Return to Rise of Nations

The best RTS of its type has returned!  Yes, I speak of Rise of Nations.  No, not Age of Empires II which while great, is just not my favorite.  Rise of Nations is a compelling blend of RISK/Civilization world domination mixed with RTS gameplay so you get a blend of strategic and tactical gaming.  Beyond just that cool Conquer the World gameplay, within the game itself, you have fantastic concepts such as range of influence per city, visible trade routes, and so much more.  The game returned as an “Extended Edition” on Steam today – I didn’t mind rebuying it.  There apparently is a slight graphical update to it, although from what I’ve seen, it’s not very noticeable.  I think I saw that units have a slightly smoother animation.  But that’s almost besides the point – playing the game again is a wonderful and comfortable security blanket.  It originally came out in 2003 so it’s been awhile; still kind of shocking that a true sequel was never released.  I do NOT count Rise of Legends, as that game was a huge disappointment.  A Rise of Nations 2 was always a hope and dream but it never came to be. Le sigh.