This week's Critical Reception takes a look at a follow up to the popular
Rise of Nations in
Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends, developed by Big Huge Games and published by Microsoft.
Garnering a GameRankings.com
average of 82%, GameRadars' Matt Peckham
opines that Rise of Legends "'borrows' elements from several hits to create an extension, but not a reinvention. Take
Civilization's borders and attrition rates, mix in the Conquer the World campaign (think
Total War only not as deep), then add city districts, a trim two-resource economy and tactically distinctive heroes."
In scoring the game a balanced 80% he sums up, "
Rise of Legends is exactly what anyone craving an eclectic director's cut of
Rise of Nations could want, and just as playable, thanks in part to three well-balanced antagonists. If it's not terribly inventive, well, there's always
Rise of Nations 2, right?"
You can
read the full Gamasutra column for more, including reception from consumer review sites GameSpot and 1UP (no registration required, please feel free to link to this column from external websites).
