Great Gifts for the PC Gaming "Napoleon" in Your Life

Do you know someone who wants to conquer the world? Is there someone on your Christmas gift list that thrills to the idea of unleashing swarms of cavalry against hapless infantry in a chaotic, CGI bloodfest? If so, here are three great gift ideas for your PC gaming Napoleon.

Rome: Total War

Before Napoleon, there was Julius Caesar. Here's your chance to don a Roman toga (well, use your imagination) and rise from lower-echelon Roman senator and wannabe power broker to emperor of the known world. You start out as a patrician member of an important familty dynasty, with responsibility over a small province within the Roman Empire. The Roman senate sends you occasional assignments, for which you gain favor and prestige upon successful completion. Ultimately, your goal isn't to be the senate's lackey, but its master.

Your rise to the top will require great strategy and cunning, as you maneuver to get the best assignments, establish the strongest trade routes, form the most beneficial relationships, and amass the largest armies. At the strategic level, you decide how you wish to extend your provincial borders and what relationships you wish to pursue. At the tactical level, you see the results of your strategic decisions - and try to make the most of the cards you've been dealt.

The game boasts stunning graphics, especially at the tactical level. It's downright thrilling to see your Roman legions clash with those barbarian scum, tearing them apart from.....er...well, you get the idea.

Age of Empires III

Microsoft is still the king of real-time strategy gaming, and its latest Age of Empires franchise title proves it. Age of Empires III has outstanding graphics, an easy-to-use interface that's readily familiar to previous AoE players, and a fairly intelligent AI to battle against.

The single-player campaign is interesting and rewarding. The skirmishes are still enjoyable, even against the computer. And the multiplayer is loads of fun. Very addictive.

AoE III picks up chronologically where AoE II left off. You are now on the verge of colonizing and settling the New World. As such, players have access to their own European "Home City" for technological, economic and military support. According to Ensemble Studios, "Your Home City's success depends on you, with your city's improvements retained between games."

The Home City is important, for it can bail you out in time of need. When you get started building your village, you're likely to find yourself short on one or more important commodities. If you have a strong, robust Home City, no worries. You can just have some more wood, food, or even troops shipped to you. Otherwise, well, hopefully you didn't do as Cortez did and "burn your ships."

Rise of Nations

Rise of Nations spans 6,000 years of history from the Ancient Age to the Information Age. Your goal: global dominance. How will you achieve that? You can utilize trade, diplomacy, or war. According to publisher Big Huge Games, "Whichever path you choose, you'll experience the pulse-pounding thrill and speed of real-time gaming combined with the epic scope and depth of turn-based strategy games brought together for the first time ever in Rise of Nations." Big Huge Games is right. The game is anything, if not pulse-pounding, especially in multiplayer.

How frustrating it is to be building up a fairly impressive cultural and economic power, only to see World War II era submarines start to cripple your fishing enterprise. How did they get those subs made so fast? Then, as you feverishly pour all your resources into pushing your civilization ahead an epoch or two to get to subs, you see bombers come flying in, raining destruction on your factories and universities. Not even the Ivy League is spared.

It's hard to compare Rise of Nations to Age of Empires. They are very similar and equally addictive in their own right. The bottom line is that Age of Empires goes into richer depth within its timeline, whereas Rise of Nations comprises all of human history. If you want the breadth and diversity of going from cave man to nuclear missile, then Rise of Nations is for you. If you prefer to stick within a closer timeframe, then pick of Age of Empires III. Of course, if you're like me, it comes down to what mood you're in. Better to have both on the shelf and available to play.

There you have it! Three great games for your Christmas holiday shopping list. May the one you're buying for have better luck than Napoleon did at that little place called Waterloo.