Most expansion packs add new content to fill in the empty spaces or to fix or add features to a game that has noticeable and notable shortcomings - Thrones and Patriots is not one of those kinds of expansions. Big Huge Games' real-time/turn-based hybrid grand scale strategy game was near perfect to begin with and Thrones and Patriots adds nicely to that perfection with new content including campaigns, races, a handful of units and a government system. The expansion fits in nicely with the original game and doesn't do anything that would knock its perfection off balance at all.
Thrones and Patriots brings six new nations into the fold - the Americans, Dutch, Lakota, Persians, Iroquois (growing up in upstate New York I have to say I have had my fill of these long-house dwelling Indians) and Indians (from India). The new races have various pluses and minuses that have to be taken into account when playing in various campaigns, but they fit in nicely with the 18 races already in the game. Each new races has some special talent that can come in handy: the Iroquois are "invisible" in their own territory; Americans get aircraft fighting power and enhanced science abilities (handy during those tough times when war is a necessary evil); Lakota are experts in using Calvary; Indians can build very quickly; the Dutch are masters of trade; and the Persians are civilization building experts.
The game also serves up a new line-up of some 20-odd units, three brand new wonders to build and- one of the most notable features - the inclusion of Governments. Governments come in various flavors including republic, democracy, communism, and despotism. What's nice about the government system is that it fits in nicely with the gameplay and provides some extra options for players but doesn't change the flow of the game.
Of course there are other goodies in the game that we should mention like ultra powerful rewards for advancing technology in the form of unit benefits. As players advance technology to a high level they get the chance to choose one of six special and powerful units that offer a variety of benefits including military, economic, etc. The good thing about these special unit rewards is that they can provide strength where once was slight weakness. A player that has focused on the domestic side of things can get some help on the military side by making the proper choice and likewise, a military-focused society can get some domestic help by making the right choice. Overall these new additions can help players change the focus of their civilization in positive ways.
And what would an expansion be without brand new campaigns? Not much of an expansion obviously. Thrones and Patriots brings to the table four brand new lightly historical campaigns (conquest style) featuring histories' greatest conqueror heroes and world superpowers in a variety of campaigns that aren't just about conquest by traditional means. The campaigns are based on such legendary figures as Alexander the Great and Napoleon, and on major events history like the Cold War struggle between the Americans and the USSR or that conquest of the New World. In some of these campaigns you find yourself beating the clock in a bid to take control of Europe; taking on the USSR using espionage and diplomacy - while avoiding causing an all-out nuclear war; or donning the role of the little Emperor Napoleon as you storm across Europe in a limited number of turns. Each campaign provides a unique set of challenges, but offers a more bite-sized style of gameplay that players of the original game will surely appreciate.
These new campaigns have a tighter focus than the original game and really work hard to make players feel like they are struggling in the regions they claim to be in. Some of these new campaigns even feature new elements that are distinctive to its theme offering a more customized play session than plain old vanilla RoN. The new campaigns are good unique bites of some of histories' most exciting moments and RoN players are going to eat it up.
As we mentioned previously, all of these new features don't really change the overall decent presentation and play of the original game. Long-time players won't notice a distinctive change in the flow of the game, but they will notice the new options – in other words there's no flashing red sign that screams "new feature here", but these additions do affect gameplay in subtle and (in some cases) not so subtle ways. There's really nothing bad to say about Thrones and Patriots – sure the expansion could have been used to fix a few minor bugs, but Big Huge Games obviously focused on new features and campaigns, rather than building a "patch you have to pay for." We think they made the right choice. If you ate up the original game then you'd have to be some kind of moron to not rush out and purchase this expansion pack – if you haven't already.
