Largely and justly rewarded just three years ago, Rise of Nations knew how to renew the harsh genre of strategy by integrating a number of new features. Scalable strategic map, capture of enemy cities or conversion of neutral peoples, most of the ingredients which had given this exquisite taste to the recipe return today in another context and, if Rise of Nations drew its strength from a large number of nations but with minimal differences, Rise of Nations : Rise of Legends preferred for his part to favor diversity with certainly only three peoples, but three radically different peoples.
One for all, all against one
Three nations, three technologies but one and the same story, that of Giacomo, one of the recurring heroes of the adventure desperately seeking revenge for the death of his brother murdered by the Doge. Crossing three regions each populated by a very specific allied civilization, you will very quickly have to learn to master the strengths of each to achieve your ends and, as much to say it immediately, the road will be long before obtaining justice. From the Vinci relying on steam technology and taking their name from the genius especially fashionable at the moment to the Cuotl mixing Inca gods and extra-terrestrial energy, passing by the Alin, hermits of the desert and specialists in magic, the units will change from race to race and so will your approach methods. If the number of units per race then leaves us a little unsatisfied, the differences between them fortunately largely compensate for this lack by an obvious diversity and it will be necessary to learn how to use its resources well on the tactical map to develop its strategy. Rise of Nations players will then be navigating familiar territory and, for those new to the series, let's reassure them by specifying that the interface and the contextual aids are clear enough not to get lost and that's there one of the strong points of the game. Complete in its many possibilities, Rise of Legends is nonetheless accessible and even strategy beginners will get their kicks in just a few minutes. Assigning points between two battles then becomes child's play and only your strategic choices can overheat your brain.
Hero, city, army, technology, each of these criteria then has its own points, it's up to you to see how to allocate them or save them before you get into the field. The districts created on the conquered cities will thus give reinforcements on the neighboring territories, the technological points will make it possible to develop new units and those of army to reinforce your starting troops. If it is easy to quickly inflate the ranks by offering yourself a large number of soldiers, you can also risk accumulating your points during many battles to afford the absolute weapon, a single unit but with increased endurance. and especially to the impressive strike force. Non-linear in its choices, Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends is just as linear in its progress and, even if certain scenario objectives imply an ideal layout, it is still possible to choose your next battlefield on the map, then rush on the enemy or on the contrary favoring the complete conquest of the continent to garner even more tactical points and fortify his army before the final confrontation.
"We are on war time" (bis repetita)
Much more violent and impressive on the pitch, Brian Reynolds' new game does not lose its astonishing number of possibilities. So certainly we find in Rise of Legends the cogs of the genre with the management of resources and the construction of buildings to form units or increase storage capacities, but the options to enlarge your faction do not stop there and the attack will not always be the best solution (even if inevitable) to reign supreme over the lands of the game. Like its predecessor Rise of Nations, RoL indeed offers its share of neutral peoples just asking to be converted either by force, or for a fee at a rate fixed according to the commercial exchanges hitherto carried out with the people concerned, and each city thus redeemed or defeated will then expand your ranks, reducing at the same time the costs of development which are quickly excessive when centralized around only one capital. Claiming the favors of the intermediate cities between us and the target then becomes essential to impose its supremacy and weaken the enemy by taking back his secondary cities will only widen the gap even more to better bring him down with his own cards.
Quickly impressive after all these proudly acquired extensions, the armies then quickly fill the screen for dynamic combat where the lighting effects of the Cuotl will replace the explosions of the previous peoples to convert the buildings into a shower of flames. Add to that super-powerful heroes with very specific abilities (healing units in a perimeter, weakening the walls of a city to launch the assault more quickly, bombarding an area, etc.) and a precise graphics engine displaying lush, undulating vegetation downwind and you have a beautiful Rise of Legends. The only regret is that if the zoom level makes it possible to appreciate each unit in full screen, on the contrary, it is sorely lacking in perspective even with the so-called wide camera. We are then a long way from THQ's Supreme Commander and its stunning aerial view, and scrolling from one end of the map to the other to select an entire army will take a little longer than usual. Rest assured, however, the keyboard shortcuts and quick action buttons allow the most skilled to compensate for this defect with impressive responsiveness, but are still reserved for specialists in the genre.
It's even better together
Already consistent in solo with its three successive campaigns and its many side quests even allowing you to obtain new heroes, Rise of Legends takes on a whole new dimension in multiplayer. With a good forty cards and especially all the units automatically available unlike the campaign mode which requires them to be unlocked, the online confrontations are even more impressive and above all the other players will be for the most part tougher than the AI too weak in the game. Playable individually or in teams of up to 4, we find the diplomacy system to ensure temporary alliances, a customizable truce system at the start of the match to define a period dedicated to construction and formation of his army before the authorized confrontations, and the most deceitful often emerge victorious from these online matches where you have to know how to turn around at the right time. The system of cities captured throughout the maps indeed allows good turnarounds and the first parties are rarely the first to arrive. Easy to access and offering generally fast matches (which is not a luxury for the genre), Rise of Legends surprises with its dynamism and we are surprised to chain the games without seeing the clock ticking. A reference that has just offered its publisher to prolong the ecstasy.
