New Nations rise, original's price falls

Microsoft and Big Huge Games have announced that they are hard at work developing Throne and Patriots, the upcoming expansion pack to Rise of Nations, the strategy game released earlier this year. The expansion pack will include six more new playable nations to the original game's total of 18, along with more than 20 new units, and new features, like the expansion's new campaigns and its government system. The government system will let each nation in the game determine for itself how it will be governed--a decision that will affect its development over the course of history. The new campaigns will include scenarios based on real-world historical engagements.

Rise of Nations: Throne and Patriots is scheduled for release in Spring 2004. For now, you can take a first look at the expansion in the screenshots linked to the right.

The publisher has also announced an official price drop on the original Rise of Nations, from its current suggested retail price of $50 to a price of $40, in time for the holidays. For more information about Rise of Nations, consult GameSpot's full review.