Age of Empires provides newcomers to real-time strategy the tools necessary for success through its tutorial system and campaigns that highlight key historical moments. At the same time, it offers sophisticated multiplayer challenges as well as demanding campaign scenarios for veterans alike.
The eight civilizations have access to roughly equivalent units; Korean Choson broad swordsmen resemble Roman praetorians, for instance; however, each civilization has its own distinct economic model.
Gameplay
Age of Empires 4 builds on its predecessors’ success by offering an updated game engine and exciting new gameplay features.
Age of Empires 4 allows players to select a civilization from prehistory and progress it through four ages based on historical nations such as Greece, Babylonians, Romans, Phoenicians and Egyptians. There are 12 civilizations to choose from including those representing Greece, Babylonians Romans Phoenicians Egyptians as they advance. Units such as archers clubmen swordsmen cavalry chariots war elephants can all be unlocked along this journey as you progress. Using research upgrades these units’ capabilities further – faster gathering for villages or better range for bowmen or archers can all be upgraded further in terms of speed or range for bowmen or archers respectively.
The game takes place on a map which can be scrolled left and right using the left and right arrows, with villager being the core unit, collecting resources through hunting, foraging, farming, or fishing; they also help build buildings and repair units while priests can heal allies while “converting” enemy units over to your side; military units include bowmen, axemen, swordsmen as well as long swordsmen hoplites and cavalry units for defense.
Every era in the game features its own distinct artistic style, from 3D buildings rendered with photo-realistic lighting to historical units and buildings with their own visual flair, like Greek temples with ornate columns or Viking longships sailing over calm seas.
Players not only advance a civilization through four Ages, but can also engage in battles against an AI that adapts and learns over time, remembering which victories and defeats it has experienced – allowing players to perfect their strategies over multiple games against computer opponents; more challenging battles may reward players with better upgrades! Alternatively, those looking for human opponents can try their luck in multiplayer mode; it offers several challenges, ladders and leaderboards for optimal play.
Campaign
Age of Empires Definitive Edition contains all five civilization campaigns from its predecessor, Age of Empires: Original Game. Each campaign focuses on different historical eras or events such as William Wallace representing Scotland during their War for Independence or Saladin fighting back Crusaders from attacking Crusades while Joan of Arc battling English forces during the Hundred Years’ War are just some examples of what lies within each campaign.
Each campaign in the base game features several scenarios that make up its story, when completed a player will earn either bronze, silver, or gold medal depending on its difficulty. Each continent-based campaign can be found under its respective tab; those from expansions can all be found under a single “Historical Battles” tab.
Below is a list of three European campaigns which can be played either with ease or normal difficulty, along with more information on each campaign by clicking its title. For further exploration of a campaign click its title!
Age of Kings was the first real-time strategy game to feature a full campaign mode, allowing players to not only experience its story, but also unlock special units and upgrades they could use in multiplayer matches. Furthermore, it introduced the idea of hero characters who could be used to increase strength or attack range for units within multiplayer matches.
At first, this campaign may seem difficult; however, the enemy can be relentless. I suggest building garrisoned Kreposts at each gate to keep enemies from breaching them; this should help you win battle without losing too many troops of your own. From there on out, just focus on wearing down enemies until eventually all are dead on the map without major problems arising.
This campaign is great fun to play! Your main foe will be the blue enemy’s siege weapons and monks, who use conversion of units into siege weapons themselves – so make sure that at least one of their structures falls early on to avoid getting overwhelmed by siege weapons! Burgundy in the south, Metz in the north, and Orleans in the west all need taking down quickly after reaching Imperial Age status.
Multiplayer
Age of Empires’ multiplayer allows players to engage with other online players through various game modes and co-op campaigns, which enable the player to co-opt single player campaign scenarios with other players in an online setting. Furthermore, Age of Empires features numerous quests which can be completed to unlock new civilizations and units for rewards and victory points.
Players can select various settings – map, game type and population limit – to customize the match they are playing. Additionally, these same settings can also serve as filters to quickly locate games that meet player preferences. Chatting is also available so players can communicate with one another directly.
Age of Empires offers players a diverse selection of buildings that they can construct, such as economic structures, military structures and defensive structures. Town centers provide training to villagers while researching technologies. Granaries, storage pits and farms also fall into this category of economic buildings. Military facilities like barracks, archery ranges and stables train military units while producing weapons. Furthermore, these military structures can be upgraded for increased strength and defenses.
Microsoft’s Age of Empires Online servers have closed after serving players for many years, as announced in a blog post from their developers. They thanked players for having participated in “over 524 million single-player quests and 13 million multiplayer quests, along with 2 billion Empire Points earned.”
Age of Empires features three game modes, Quick Play, Supremacy and Empire Wars. Quick Play is unranked; Supremacy and Empire Wars offer ranked matches; Regicide Mode in Empire Wars can cause the player to forfeit their game should their King die during a match.
Age of Empires originally featured an online multiplayer mode, which allowed players to compete against one another over the internet. Unfortunately, however, its server was discontinued in 2008. As an alternative solution, third-party websites now provide ways of playing this version without using the original server.
Graphics
Age of Empires has long been one of the most beloved real-time strategy (RTS) games available, dating back over two decades. Created by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft, its original release came out in 1998 with expansions such as Age of Kings and Conquerors following suit in later editions. A remaster version was made available with updated HD graphics designed specifically to fit modern hardware and displays.
The Enhanced Graphics Pack raises the game’s graphics resolution to 4K and introduces new lighting, terrain, unit, and building textures. Furthermore, this upgrade improves UI functionality with features such as global queue for tech/unit purchases/idle villager count/improved resource values; overall the visual upgrades offer significant upgrades over their predecessor version.
But, the game has not been without controversy. Multiple threads on forums such as r/pcgaming have revealed concerns that its art style looks too cartoony – that its vibrant colors and oversized arrows make the game appear similar to mobile phone titles.
No matter their opinion, no one can deny that the Enhanced Graphics Pack significantly elevates the game’s visual quality. Pixelation and syrupy softness from its predecessor has been replaced with crisper textures more in line with modern games; zooming in is also much simpler without losing clarity.
Performance is another essential aspect of the Enhanced Graphics Pack, though it falls short in some respects. When enabled, with new settings enabled, game performance struggles to remain constant – sometimes dropping to below 30 FPS during combat scenes and 60+ when there is lots of activity happening onscreen – an alarming and disappointing result when considering that its minimum requirement of 8GB RAM exists.
Adjustments can be made to the Enhanced Graphics Pack to optimize its performance, with settings like animation quality and shadow quality providing significant gains on machines with lesser GPUs. Still, even at its lowest settings, game graphics do not boast particularly high resolution; some aliasing and blurring may still occur at low settings.
