Microsoft's PC line-up

Inc. Rise of Nations sequel.

News by Tom Bramwell Former Editor-in-Chief

Updated on 12 May 2005

With Microsoft's Xbox and Xbox 360 E3 plans set to become a lot more apparent later tonight (see here), the company's PC division has taken the opportunity to spit out its own line-up of Windows-based games for the show, and it's certainly a promising catch.

Headlining must surely be Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends from Big Huge Games, which is announced as part of the E3 line-up. Other previously announced titles include fellow RTS Age of Empires III, and RPGs Dungeon Siege II, Fable: The Lost Chapters and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes - the latter being an MMORPG from Sigil Games Online, at the heart of which lurk a number of EverQuest veterans.

To get back to Rise of Legends, though: it's the successor, obviously, to Rise of Nations, and "promises to reinvent the RTS genre once again". Although presumably it's the team promising that rather than the game itself. Unless the AI's really excellent or something.

Once again it's a fight between the forces of Magic and Technology, throughout "towering cities, flame-swept deserts and brutal ice blains" with lots of mystical creatures attacking espresso makers and car stereos or, perhaps, war machinery.

Naturally there'll also be a multiplayer mode and Microsoft is promising some decent clan support too. The Conquer The World campaign returns - with new heroes, monsters and so on - and more details should be available on the website.

You can find the full line-up below, with details and shots available through our search engine.