With 2005 coming to a close, Microsoft and Big Huge Games recently gave us an updated look at what figures to be one of the biggest real-time strategy games of 2006, Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends. The follow-up to GameSpot's 2003 PC Game of the Year already impressed the heck out of us when it was unveiled earlier this year, but we haven't seen the game since E3 in May, and lots of changes, we've learned, have been made since then.

　　The Vinci faction is a cool blend of Leonardo da Vinci's themes and steampunk.

　　Though it has the Rise of Nations name, Rise of Legends is a fantasy-based real-time strategy game set in a fictional world in which magic and technology are at war. The game has three fantasy-based factions, though Big Huge Games wanted to avoid the standard fantasy clichés of elves and dwarves and orcs. Instead, the two races that we know of are inspired by less obvious choices. For instance, the Vinci is a steampunk-inspired faction named after Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci, while the Alim is a desert fantasy-nation that takes quite a bit after Arabian Nights.

　　Big Huge Games came out of E3 excited for Rise of Nations, according to producer Tim Train, who was our tour guide for the latest look at the game. With that said, the developers realized they had an opportunity to further improve the things that people liked about the game, such as the uniqueness of the factions. For example, the Vinci have become even more stylized since E3. "The Vinci are all about inventions," Train said. "They're all about building a crazy, single-use, special prototype thing." To that effect, Train showed us some of the Vinci's new features, such as the prototype factory, which is a sort of research lab that can bestow special bonuses on the Vinci faction. Then there's Zeke, an experimental robot that can be created at the factory that looks like a lumbering contraption composed of different parts. The thing is, Zeke isn't just a powerful unit--he can transform into three different modes, including a scout mode that lets him move faster, or a siege form that lets him hammer on enemy defenses.

　　The Alim have also evolved quite a bit, and we learned some new details about this desert faction. For instance, on a per-unit basis, the Alim isn't as powerful as the Vinci. The Alim's magical units don't stand up well to the Vinci's ability to bring powerful war machines to the fray. What they lack in firepower, though, the Alim can make up in mobility. The Alim can create summoning circles behind enemy lines, which means that if you can get a couple units undetected in Vinci territory, they can create a summoning circle and summon free units to the attack. In this method, the Alim can hit their opponents often and from multiple directions.

　　Though not as powerful on a per-unit basis, the Alim still have some cool units, like dragons.

　　We got a chance to play a level of the game and learned more details. One is that neutrals will play a large role in the individual battles. For example, when you start a level, your territory will be surrounded by neutral territories, and you can attempt to conquer them by force, buy them outright for an expensive sum, or assimilate them peacefully. For example, to generate revenue, you must create caravans that travel back and forth on trade routes. If you trade with a neutral site, you'll discover that the purchasing price will slowly decrease over time. You can then purchase the neutral for a lower cost--or if you trade for a longer period, they'll just voluntarily switch over to your side. While this takes longer, the benefit is that you'll also inherit their standing military, which is a boost for your troops. So there's very much a cost/benefit thing going with this decision. If you try and conquer them early, you'll require military resources, and you won't get any in return. But, again, if you go for the peaceful assimilation, it'll take longer.

　　After you gain control over a neutral site, you'll be able to develop it. Some neutrals consist solely of a Timonium mine, which is the main resource in the game. Other neutrals might feature a town that you can develop into another city, which can be used to boost production. Or you might encounter a completely different type of neutral site, such as an oasis that heals friendly units near it. You can improve the oasis so that it has more hit points, as well as extends your borders.

Conquer the Fantastical World

　　The conquer-the-world campaign is a turn-based strategic layer that will let you choose where to attack next.

　　Combat also looks great, and we got to see some of the combined arms philosophy of Rise of Legends in action. Now, in conventional games, combined arms means tanks, infantry, and planes. To the Vinci, combined arms means infantry, clockwork men (think of them as giant mechanical golems), and weird flying machines. Infantry come automatically in groups, so you don't create a single infantryman, but rather recruit squads of them at a time. We started with lots of regular infantry, but upgraded them to grenadiers and gave them an attack bonus by researching the appropriate technology at the prototype factory. Infantry is the ultimate cannon fodder, though, so we backed them up with clockwork men, who pack a heavier punch. We even built a steam fortress, a sort of defensive structure that can also churn out units such as huge, lumbering tanks. Finally, to deal with the Alim's many flying units (dragons, djinns, and so forth), we created an aerodrome to churn out the Vinci's flying machines, all of which look like they were based on Leonardo da Vinci's elaborate drawings.

　　Train also spent a lot of time showing us Rise of Legends' conquer-the-world campaign, which has much-evolved since Rise of Nations. The conquer-the-world campaign is very much like a turn-based strategic layer for the game, and the main improvements in Rise of Legends are geared toward adding personality, story, and more depth to this mode. The game's story will have you follow the main character, Giacomo, as he battles towards victory, and the road to victory will be up to you. For example, if you succeed in the opening mission, you'll find yourself in control of a territory, and on the strategic map, you'll have three directions you can go in. To the north is a less defended territory that offers some certain rewards, but to the west are heavily defended provinces that offer greater rewards, such as the ability to recruit more soldiers to your permanent army, a group of units that carry over from mission to mission. The decisions you make will affect the way the game unfolds, so that should offer plenty of replaybility. For example, Train said that expert players might be able to blitz through the first continent in as few as seven moves, though most players will need to take more moves in order to explore the possibilities and pursue the side quests to get more rewards. Also, the greater your power base grows, the weaker the enemy's power base becomes; so you're increasing your odds of winning the longer you take. Ultimately, you'll defeat the first major opponent, the Doge, at which point you'll still follow Giacomo as he goes on to other lands, presumably to meet the Alim and the third, yet-to-be-revealed faction.

　　You must admit that this looks pretty darn awesome, doesn't it?

　　The graphics continue to look very good, and the Vinci's intricate clockwork cities are full of spinning dials and gears that convey a sense of power and sophistication. Train said that they've been steadily making improvements to the graphics by adding in new effects and support for new shaders. They're also keen on optimizing the game for older hardware, though we'll still have to wait to see how successful they are on that front. Still, Rise of Legends is looking really great right now, and we're looking forward to seeing what Big Huge can do with the game as it enters the final months of development. Rise of Legends is due out in the spring of 2006.