Feather Horse Musket Horse Repeating Rifle Horse
Persians[23] Immortal Anusiya, War Elephant Athanatoi, Mahout Arquebus Immortal, Gun Mahout Culverin Mahout

[edit] Multiplayer

Rise of Nations features a highly customizable multiplayer mode. Up to eight players can play in a game with a variety of modes to choose from, with AI filling spots at the server host's choice.[8] GameSpy hosts matchmaking and other servers for multiplayer games played online through their dedicated server.[24] A new feature that was introduced into the game was the ability to use homemade scripts in online play. The scripts are able to be made in the built in script editor, and came with a pre-made script that disallowed silos.[25]

[edit] Development

Microsoft Game Studios and Big Huge Games announced the development of the expansion pack for Rise of Nations, Thrones and Patriots, on November 21, 2003.[26] A website was launched for the game on February 13, 2004, which contained information, screenshots, and other details about the expansion pack.[27]

Big Huge Games added multiple new features to the game during its development, in an attempt to fix issues with the original version. In an interview with GameSpot, executive producer Tim Train explained the development of the expansion pack. He stated how some nations were previously either too weak or too strong, and so features were added to balance gameplay. One way they did this is armed caravans and merchants were added to the Dutch nation, in order to weaken raids initiated by other players who rush their opponent. He said Big Huge Games brought in professional players in order to get suggestions on how to improve the game.[11]

[edit] Macintosh Version

In November 2004, a version of Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots was ported to Mac OS X. It was published by MacSoft Games and developed by both Big Huge Games and Westlake Interactive.[2][4]

[edit] Reception

 Reception
Review scores
Publication Score
1UP.com B+[12]
Game Informer 9.0/10[13]
8.5/10 (second opinion)
GameSpot 9.0/10[8]
GameSpy 4.5/5[28]
IGN 8.9/10[7]
Aggregate scores
Aggregator Score
Game Rankings 88% (based on 31 reviews)[14]
Metacritic 88% (based on 26 reviews)[15]
Awards
IGN: Best Expansion Pack of 2004[29]

As of 2008, Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots has received a compilation score of 88% on both Game Rankings and Metacritic.[14][15] In its review, IGN claimed that Thrones and Patriots is "a great game [which] gets better," in reference to its predecessor Rise of Nations.[7] 1UP.com stated that the game is what expansion packs should try to mimic.[12] Game Informer declared that Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots is "one of the essential pieces of any strategy gamer’s collection."[13] GameSpot commented that the game is a terrific experience and it not only provides exceptional content, but that it also improves an already good game.[8]

In the expansion pack, many insignificant changes were introduced to complement the existing game structure, rather than radically alter it, and critics considered the continuing of the original game format to be good.[7][8] GameSpy claimed that, even with all of Thrones and Patriots' additions, the framework of the game still feels excellent.[28] However, IGN declared that the developers only added many features into the game "in the hopes that it would seem coherent," rather than actually giving the game a "central theme."[7]

Both IGN and GameSpot claimed the game's government mechanics were similar to those of the game series Civilization.[8][7] However, GameSpy stated the game's artificial intelligence for "managing the individual movements of units and citizens...strategically brain dead." Their review explained that the wide range of upgrades, units, and technology research in different buildings requires micromanagement and the use of hotkeys, especially during online play.[28] The review stated that the game had biased gameplay times in single-player with different nations, such as Lakota having very limited use, and Americans having a massive amount of playtime.[7]

GameSpot stated that the multiplayer functionality of Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots had some lag, even when on a local network.[8] 1UP.com reported problems with stability of the games, with crashes on both the single and multiplayer modes of the games.[12]

