The three South American nations can't hold up an entire hemisphere, after all. The inclusion of three new North American nations - the Lakota, Iroquois and Americans themselves - helps to offset the European and Asian focus of the previous game. Still, there is a method to this madness.
Even the title, Thrones and Patriots is relatively generic. Though undeniably attractive, these additions aren't necessarily tied together around a central theme - unless you count "some different new stuff we've added" as a theme. The team has added six to the existing 18 nations, incorporated a Civ-like concept of governments, and narrowed the focus of the Conquer the World campaign to make it more approachable. Thankfully, the big, huge heads over at Big Huge Games have found a way to add more to the title in terms of numbers and features.
Figuring out how to expand on a game that offered the chance to conquer the world, from ancient times to the present day, as one of 18 highly unique but remarkably balanced nations has got to be a hard task. The original Rise of Nations offered a compelling but approachable mix of turn-based concepts and real-time gameplay that garnered critical awards as numerous as they were well-deserved. In some ways it's harder to develop an expansion for a great game.