Surprising doesn't begin to describe the in-house spin-off of Rise of Nations. Rise of Legends is a vastly different game, but fans of the former will recognize the quality and style of the team behind it is hard at work here. Big Huge has some big shoes to fill if they want to compete with the previous success, and even in Alpha status it's got a great deal going for it.

Rise of Legends is not Rise of Nations II. Though those waiting for an actual sequel should be pleased to hear that when questioned about a historical sequel to Nations, the dev team responded "We can't talk about it." This is apparent from the start of the game. First off, there is a huge setting difference. Gone are the dozens of nations vying for domination across the earth. RoL is about three races, each completely distinct and differently playing, fighting over a fictional world using steam works, elemental magic and more.

The game is far from completion, but it already looks and feels great. Only two of the three races were available to preview, but they were impressive enough on their own. The Vinci are mechanically-obsessed people named for Leonardo da Vinci who use gears and steam throughout all of the buildings and even some units. Their opposite is the Alim, whose name is currently labeled "in-progress". Alim are desert people whose cities float above the sand and whose units and buildings run by magical energies. These two races complement each other perfectly, and yet are utterly different. The diversity in races is actually reminiscent of classic StarCraft, where three groups in the same game can play and be controlled completely differently.

The graphics are fantastic. Effects flare and bloom with the majesty of royal fireworks, whilst units move realistically. While watching the elementals decimate ranks of men, one truly thinks "Yeah, that's how I would move if I were a fire elemental." Buildings all have fantastic detail, down to the men running the ledges waiting to open fire on nearby attackers. The cities, which are extremely different from those of most titles, are living, breathing things of beauty. They move in hundreds of ways and truly appear to be functioning factories of power.

Combat is largely familiar, with groups of infantry style units charging in and larger, more powerful units working their way through the crowd. Not present in many other games, though not entirely new, are hero units. For a price, factions can purchase heroes of their nation to come and fight the war with you. They each have specialties and special abilities, such as the ability to heal your units or cause disasters.

Also a large element of the game that has been done, but not quite the same way, are dominances. Similar to Empire Earth II, there are categories which a player may dominate in, and first to reach such a goal gains a bonus for as long as he or she is dominant in that area. Army dominance, for example, begins at a reasonable goal of first player to create 5 squads of infantry. In order to take that dominance from the current holder, you'll have to reach the next goal (seven).

The district system is a new take on construction of bases in RTS. Gone are the separate library, merchant, blacksmith or armory, and city upgrade buildings. Now, a city is expanded by adding districts related to War, Economy, Research, or Palaces onto an existing city. The result is a sprawling, gorgeous piece of raw power. This element will also add a great deal of customization, since each district is individually built and none are required for the city to be viable.

There will be a single-player campaign with a storyline and cut scenes and the works, but our preview had only a single mission. On this mission we play as the Vinci trying to take and hold a bridge over a large canyon. There was little plot or dialogue, but the scenario makes for some interesting RTS play when skirmishes start getting old. The Conquer the World mode of the game was not present either, but rest assured, Big Huge promises it will not only be present, but greatly expanded and overhauled with new features.

Overall, Rise of Legendsis looking to become one hell of a strategy gem. It seems to be slightly more accessible than Nations was, but definitely does not lack in complexity for the depth-seekers. Already playing great, Rise of Legends isn't due out until late spring and is well on its way to instant classic status. There's still a bit missing from the game, but from all evidence present Big Huge has done it again.