THE ONE-AND-A-HALF DOZEN PEOPLES
"Some people hate [unique powers], it's almost like a religious war", Reynolds says in his explanation of the open option. "So if you want to turn off national powers and unique units, then you can [do that]".
If you decide to exercise this ability, it is best you are first adequately informed as to what you will be giving up. Examples: the British get more resources and their ships and archers are better equipped; the Russians have the Russian Winter (discussed at some length in Part 3), and the Spanish can see the entire map even if the pre-game map setting is set at it being uncharted. With unique units, examined in some cases exquisite detail in other articles on the game, the Japanese for instance have the Sword Infantry and Samurai lines instead of the benchmark Pikeman and Hoplite fleet. The Romans know of no home-grown Phalanxes in having Legions instead, and the Germans have what Reynolds bluntly describes as "really good takes" in the Modern Age while in the civilization's infancy it can employ really effectively "barbarian" units, a reference to the Germans fending off Roman legion advances millennia ago.
One more point to go that you can file under the quirkiness folder. You can choose your civilization's in-game colour as opposed to a not-so-random assignment by the computer. The Americans not cyan? The French designated something other than blue? Oh, the possibilities…
If you opt for recording your game, you can live through the ups and downs all over again at the end by actually watching it play out complete with the ominous "fog of war" gong. Chimes Reynolds:
"People think replays are really fun, and it's also a good way to [see] if somebody is really good and they beat the crap out of you, you can go look at the report of the game and see what they were doing".
Don't be fooled into thinking this is a complete Civilization (I)-style review reincarnate or Civilization III copycat. With this feature, you see more than just a brief summary. You get the full map treatment: all unit movements, zoom in and zoom out and the like. Now it will take even longer to thoroughly test-drive this ability.
In other news: you will not run into a situation where you come across a good box such as in Civilization and its successors. They have been replaced by monoliths, generating resource bonuses that are linked to what kind you are in need of (and know to exist) at that moment. This provides an added incentive to go out and explore the surrounding terrain more fully than you might otherwise have – although not necessarily more quickly: the higher your science technology, the more you get when you explore if that research is conducted beforehand.
Speaking of types of exploration, if you move your mouse over a unit/city etc., you can get a fair bit of help text to assist you in your empire building megalomania including what it is, what it can do, what it is presently doing; these dialogues will show, for example, that a musketeer is strong against a heavy foot and he's weak versus heavy horses. There are different levels of help text from beginner, medium through high, the latter of which will permit the player to see advanced statistics on, for example, units in terms of hit points and. upgrade paths (where applicable).
Rise Up: Reynolds On RoN 