Opinion of RoN

[Verto]

A friend of mine was talking about buying RoN and rekindled my interest. The only way to find out how good a game really is, is to ask those who play it. So, here I am.

How would you rate this game, overall? How would you rate the gameplay, the graphics, AI, etc.

Thanks in advance.

[One_Dead_Villy]

gameplay 10
AI 10
graphics 8
stability 6

[Adagio]

Gameplay: 9
- With tons of options to make the game play the way you want it to, you can't ask for much more
AI: 8
- I have changed the game to last 10+ hours... the AI doesn't like this change
Graphics: 9
- Couldn't be much better, without starting to require tons of resources

[Spac]

Story: 0
- No story at all.
Gameplay: 10
- Really good, refreshing real time strategy that isn't overly simple. Large Epic Battles. Games can take a while however in conquest mode with a hard computer. There are other victory options which can make it quicker.
Graphics: 10
- Although it seems to look like Age of Empires it is 3D. The effects are great, I love it when I reach the gunpowder age and smoke is all over the battlefield.
Single Player: 6
- You have the conquer the world compaign but this gets boring after a while. Although it is essentially completely replayable and you could have a different game everytime there is no story however to draw you into the game.
Multiplayer: 10
- Game gets really good when you play with friends I recently did a multiplayer game with my housemate vs 4 computers, was very fun.
Replayablity: 10
- The game has many customisation options for maps, and they are randomly generated. You can play certain ages and just stay in them also. which is good.
Stability: 8
- I havn't had any issues with the game which wern't related to one of my computers hardware. I recommend a 800mhz machine or above at least. There isn't any major copy protection that could really annoy you either unlike some other games who's legit cd's arn't readable.

[HeymlicH]

the best strategy game since alpha centauri. It somehow mixes real time and turn based strategy concepts. RoN is definitely better than Age of Empires/Kings and it is much much better than Civ3 (I'm not sure if I like it more than civ2 ). If you don't like strategy games too much it still has nice graphics. It is the game of the year. Buy it.

[Sarxis]

Originally posted by One_Dead_Villy
gameplay 10
AI 10
graphics 8
stability 6

I second this, except I rate stability as 8.

I've been lucky to not have as many problems with Gamespy as others.

[Lord_Zero]

Well the action when it gets to the modern age and forward blows. I prefer to play until the enlightment age. It's just there is so much upgrading and research in the game. Then with unlimited resources it's just throwing huge armies against each other non stop or get nukes and blast away.

[MattH]

I agree with Lord_Zero, the game is perfect until the MA.

If you like any RTS games, RON is for you, since it takes all the good features and combines them. However, you computer will make the most impact on your enjoyment.

[Signa]

The best strategy game RT since Starcraft and the best strategy game period since Civ2 and Advanced Wars.

[marc420]

As someone who normally avoids RTS games like the plague, what can you tell me about this game?

Would someone who prefers TB games like this game?

Does this game turn into the 'click-fest' that most RTS games seem to turn into? I prefer games that I can win because I think well, not games that I can win because I can click my mouse fast.

How does the AI do? In some RTS games, I've seen the game and the constant action taking up such computing power that the AI really can't think or keep up (Hearts of Iron was the worst of this). So does the AI for this game make it something that can be played single player, or is this a game that's only really for multi-player?

In short, for someone who bought Age of Empires, played it for a week or so and then gave up on it and has never played it since, is Rise of Nations something to look into?

[Rohag]

@ marc420

TBS Preference: It is far more likely a TBS gamer will find a way to play and enjoy RoN than many other RTS titles. The Europa Universalis games, including HoI, might be the exception, but RoN has a more tactical feel - somewhat like the Age games.

Click-Fest: RoN has a very wide range of game settings. It can be played as a mad click-fest or in a far more deliberate manner. You can pause the game and issue orders. It is, however, an RTS - don't let some of the reviews fool you.

AI: I don't think I've seen a better, more intelligent and convincing AI in any strategy game to date. Slowing the rate and increasing the cost of research (through settings you can adjust when setting up a game) will impair the performance of the AI. You can adjust by setting the difficulty up higher, but many players still find the "middling" difficulty settings a real challenge. The AI doesn't seem to cheat, but it does receive resource gathering bonuses on the two highest levels (six levels of difficulty are offered). I'm primarily a single-player type and have had scads of fun, particularly playing the Conquer the World campaign.

AoE Got Boring Fast: Yes, RoN is a game many TBS folks should investigate - best by playing the demo before shelling out a lot of money. If you don't like long downloads, the RoN trial version is on CGW's August issue's demo disc #229. I understand it also appeared in July on discs accompanying the following:
-PC Gamer
-Maximum PC
-PC Zone
-Computer Games Magazine

[LDiCesare]

As someone who normally avoids RTS games like the plague, what can you tell me about this game?

Would someone who prefers TB games like this game?

Some do, others don't.

Does this game turn into the 'click-fest' that most RTS games seem to turn into? I prefer games that I can win because I think well, not games that I can win because I can click my mouse fast.

I am not sure, but I can't play without using pause every 5 seconds. Actually, I can (ahd to finish a game of 25 minutes in less than 30 in order to catch a train), but that is not something I like. If you really like to think and ponder, this game will look like a clickfest. Probably thinking 30 seconds instead of 3 you would take the same decision, but I feel this game rushes the player, and I don't like this.

How does the AI do? In some RTS games, I've seen the game and the constant action taking up such computing power that the AI really can't think or keep up (Hearts of Iron was the worst of this). So does the AI for this game make it something that can be played single player, or is this a game that's only really for multi-player?

I've seen some lag in single player, so the ai may sometimes take some computing power, but then I hav'nt played that much...

In short, for someone who bought Age of Empires, played it for a week or so and then gave up on it and has never played it since, is Rise of Nations something to look into?

Do like I did: Buy it with the possibility of returning it. You can also get your hands on a demo. I haven't seen much more in the game than what was in the demo (more nations to choose from, but same gameplay mostly). I know I'll probably return it and get my money back unless my son wants the game.

[wilebill]

There is an excellent demo available from the official website at Microsoft. Make sure RON likes your graphics card before purchasing, info on issues with graphics cards also available on the official website.

Game gets five stars from me, however I too feel that the one on one game becomes less enjoyable with the dawn of the modern age. RON does tend to become boring after a couple of weeks, CtW simply does not appeal to me at all. I would have liked to see a campaign of some kind. Perhaps we will get one in the expansion pack if there is one.

[HalfLotus]

Stability issues are much better with patch 3...the online quickmatching system is as simple and easy as any Ive ever used, including Battle.net. Single player crashes are another story though.

[Joseph]

I played it for a month non stop. It's really good.