Rise of Legends

Platform: PC

Rating 2 1/2 out of 5 stars

I am a very avid RTS fan, but this is probably as low as I’ve seen the genre go. Rise of Legends is the sequel (but not expansion) to Rise of Nations. RoN was a very good, constantly entertaining game. RoL nearly ruined it’s predessecors reputation. You can use one of three different races, and a very good thing about them is that no two structures or units (except cities) are alike. I mean, if you build two sand circles they look the same, but races don’t share any units. The thing that made this game bomb, at least for me. was the campaign. I played through five or six levels and could no longer stand the monotony.

You might remember Warcraft III or Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds. I’ve been playing those for years and still love their campaign levels. They’re so creative, it’s just awesome. I played Legends for an hour and that was just it for me. Also, they went so low as to completely copy WCIIIs hero system! That personally ticked me off. If there is anything fun about this game, it would be, if possible, to play with a few allies, no enemies and with a huge board. Build cities without rushing yourself, trade with allies… If you think that’s strange, know that I play an intense Unreal Tournament game. Something it really shouldn’t lack is the “age” factor. You start the game, you have a civilization that doesn’t really evolve. In RoN, it’s cool to watch your chinese village turn into a modern death machine factory. The bottom line is that this really isn’t the game for you unless you just can’t get away from RTSs.