With Brian Reynolds at the helm, the Big Huge Games team is back on track after the great success with Rise of Nations. A spectacular torrent of fantasy and creativity. Rise of Legends is here.
Microsoft can boast of being a true sponsor of the strategy in real time. On the one hand, Ensemble Studios and its classic Age of Empires saga. On the other, the Big Huge Games studio , which on this occasion deals with a new release of Rise of Nations . In this second installment, history gives way to a spectacular torrent of fantasy and creativity. Rise of Legends is here.
With Brian Reynolds at the helm, the Big Huge Games team is back on track after the great success with Rise of Nations. The compendium of good ideas embodied in the field of real-time strategy once again becomes a solid and safe starting point for Rise of Legends.
Surely the components of Big Huge Games began designing the game from two compelling premises. The first one I told you about. The second was to break with the current dynamics in strategy games like Build & Battle. As you can imagine, fulfilling the second condition in terms of playability would mean a step forward long expected by lovers of the genre. However, the breath of fresh air provided by Rise of Legends is measured in terms of artistic design.
Neither more nor less than three great nations , civilizations, races or as devils we want to call them. A magic number that so many joys produced in the past thanks to the classic and still current Starcraft . And what most attracts the attention of such nations are their remarkable differences, both at the level of design and in strategic terms. And go, without wanting to enunciate the authentic strength of the game that we analyze today.
Once upon a time there was an imaginary planet (and I do not mean the long-awaited program of TVE2) called Aio , where the moment comes when three nations come together; each of them has a completely different source of power, serving as a great specialization factor for each one.
The Vinci nation owns the secret of the great projects of Leonardo Da Vinci, mechanical designs that he outlined while resting from creating his famous code. Its industrial structures are full of gears, pipes, steam engines and all kinds of mechanisms. Contemplating its cities is visually spectacular, in the same tone of the whole game. It is the perfect nation to start in the game.
On the other hand is the Alin nation . Inspired directly in the tales of The Thousand and One Nights, this amalgam of desert nomads and mystical creatures. Its power comes from magic, necessary to summon bugs like scorpions or giant snakes. Again I have to review the exquisite taste of graphic designers, showing us some floating palaces with great detail. Its greatest asset lies in the rapid attack - do you remember the Zerg rush? - and the massive grouping of troops.
The last to arrive-in every way-are the Cuotl . They reach the planet Aio from outer space, and their intentions are not peaceful at all. These aliens have taken the form of Aztec and Mayan gods, and have managed to recruit a whole tribe of natives, take them out of the jungle and grant them power. Their maximum need is the energy they get through the construction of reactors. It may be the least accomplished nation artistically speaking, although it will be the most powerful nation for sufficiently experienced players.
At Rise of Legends it is just as important to procure resources with speed and efficiency, as to expand our territories and form a balanced army. However, the economic section has been simplified, leaving only two resources at stake. The first is the timonio , basic mineral for the construction of structures. The second varies between the wealth of the Alim or the Vinci, and the energy of the Cuotl. Trade must be promoted to obtain wealth, while energy will be more complicated to produce. It will take more time to accumulate it, but it gives the Cuotl a destructive power greater than that of the other two nations.
The method to expand our domains and technological advance are nailed to those of Rise of Nations. We can not found cities, but convert or capture them. Exclusive technologies of each nation are investigated. The territories are key, since they give strength to our units and weaken the enemies. Everything will be very familiar to fans of the previous chapter of the saga.
The heroes will be the main protagonists of the campaign, and will have a great weight at the time of decanting the game to one or the other side. As usual, they will gain experience and acquire special skills. But above all, they will be most spectacular graphically. The robot that commands Giacomo, the great djinn of the Alin or the Mayan gods Cuotl are good examples.
A priori, we have three nations that have absolutely nothing to do with a fantasy world. It was quite difficult to get them to mesh with each other, although such a feat is demonstrated in the single-player campaign. Basically, the argument puts us in the shoes of Giacomo, leader of the Vinci. We witness the death of his brother at the hands of the Doge, general of a different faction within the Vinci. From there, Giacomo will face this faction, later he will fight with the altered Alin and finally he will ally with the arabesque nation to eradicate the serious threat posed by the newcomers Cuotl.
The truth is that we expected much more from the single player campaign. The argument, as you see, is quite busy - without going any further, Warcraft III proposed a very similar script. On the other hand, the missions are practically imposed on us, moving away from the freedom granted us by the Conquer the World mode of their predecessor Rise of Nations .
In this mode, we basically move along a board divided into RISK-style regions, and we are conquering one by one by executing different missions. The existence of the storyline limits the free will at the time of moving through the board. At least we have a variety of missions, such as defending a territory, rescuing prisoners or guarding other characters. Varied but quite typical.
The next game option is skirmish . In it we discovered a good template of predefined maps of all possible sizes. Here we can verify that the AI of the game plants well its defenses but is not capable of attacking our weak points. In general, it offers a good level and will resist, but it usually sin of conformism when it comes to taking the initiative, something very common in this type of games.
