Bigger And Huger - Rise Of Nations: Extended Edition

It's been ages since I played Rise of Nations, but my memories - admittedly not adjusted for the ye moderne days of nowe - tell me it was fantastic, beautifully expansive RTS. Back in those days, Big Huge Games a) existed and b) made brilliant strategies instead of sprawling fantasy RPGs that tried their best only to get chewed up and spat out by the ugly gears of the gaming industry. And Rhode Island. Rise of Nations: Extended Edition is being handled by Skybox, the same folks who brought us Age of Mythology: Extended Edition, which Alec liked quite well. The feature set is similar, too: better graphics, Steamworks integration, Twitch support, etc.

Well that sure was a gameplay-free trailer of a game that's had gameplay footage readily available since 2003, but I digress. In addition to Rise of Nations proper, you'll also be getting the Thrones and Patriots expansion, which brings new nations, governments, and campaigns to the ages-spanning dance.

But what, exactly, is extended about that? Nothing, honestly. So here's the new stuff:

• Improved Visuals
  • Improved water
  • Improved textures
  • Full-screen anti-aliasing
• Full Steamworks Integration
  • Multiplayer with ranked matches (ELO)
  • Achievements
  • Trading Cards
  • Cloud saves
• Extended Features
  • Twitch Integration

Rise of Nations: Extended Edition will be out on Steam next month. Does that information get a rise out of you? Or have your tastes since become too civilized for strategy from Barbarian Year 2003?