Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots

Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots
Developer(s)	Big Huge Games Westlake Interactive (Mac) SkyBox Labs (Extended Edition)
Publisher(s)	Microsoft Game Studios MacSoft (Mac)
Designer(s)	Brian Reynolds
Series	Rise of Nations
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X
Release	NA: April 27, 2004[3] EU: May 21, 2004[1][2] Gold Edition WW: October 28, 2004 (PC) WW: November 2004 (Mac)[4] Extended Edition June 12, 2014[5]
Genre(s)	Real-time strategy
Mode(s)	Single-player, Multiplayer

Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots is the official expansion pack to the real-time strategy video game Rise of Nations. The game is the second in a series of Rise of Nations games by Big Huge Games.^[6] Thrones and Patriots had its premiere release for Microsoft Windows on April 27, 2004 in North America,^[3] and was later bundled up with Rise of Nations as the Gold Edition, which was released for Windows on October 28, 2004, and for Mac OS X in November 2004.^[4] Rise of Nations: Extended Edition was released on Steam on June 12, 2014 and includes both the original game and Thrones and Patriots with updated graphics and Steamworks integration for multiplayer.^[5][7]

Thrones and Patriots expanded on a variety of features in the original game, such as new monuments (called "Wonders"), nations, governments, and campaigns.^{[8][9][10][11]} Gameplay still remains similar to Rise of Nations, with its wide span of ages and players still manage and expand their nations at the macro and micro levels.^[12] However, Thrones and Patriots has campaigns which offer more turn-based strategy features than the original and the ability to make decisions outside of combat. Up to eight players can play in multiplayer matches, with artificial intelligence being able to fill slots at the server host's choice.^[10]

Tim Train, executive producer of Thrones and Patriots, stated that various features were added to the game in an attempt to balance gameplay, including the addition of armed caravans and merchants.^[13] IGN claimed that Thrones and Patriots is "a great game [which] gets better," in reference to its predecessor Rise of Nations and other critical reviews also praised many features of the game, though some noted deficiencies.^{[9][10][14][15]}