VIDEO GAME REVIEW More to conquer for 'Rise of Nations'

The expansion pack adds more nations to control and more historical events.
By JUSTIN HOEGER
SACRAMENTO BEE
Conquering the world is no easy thing, but it can be done in "Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots." "Thrones and Patriots" is an expansion -- it requires the original "Rise of Nations" to play, which runs for about $30 -- and it adds a huge amount of stuff to a staggeringly complex strategy game.
This version brings in six new nations to advance through the ages, including the Americans, the Iroquois and the Persians. These half-dozen join the original game's 18 nations, which covered the Aztecs to the Turks.
Each nation has its own bonuses, advantages and unique units. The Americans, for example, have the Power of Innovation, and can instantly build their first Wonder -- landmark creations such as pyramids or space programs that grant special bonuses to the nation controlling them.
The other big game-play addition is the Senate structure, and with it the ability to choose a system of government. Once again, each of these government types grants a special bonus, plus a unique military unit that acts as a general for the troops, each with its own powers.
Modes available
There are two main single-player modes. The most straightforward is a randomly generated solo game against the computer in which the player chooses a nation, tweaks the match's settings as desired and builds a civilization from scratch, starting in the Ancient Age and possibly ending up in the Modern Age, while going through everything in between.
Each side starts out with a small city and must construct buildings and gather resources such as wood, food, metal, and later, oil. Once more cities are built, caravans can move between cities and merchants can set up shop at pockets of rare resources to produce wealth -- taxes boost this as well but are the mark of a more advanced society.
The last resource is knowledge, and that can be gained only by populating universities with scholars. This is possibly the most important commodity in the game, because it not only allows the player to research higher technology levels of warfare, civics, commerce and science; it also allows a culture to leap into the next age.
Weapons capabilities
As a culture advances, so do its buildings and people. Military units must be individually upgraded, and they increase in cost as the game goes on. Ultimately, players can construct modern implements of war, even nuclear weapons, though the consequences of overusing those last are dire in the game -- go too far, and everyone loses.
As players expand and seek resources, clashes will of course occur. If a city is taken by the enemy, it is not destroyed. Instead, it remains on the map and is assimilated into the conquering culture over the course of a few minutes -- and it can be taken right back later on.
These cities are crucial to expanding a nation's boundaries, a sphere of influence in which that nation can build and gather resources. The game can be won by conquering the enemy's capital city or by controlling a vast majority of the map.
These concepts all apply to the game's other mode, "Conquer the World," in which players go through a series of prefabricated scenarios in an attempt to do just that. The original game had only a worldwide scenario; this installment adds a few historical personae and events.
Players can now take on the roles of Alexander the Great and Napoleon Bonaparte, conquer the New World, or play the deadly chess match of the Cold War. Lastly, a player may take the campaign to the Internet and wrestle human opponents for the fate of the world.
Complex play
The scope of the game is vast, and the number of things to keep track of, upgrade and deal with can be daunting -- it's easy, for example, to forget to build much of an army in the midst of researching better types of units for it.
"Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots" is really a huge semi-historical sandbox to play in. The visuals aren't the flashiest, but they're detailed, well-animated and distinctive.
The only real glitch comes from the shared unit types among cultures -- one doubts that the ancient Aztecs ever trained Greek hoplites for their armies, for example. This is a small thing in the face of the game's attention to detail, and there's more than enough here for any strategy buff.
X"Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots," by Microsoft, is rated T for teens.