Unsurprisingly, the multiplayer mode is what raises the valuation of Rise of Legends several points. While disappointed in its release thanks to the bulk of bugs and bugs it provided, a turbo-patched has fixed things.
Thus, the multiplayer offers a clear, simple and direct interface. A good number of maps, a few statistics and a fast starting system that finally lives up to its name. This is where we can see the impressive balance achieved between the three races, a rounder even rounder than the original Starcraft -recordad that was its expansion that achieved perfection-.
Big Huge Games started from scratch when it came to creating the Rise of Legends graphics engine . Once finished, we must admit that they fit well, quite well. The engine offers the two most searched words by an application of such characteristics: power and versatility . And it is that we can scale with a lot of precision the level of visual detail, achieving that almost any current user can enjoy the game. That yes, although in the lowest levels of detail the game runs very well, the maximum quality seems to me too demanding , denoting lack of optimization at such levels.
And on the graphics itself, then there is little to say except admire the screens or better, the game in motion. Each type of unit offers a very successful design, and at the same time different in each nation. While some units are not quite well animated, the environment and structures offer a level of detail far superior to that of any game of its characteristics.
On the buildings I have already mentioned your exalted level before; the modularity of the cities allows the display of the graphic engine. Also highlight both the different types of scenarios and the effects (explosions, climatic effects, depth sensation ...). It has achieved a very remarkable implementation , at the height of the outstanding artistic design
Regarding the sound , a very good news and another much worse. The good news is that the soundtrack is of real luxury . The main melody of each nation will stick quickly, besides being able to listen to a good selection of epic scores that accompany like a glove to the action.
Unfortunately, the sound effects are insufficient for the large amount of gadgets and creatures that the game contains. They miss personalized sounds for each unit and much more forcefulness in the moments of more noise. Far below the soundtrack. Of course, the dubbing into Spanish of the dialogues offers a very professional intonation.
To begin with, the interface of the game is quite simplified, but efficient one hundred percent . We have all the orders at hand and the screen is quite clear, offering us a wide panoramic view of the terrain. From this they could learn other games of their kind. Undoubtedly, an example to follow; Sometimes, the simple is the most effective.
Rise of Legends has a playable base very similar to Rise of Nations. However, the big difference is that there are only three nations to choose from. And they are not any nations, of course. Each of them offers its own and different design, and what is more important, a different way of playing.
The Vinci start strong, they expand easily but do not advance too much in their offensive power. If we like to practice the rush and wear that cause continuous waves of attack, the Alin are our allies. But if our tactics are conservative and patient, the Cuotl will reward our elaborate strategy with ultimate supremacy.
However, when we definitely notice the great work of Big Huge Games is in the course of the multiplayer games. When we discover that a certain unit is perfectly countered with the defensive system of another of the nations, when we see that the initial rage of hundreds of Alin mercenaries can be defended by the Cuotl if we create enough turrets, or when we make the rapidity of supply of the Vinci be history by harassing its facilities with sacred coffers. In short, a whole world of strategies to discover and a long life for your multiplayer.
conclusion
Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends (PC) Rise of Legends is a worthy successor to Rise of Nations. With a similar philosophy, choosing to reduce the number of races to three has provided a lot of depth to each nation, granting us a different way of playing with each of them. An optimal balance between nations and a design brimming with imagination means that, without being any innovation in the field of strategy, it is worth playing again and again until you master the creatures of Aio's world. Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends (PC) Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends (PC) A pity that the product down some whole due to his disappointing one-player campaign, which we expected more, as well as an AI too conservative and predictable Despite its negative points, Rise of Legends is a must for any real-time strategy lover. Manual Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends (PC) The script is made up of 38 pages in full color, where we explain the basic rules of the game , as well as the general characteristics of the three nations, the controls and the game modes. It is functional but not too complete, since in many cases it comes as a reference to a PDF file that is included in the CD-ROM of the game. Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends (PC) Links - Official website.- Concept Art of the game: it's worth it. - The artistic design. To remove the hat.- The graphic implementation and the scalability of the engine.- The optimum balance between races.- The multiplayer, once patche Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends (PC) The worst - One player mode offers no replayability. - The history of the three nations remains incomplete . Expansion in sight? - The high level of detail is too demanding. - The AI of the CPU is improvable. - The price is very high.
The best
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- The artistic design To take off his hat.
- Single player mode offers no replayability.
- The multiplayer, once patched, of course.
- The high level of detail is too demanding.
- The price is very high.
- The optimal balance between races.
- The AI of the CPU is improvable.
- The history of the three nations is incomplete. Expansion in sight?
- The graphic implementation and the scalability of the engine.
- Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends (PC) Worst
- legends / darwin
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Game of remarkable finish that we will enjoy and remember. A good purchase, highly recommended for lovers of the genre. It is well cared for at all levels.