Classic PC Strategy Game Rise Of Nations: Extended Edition Available For Major Discount

When it was first released in 2003, Rise of Nations was celebrated as an excellent mix between Civilization and Age of Empires. Nearly 15 years later, the PC game continues to appeal to RTS fans, with publisher Microsoft releasing the game on its own store with a huge discount.

For a limited time, the game's Extended Edition (which includes the game's expansion Thrones and Patriots and upgraded graphics) is just $5 on the Windows Store (75% off the regular price of $20). The same deal is available on Steam, and it's worth noting the Expanded Edition also allows cross-play between the Windows Store and Steam versions. The special pricing is available until September 28.

In 2014, Microsoft announced it had acquired the rights to Rise of Nations and re-released the game, following a series of set backs and the eventual folding of developer Big Huge Games. The Extended Edition's graphics are an improvement over the original; water and textures have been identified specifically as areas of improvement, and full-screen anti-aliasing has been added. When it first debuted, the game was celebrated for how well it expanded on the traditional RTS games of the time.

"Rise of Nations might resemble Microsoft's Age of Empires games at a glance--like other, similar games, it has a host of different civilizations (18, to be exact), each with unique bonuses and four to five unique units," wrote GameSpot's Elliott Chin in his 2003 Rise of Nations review.

"But beyond that, the game has a lot of depth, more so than other real-time strategy games, thanks to novel concepts such as national borders, city assimilation, and more."