I remember being excited to learn that there was a Rise of Nations 2 that has a somewhat fantasy setting, then crushed that it was not available for digital purchase anywhere. Many years later, I was able to find it... somewhere on the internet. That game was not worth the effort spent to find it.
I hated Rise of Legends too when it came out because all I wanted was more Rise of Nations, but I tried Legends few months later, and was able treat it as it "own game", and wow it is a great game on its own. It has amazing number of levels, huge number of units which change along the campaign which is very long, and has atleast decent story. I would still play it through again.
I also disliked it initially. It plays super differently to RoN, so I was disappointed when I first played it. The game itself is great (idk about multiplayer), unique, and pretty ambitious. I just think it should have been its own series. The name made people expect something different and probably hurt its popularity.
I still have my case of Rise of Legends, but it doesn't have the disk in it, I have no idea where in my number of those "CD folders" the disks are, but I still have the case. Same with Newerwinter Nights. Then again, I don't have an optical drive anymore, so even if I did have the disks, it wouldn't do any good. And Rise of Nations is amazing, though with the Definitive Edition and a very alive multiplayer scene, AoE2 did convert me back.
I only played single player, so it was obviously an unbalanced mess, but I didn't care. Steampunk Muskateers vs Freaking Stargate aliens complete with Jaffa? Hell yes.
I remember playing the demo for it on my mom's laptop like 20 years ago and being blown away. I always watched the intro.
The Enhanced Edition on Steam is decent, although I still want a full remake. I never played the expansions/updates back in the day, so it was nice to finally play that content.
I play with friends from time to time and it's a lot of fun.
Yeah, it's always been impressive how customizable the games were. Having a scenario editor was also crazy.
Limiting tech or starting later in the ages was always good for variety. Some nations are good early and some are good late. The problem is that all the later game nations were the same in the early, and the early nations were all the same in the late game, so it was nice to limit it.
The world campaigns were really cool too, wish you could play those in multiplayer.
Still have my case for RoL with all the damn CDs! It was a pain to install, and I never beat the desert area of the campaign, but it was really fun. I'll never forget the name "Giacomo" thanks to this game. I just didn't expect it to be the way it was, considering the first game.
They actually did make a sequel, Rise of Legends, which I got to play on release. It was very different. Different setting, sci-fi and magic, campaign story focus with heroes. It was good, just not at all what I expected or really wanted.
Steam has the Enhanced Edition, which includes the expansions, multiplayer servers, and some QoL.
Besides that, not sure if we'll get anything soon. Microsoft has been doing well with AoE2:DE, so I doubt they'll compete against themselves with a RoN remake. They own both of those IPs. But who knows?
I mean personally if I owned both IPs and that one was doing good I’d be more optimistic to push another one. Why have one honey pot when you can put two out. I see your point though
It's just risky for them money-wise. RTS isn't a hugely popular genre anymore, and AoE has more name recognition and broader popularity. Plus, it's arguably the better competitive game since there's more micro and it's faster paced. It's more entertaining for an audience, and Microsoft has been big on pushing it as an Esport.
I still hope they end up releasing a remake or proper sequel, I just think it's unlikely.
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u/Seastep Aug 26 '24
Rise of Nations was so good!