Rise Of Nations: Rise Of Legends Gets Gold Plating

April 26, 2006 - The epic battle between technology and magic is about to begin – "Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends" for Windows has gone gold and is in position to ambush North American retail stores on May 9.

"Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends" morphs the real-time strategy (RTS) genre into the fantasy space, allowing gamers to rampage through towering cities, flame-swept deserts and brutal ice plains in battles filled with mystic creatures, fantastic machines and stunning acts of magic.

The RTS gameplay of "Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends" has been improved for a more rewarding experience – gamers have the choice of drawing out battles for multiple hours for the classic RTS feel or focusing on shorter, 20-minute, campaigns.

As the second installment of the "Rise of Nations" franchise, "Rise of Legends" also extends the gaming experience using a 3-D engine with dynamic lighting, deformable terrain, destructible buildings, ground-rattling earthquakes and massive armies locked in enormous strategic battles. "Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends" combines cutting-edge, industry-leading technology with awe-inspiring art design to create environments unlike anything ever seen.

Developed by Big Huge Games, "Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends" continues the innovative gameplay tradition established by the critically acclaimed and best-selling, "Rise of Nations," the best-selling RTS released in 2003 that garnered numerous Game of the Year awards, including GameSpot's Best PC Game of 2003 and PC Gamer's Best RTS of 2003.

In addition to being able to lead vast fantasy armies into strategic battles, "Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends" introduces a host of gameplay innovations that are unique to the RTS genre. Additionally, the popular Conquer the World (CTW) Campaign returns with fresh concepts that make each strategic decision critical to eventual victory over a constantly adapting enemy. The revamped and improved CTW Campaign immerses players in a land of magical armies and never before seen technologies in an epic battle to save the world against an ominous evil force.

About Big Huge Games

Big Huge Games was founded in February 2000 by four veteran game developers: Tim Train, David Inscore, Jason Coleman and Brian Reynolds. These founding partners, who together have brought strategy gamers such classic hits as "Civilization II," "Colonization" and "Alpha Centauri," share a common vision that they believe will enable them to surpass even these outstanding achievements.

About Microsoft Game Studios

Microsoft Game Studios is a leading worldwide publisher and developer of games for the Xbox and Xbox 360 video game systems, the Windows operating system and online platforms. Comprising a network of top developers, Microsoft Game Studios is committed to creating innovative and diverse games for Windows (http://www.microsoft.com/games), including such franchises as "Age of Empires," "Flight Simulator" and "Zoo Tycoon;" Xbox and Xbox 360 (http://www.xbox.com), including such games as the upcoming "Gears of War" and franchises such as "Halo," "Fable," "Project Gotham Racing" and "Forza Motorsport" and MSN Games (http://www.games.msn.com), the official games channel for the MSN network and home to such hits as "Bejeweled" and "Hexic."