Played the Rise of Nations demo today. I’ve had my eye on this game, since it’s by Brian Reynolds, one of my Favorite People. A game that combines Civilization-style technology research and diplomacy with Age of Empires-style overall gameplay could be delicious, like strawberry syrup on cheesecake. Unfortunately, the game plays more like filet mignon on cheesecake. The two “halves” of the game aren’t as integrated as I’d like – the “Civ” half runs much slower than the “Age” half.