$20 Game of the Week: Rise of Legends (PC)

Rise of Legends is a sequel/spinoff of Big Huge Game’s Rise of Nations, which is one of my favorite PC RTS games. While it doesn’t stray too far from Rise of Nation’s formula, there are a few key differences in both the presentation and the gameplay. First of all, instead of a historical setting, ROL takes place on a fantasy world and tells a tale of 3 warring races: The Vinci are a steampunk style human civilization with mechanical units inspired by Renaissance painter Leonardo Da Vinci. The Alin are an Arabian-knights style group of creatures, magicians, and sorcerers. The Cuotl are a Meso-American inspired race of mythical creatures with advanced technology. You step in the role of an inventor out to avenge his brother’s death and finds something bigger going on, and the quest takes you through all three factions. The game’s factions include several hero units, and the 3D graphics give the game more impressive visuals.

Other than that, the gameplay will feel right at home for veterans of RON. The campaign makes use of a map similar the RON’s conquer the world campaign, and you’ll spend lots of time in battle researching and upgrading your tech tree. While Rise of Legends doesn’t reinvent the wheel, it is still an excellent RTS game, and it does a good job of following up Rise of Nations, even if its scope is scaled down in comparison.