What's Ahead: While we had a chance to sit down with the game at E3 and play a multiplayer game, Rise of Nations isn't due until the middle of next year, and there's plenty left to finish. Certainly, the game's balance and pacing is one element that will be worked on until the end, and while it was fun to play through the epochs of history at an accelerated pace, there's something artificial about covering thousands of years in 15 minutes. Also, the degree of automation, as well as having borders serve to prevent rushing, will appeal to some players more than others.

Part of the appeal in a game like Rise of Nations is the sheer variety. There are 18 different civilizations, many of which have unique art for units and structures, 150 units, and more technologies than a player could research in a single game. There's a dynamic single-player campaign that lets the player fight territory by territory for global domination, much like in Risk or Shogun: Total War. The multiplayer game has even more options, from short games played at an accelerated pace to more involved long-term matches that can be saved at the end of a session. The number of historical units (from Roman legions to modern tanks) and the tactical intricacies of the combat system (including bonuses to maneuvers, like flanking) mean there's plenty that will be both new and familiar to fans of games like Age of Kings.