Needless to say, it's been a while. Many things have changed since those simple days, I no longer have the free time I once had, nor is my PC as powerful, or as functional, as it once was. So, in the spirit of last year's RYLreview, I have once again enlisted the aide of a roommate, this time PC gaming guru Robert. Unlike myself, Robert never stopped playing PC games. And ever since overcoming a recent World of Warcraft addiction, real-time strategy games have once again become his genre of choice. Given our collective affinity for RTS titles, not to mention Robert's quite-capable computer, it only seemed natural we team up to tackle Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends.

What we found was an incredibly polished and creatively designed real-time strategy game. The creativity inherent in just Rise of Legend's visual direction is immediately refreshing. Each of the three playable races have their own distinct look, and it's not just a slight color variation or a minor cosmetic difference that separates them from each other, let alone anything featured in other RTS titles. It's something that extends down to the very design of the units themselves and the abilities thereof, and since each race has a wildly different premise, their respective troops are unique in not only look, but in functionality.

Though units may fulfill the same basic function in their respective armies, they do so in different ways. For example, the base soldier of the Vinci race, the Imperial Musketeer, is initially proficient in ranged attacks. Meanwhile, the Alin equivalent, the Desert Walker, is instead proficient in melee attacks. Upgrades allow each of these units to become more skilled in their shortcomings, but these upgrades can take time and money that may not always be available.

It's a minor example, but it's meant to show that despite their differences, each of the three races work well together. The strengths of one complement the weaknesses of another, and vice versa. This has two implications, both positive. First, it means that if an army contains units from two separate races, as occasionally occurs in Campaign Mode, the differing strengths of the units come into play. And secondly, it means one must give some thought to these differing strengths when fighting another race.

The heroes likewise represent another fine-tuned balance. Throughout both Campaign Mode and Quick Battle, a number of heroes with a wide range of abilities will be available to the player. These heroes are stronger than the average unit, and tend to last longer in battle as well. But whereas some games will allow a player to rely on their hero as they cut through enemy unit after enemy unit, essentially fighting the entire battle themselves, the heroes found in Rise of Legends aren't that powerful. That's not to say heroes are useless, they're actually quite useful, but thanks to some smart decisions regarding their power and ever-rising cost of summoning a hero, players will need more than just a few heroes to win a battle.

A major factor in these battles are the mercenary units and neutral sites scattered across the battleground. These sites can then be hired by the player or captured by force, though capturing by force results in the death of the mercenaries that may have otherwise proved useful. Either way, the extension of a player's control these neutral sites provide is handy, as are the additional resources and troops they can provide. Much like with the heroes, use of these neutral sites doesn't guarantee victory, but they can turn the tide of battle at a critical point.

Another factor is the concept of attrition. In short, attrition means occupied territories, such as bases, are inherently damaging to enemy troops. Merely being in said area will cause them damage, and the same will occur if the player throws troops at the opponent's base. Troops and objects that create a sphere of protection against affinity can be created, but these take additional time and resources, and must be protected. In other words, players can't mindlessly swarm an opponent's base with troops to keep them busy, as attrition will cause these troops to be exceedingly weak and generally useless in battle. Instead, one must strategically execute their assault, carefully protecting troops from attrition and ensuring the attrition-repelling troops are likewise protected.

In terms of single-player gameplay, Rise of Legends offers Campaign and Quick Battle play. Campaign sets up a story that takes place across three acts, with each portion focusing on one of the three races. Tying together each mission is the Strategic Map, which requires the player to capture, maintain, and defend territory. For those that have played Diplomacy or Risk, the Strategic Map is somewhat reminiscent of the classic board games. Players move around a map filled with neutral and hostile territory, and capturing each territory requires a battle. Opposing forces in neutral lands generally consist of mercenaries, resulting in shorter battles than those with the enemy forces and heroes in hostile lands. Once captured, the territory can then be fortified with defenses against enemy invasion and can also research upgrades for the player's troops.

What's really neat about the Strategic Map's concept of a persistent world is the sense of accomplishment and progress it instills. Upgrades researched on the Strategic Map are permanent, there's no need for the player to continually research along a set skill tree at the beginning of each battle. Players are able to customize the starting army they'll begin each battle with, and even cooler, players can receive reinforcements of troops and cash depending on the location of the battle. The various options of the Strategic Map also help to provide a break from the linear nature of most real-time strategy games, adding something to break up the tedium of battle after successive battle, and also providing a bit of replay value in the process. Oh, and there's just something intrinsically satisfying about creating and maintaining a massive empire.

On the same note though, the Strategic Map isn't all that complex or time-consuming. It's a nice aside to the game's battles, but the primary focus of the game is still on the battles themselves.

These battles are another area where Campaign Mode shines. There's a wide variety of objectives to each battle, with aggressive goals, such as capturing a base or destroying a specific object, and defensive scenarios, such as defending a piece of land, escort missions, and even a rescue operation, coming into play. In other words, it's not just the same "destroy an enemy base" mission repeated as nauseam.

Our only complaint against Rise of Legends is that the three playable races don't spend much of Campaign Mode fighting against each other. For all the balancing that went into each of the races, it's disappointing that more time isn't spent pitting them against each other.

But that's what Quick Battle is for. Whereas Campaign Mode provides a variety of different criteria for victory, Quick Battle focuses solely on the capture of an opponent's base. Each side starts with almost nothing, and only by embracing a race's strengths, using the advantages of the map, and exploiting an opponent's weaknesses will victory follow. As with the Campaign Mode, heroes, mercenaries and neutral units prove helpful towards this cause, but only when combined with intelligent utilization and some backing troops.

For all its polish, we did note an odd glitch during our time with Rise of Legends that rendered the troops mounted on top of vehicles and creatures invisible. Thankfully this doesn't affect gameplay, it's a purely cosmetic glitch, but still merits a mention. Also, despite the presence of a Multiplayer Mode, we were unable to test it due to issues with the speed and reliability of our internet connection.

The more we played of Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends, the more we liked. 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. And with a variety of objectives during Campaign Mode, not to mention the replay possibilities of the Strategic Map, it doesn't feel like just another tired real-time strategy game. Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends feels new, fresh, exciting, making it all the more appealing to both those that forsook the genre long ago and those that never left.