Rise of Legends demo rises up Friday

Rise of Nations, released in 2003, allowed gamers to build a civilization based on real history, it was a critical success, and it won GameSpot's best PC game that year. So what does lead designer Brian Reynolds do with the sequel? He takes it to a whole new world, literally.

Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends abandons its predecessor's history book content in favor of a fantasy world. Instead of Shermans and jeeps, players will duke it out with dragons and genies, among others. The game also incorporates many sci-fi elements, including so-called "steampunk" technology.

The real-time strategy game may not be in stores until May 9, but GameSpot readers will be able to see how the new fantasy-laden Rise of Nations sequel fares on Friday. The game's single-player demo will premiere on GameSpot and be available for download at 9 a.m. PST.

http://www.gamespot.com/promos/2006/...g=rol_psbox_dl