In awarding Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots "Best Expansion Pack" of 2004, IGN acclaimed the additions of more playable nations and new government mechanics that Rise of Nations didn't have, and new "Conquer the World" campaigns.[29]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c "Main page on IGN for Microsoft Windows version of Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots". IGN. Retrieved on 2008-03-19.
  2. ^ a b c "Main page on IGN for Mac version of Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots". IGN. Retrieved on February 16, 2008.
  3. ^ "Microsoft Game Studios page for Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots". Microsoft Game Studios. Retrieved on February 17, 2008.
  4. ^ a b "MacSoft site for Mac version of Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots". MacSoft. Retrieved on February 16, 2008.
  5. ^ "Main page for Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots at Big Huge Games website". Big Huge Games. Retrieved on February 16, 2008.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Rise of Nations : Thrones and Patriots: Conquer the World Information". Big Huge Games. Retrieved on February 16, 2008.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Butts, Steve. "Rise of Nations : Thrones and Patriots review at IGN". IGN. Retrieved on February 16, 2008.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Ocampo, Jason. "Rise of Nations : Thrones and Patriots review at Gamespot". Gamespot. Retrieved on February 16, 2008.
  9. ^ a b c "Rise of Nations : Thrones and Patriots: Government Information". Microsoft. Retrieved on February 16, 2008.
  10. ^ a b "Rise of Nations: Gold Edition: Information". Big Huge Games. Retrieved on March 3, 2008.
  11. ^ a b c d "Rise of Nations: Thrones & Patriots Developer Interview 1". GameSpot. Retrieved on February 24, 2008.
  12. ^ a b c d "Rise of Nations : Thrones and Patriots review at 1UP.com". 1UP.com. Retrieved on February 16, 2008.
  13. ^ a b c Biessener, Adam; Juba, Joe. "Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots review at Game Informer". Game Informer. Retrieved on February 16, 2008.
  14. ^ a b c "Rise of Nations : Thrones and Patriots Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved on February 16, 2008.
  15. ^ a b c "Rise of Nations : Thrones and Patriots Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved on February 16, 2008.
  16. ^ "Microsoft Game Studios page for Rise of Nations: Gold Edition". Microsoft Game Studios. Retrieved on March 3, 2008.
  17. ^ a b "Rise of Nations : Thrones and Patriots: Features". Microsoft Game Studios. Retrieved on February 16, 2008.
  18. ^ a b "Rise of Nations : Thrones and Patriots: Lakota Nation Information". Microsoft Game Studios. Retrieved on February 16, 2008.
  19. ^ "Rise of Nations : Thrones and Patriots: American Nation Information". Microsoft Game Studios. Retrieved on March 31, 2008.
  20. ^ "Rise of Nations : Thrones and Patriots: Dutch Nation Information". Microsoft Game Studios. Retrieved on March 31, 2008.
  21. ^ "Rise of Nations : Thrones and Patriots: Indian Nation Information". Microsoft Game Studios. Retrieved on March 31, 2008.
  22. ^ "Rise of Nations : Thrones and Patriots: Iroquois Nation Information". Microsoft Game Studios. Retrieved on March 31, 2008.
  23. ^ "Rise of Nations : Thrones and Patriots: Persian Nation Information". Microsoft Game Studios. Retrieved on March 31, 2008.
  24. ^ "GameSpy to Provide Online Matchmaking Support For Rise of Nations From Microsoft Game Studios". GameSpy. Retrieved on February 16, 2008.
  25. ^ "Files from Big Huge Games (developer) website on scripts". Big Huge Games. Retrieved on February 29, 2008.
  26. ^ Adams, David. "Rise of Nations: Throne [sic] and Patriots Announced". IGN. Retrieved on March 5, 2008.
  27. ^ Adams, David. "Thrones and Patriots Site Launches". IGN. Retrieved on March 5, 2008.
  28. ^ a b c Rausch, Allen. "Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots review at GameSpy". GameSpy. Retrieved on February 16, 2008.
  29. ^ a b "IGN PC Best of 2004 Awards". IGN. Retrieved on February 16, 2008.

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Rise of Nations video games
Rise of Nations · Thrones and Patriots · Rise of Legends
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rise_of_Nations:_Thrones_and_Patriots"
Personal tools