Your objective, therefore, becomes more about capturing cities as opposed to burning them to the ground or building more than a few from scratch. As such, your aim is to soften the political centers by assimilating the population of the urban sprawls you take over while holding your position with armed infantry. Unlike its turn-based predecessors such as CivII and Alpha Centauri, you must capture one building at a time within a city which then allows you to inject the influences of your empire's philosophy, religion, science and culture. The payback for all this work, besides confusing your parents or significant others who care to watch you at your craft, is to gain all the territory and resources within that come with city capture. While there was some consideration in earlier turn-based empire building simulations to capturing the minds of citizens as well as the borders that encircle them, it has never been thrust more to the forefront of playing strategy as it is in Rise of Nations. The game's name itself encapsulates the fact that the might of the heart as much as the sword has directed the rise – and fall – of peoples vying for supreme dominance of the planet.
GENERAL GAMEPLAY GARB
Now there is another reason to discard your watch other than the fact that you're hunkering down by your computer for the night. Game time in RoN is not measured in “real-time”… you can stop furrowing your brow in confusion anytime now. This is to say, the idea of 'one minute in the 'real world' equals X years in the game world' is not present here. Rather, the way you as a player go about your business drives the pace of gameplay. Unless stagnation and an early exit is your cup of tea, you are seeking to move your civilization on from one age to the next at an increasingly speedy rate. In drawing on an example put forth by Reynolds, a normal match starts in the 'Ancient Age' gradually advancing to the 'Information Age'. Here, a player's level of technological advancement acts as a compass of where the game is at. On that note, when commencing a round you can preset your preference to slow, medium or fast if the said “normal” speed is not to your satisfaction.
In multiplayer mode, your options in this capacity notably broaden. 'Cannontime' is apt to become a popular avenue for those looking for a tangible taste of turn-based stratagems in an otherwise real-time venue. To use Reynolds' words, it installs a “super slow motion effect” where each player has a certain number of these activations they can execute per game. It slows down the passage of time considerably for everyone for a pre-determined 'real world' period of time. While some may question the appropriateness of this selection, it allows players to manage their economies without engaging in a battle simultaneously. For those who thrive under time pressure, you will be pleased to know that you can elect to disable 'Cannontime' completely. The only problem to anticipate is getting every player to come to a consensus on the topic at the outset.
Also in multiplayer, look for the even more radical “Free Pause” ability. Here, even though it is a multiplayer game any player can pause as much as they want and can issue orders while the game is paused to eliminate time pressure.
BY LAND, BY SEA, BY AIR: OVERVIEW
As fans of the Civilization series are already aware of from their gaming experience, military advances are directly associated with the progression through the technology tree. Ground, air, and sea units are present throughout the course of Rise of Nations (the latter two being introduced at 'appropriate points' as the Ages of gameplay march on).
Rise Up: Reynolds On RoN 
