Since this is the first review, its not expected to be 'perfect' the first time around. Things are bound to change as the blog progresses and these reviews will change for the better (probably). Now onto the actual review: Rise of Legends!
(How come most video games don't look as awesome as their intro?)
There are 3 different civilizations to play as in the game. First, the Vinci (nod to Leonardo Da Vinci) as a steampunk-based civilization with elite but expensive units, including clockwork soldiers and massive siege tanks. Next, the Alin (based on Arabian mythos) as the mystic civilization with cheap, fast units, with their magic revolving around Sand, Fire, and Glass. Finally, the Cuotl (similar to Mayan culture) the balanced civilization, who are being controlled by 'gods' who are actually advanced aliens using their tech to conquer the world.
Its been said by a few people that this is very similar to Starcraft when it comes to the civilizations (Vinci/Terran, Alin/Zerg, Cuotl/Protoss), but I never really cared about that when I started playing. It had a great time managing my troops, capturing cities to expand my resources, then finally crushing the enemy under my treads (I played Vinci a lot, so this tends to pop into my head whenever this comes up) The gameplay is run, the designs look great (at least by a few years ago since it came out in '06) and the campaign was rather enjoyable, too.
Its splits into 3 different parts, one for each civilization. The main hero of the campaign is Giacomo, an inventor from the city-state Miana. Along for the ride are other heroes he manages to pick up in his travels. All 3 parts play out in a RISK-styled map, taking turns to chose which area to go to next, planning out which units to build and what cities to support in each province.
The story begins as Giacomo, his brother Petruzzio, and General Carlini (friend and mentor to the brothers) set off to pcik up a strange artifact that was found in a mine shaft...
(Such a shame, they were on their way to the forum next)
(Ha ha, you thought he was going to get some)
As the campaign progresses, Giacomo encounters more heroes to help him: Venza, a Pirata pirate, Diztruzio, an inventor like Giacomo (though his devices tend to blow up at times) and General Battaglion, a siege specialist and possibly more badass than Carlini (Carlini rides a horse and just fires a gun. Battaglion runs around on foot, carrying a MASSIVE CANNON on his back and shoots with the steampunk-equivalent of a shotgun). Anyway, the merry band of Vinci soldiers continue on their path to fight the Doge...
(So long, modified clockwork spider. We shall never see you again.)
They finally make it to the Doge's capital, where he has been constructing a massive cannon designed to wipe an entire city. Sure enough, Giacomo and his allies manage to overrun the Doge's forces, capture his cannon, and take the city for themselves. However, things are hardly over for Giacomo...
(If a child could win this battle, then the Doge's force must really suck)
And with that, the Vinci campaign comes to a close and the Alin campaign begins. As a result of the diversion, the Doge destroys Miana with a second cannon (really? couldn't he just use both to fight Giacomo at his capital and end the fight there?) and heads out into the Alin desert. During an ambush, Giacomo and his forces are saved by an old friend of his named Arri. After the battle is over Arri takes Giacomo to see the Alin king...
(Enough sexual tension in the air, you need to cut it with a knife)
Employing the forces of the Alin, Giacomo, along with the aid Arri and previous heroes from the first campaign(except Lenora), set out to stop the Dark Glass Genie, Sawu. To do so, they need to recover the keys of Sand and Fire from their guardians (Dakla and Damanhur respectively) to reach Sawu's hidden city. More heroes end up joining Giacomo: Belisari, a Sand Walker (sort of a nomad), Pulitore, ex-soldier of the Doge who specializes in poisons, and Andromolek, a soldier who was once corrupted by Sawu before being saved by Giacomo. Once they get the keys and reach the hidden city, Giacomo and his forces fight Sawu and manages to free him from the corruption of a device similar to the one the Doge picked up. Speaking of, the Doge appears with his forces and compensating cannon to retrieve the device. Lenora appears with backup of her own and battle breaks out once more...
(MacGuffins makes excellent life savers)
And with that fight over, the Alin campaign ends and the Cuotl campaign begins. This starts off a bit interesting, as the combined forces of the Vinci and Alin start pushing into the Cuotl jungle together. Since the devices that keep popping up a few times in the last two campaigns, some research is needed to understand what kind of power has arrived in this world. Their combined assault on the first Cuotl outpost, with the aid of a shaman known as Yontash, reveal some interesting details on what to expect out of the Cuotl...
(You know its serious business when one of the cooler characters die)
Pretty grim beginning with Giacomo's scarring and Carlini's death, plus these appearances of the Cuotl 'gods'. Thankfully, Giacomo's inventing skills modified his walker and nows he's ready to take on the false gods. However, some trouble sets in. Apparently, the main god, Czin, the God of Death, has unleashed a plague of death further into the Cuotl jungles. Yontash is able to make a cure for the plague, but only has enough supplies to make enough for only half of the army. This leaves Giacomo with a choice: either bring the Vinci army or the Alin army. This is the only character choice that really affects which heroes you bring along with you, as well as which army helps you out in the last mission. This could have made for some interesting plot development, but I'll talk about that later.
Anyway, Giacomo is confronted by Kakoolha, the former leader of the Cuotl before the arrival of the false gods. The king aids Giacomo in his battles, which lead to the destruction of two more 'gods', the Goddes of Storm, Shok, and the Sun God, Xil. Then comes the final mission, as news arrive to Giacomo about Czin's new machine that is supposed to allow him to 'talk to the stars'. In short, bring about the end of the world. (Hm, wonder if something like this'll happen in December.) Anyway, the forces of the freeded Cuotl, plus whatever army you chose to use back near the beginning of the campaign, assault Czin's home and take out the 'god's machine...
(Not really the best idea to put in bottomless chasms.)
And that brings us to the end of the Rise of Legends campaign. Rather short, but still enjoyable.
Much of the plot connected the campaigns isn't that forced. It feels a bit natural for the events to progress as such. Character are defined enough for people to get behind the good guys and hate the bad guys. I just wish they game more of the minor hero characters more screen time in cutscenes. A little extra time could go a long way.
Much of the plot connected the campaigns isn't that forced. It feels a bit natural for the events to progress as such. Character are defined enough for people to get behind the good guys and hate the bad guys. I just wish they game more of the minor hero characters more screen time in cutscenes. A little extra time could go a long way.
Speaking of which, a few resources I read while looking up info on this game suggest that it is an unfinished product. Let me explain how this seems so insane when I put it into perspective: when it came out, it was considered a 'sleeper hit', where it was well-liked even after so many years of release. This was despite a good chunk of content missing from the game itself. From what I've read, the most that seemed to be missing was a fourth civilization, as well as a campaign for that civilization along with the other 3. In other words, if they actually took more time to flesh out the game, it could've made a bigger impact that it did when it was first released.
Still, I like the game as it is right now. Heck, I can still play it on my computer without too much difficulty. Its a fun, different kind of RTS from the ones of this day and age and could always use another look. By chance that you manage to find a cheap copy of it somewhere, go ahead and give it a shot. It'll definetly be a change of pace from all the FPS games out there.
Thanks for reading my first review. Until next time...
Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends is developed by Big Head Studios and published by Microsoft.
Special thanks go out to Nasika, the Youtube account where I got all the 'Rise of Legends' videos from
