As with many 3D games, you find yourself looking at the action from bad angles on a regular basis. It's almost like buying cheap-seat tickets to a hockey game that turn out to be right behind a huge cement post. This is because everything in the game is just a little different than RTS fans are used to. Scientists are then used to research new developments along similar lines as Microsoft's Age of Empires. Other units you have access to are engineers, explorers, and military specialists.
Landscape is made up of rolling hills and a few simplistic tree models scattered here and there.
Characters consist of basic 3D polygon-based models. Sound is rather plain. The basic sound goes hand in hand with the basic graphics. There are no training levels or tutorials in Riverworld. While you are hard at work trying to get used to the interface and gameplay style, your computer opponents are going full speed ahead with their civilizations.