R E A L - T I M E S T R A T E G Y G A M E S
Real-Time Strategy
| Age of Empires
(Microsoft)
|
| Boundary-Pushing: Medium |
Between them, Warcraft and Command & Conquer established the genre
of Real-Time Strategy (RTS) as one deserving to stand on its
own. With their success, imitators followed, each trying hard to
figure out the most important aspects of their predecessors and
improve on them. One of these entries was 1997's Age of
Empires. Designed by Bruce Shelley and others who had worked at
Microprose on Civilization, and distributed by Microsoft (to the
distress of some who imagine yet another software
category--games--being devoured by the Monster of Redmond), Age of
Empires is one of those games that outdoes its elders. All the
good things about the earlier games were retained and improved
on. It looks better, sounds better, and plays better. Like Jedi
Knight and Master of Orion, Age of Empires didn't break new
ground. But it did use new technology to make an older game
better, and did so with style.
|
| Addictiveness: High |
Real-Time Strategy games, like their turn-based cousins, can be
extremely addictive, and Age of Empires is no exception. It too
provokes the "Let me just try this one little thing" response that
leads to seeing the sun come up in the morning. In a way, the
real-time aspect intensifies this feeling. Either the player is
busily building up forces to repel or mount an invasion, or else
he is in the middle of just such an invasion. In neither case is
there a clearly defined break point at which it would be natural
for a player to save the current game until later. Thus the
temptation to keep playing (just a little while longer) until the
end of the scenario is usually very strong.
|
| Replayability: High |
Age of Empires comes with four campaigns already designed, each
of which contains about fifteen scenarios. Given their number and
the high level of difficulty of some of them (even when set to
"Easy" mode), most gamers will find Age of Empires highly
replayable. In addition, there are a random scenario builder as
well as a more complex scenario design tool.
|
| General |
Part of the fun of Age of Empires (AoE) is being able to replay
some of the battles of ancient history. The military similarities
are virtually non-existent, since units and terrain aren't nearly
detailed enough to simulate what is known of these early
engagements. But of course AoE isn't meant to be a true military
simulation; it is its own strategy game which simply borrows some
elements of name and technology from times past. Even so, it's
instructive to plunk down a few legionaires into a mass of
low-tech Gaulish barbarians. The visual and audio effects show
off the game technology to good advantage, and there are enough
different types of units and buildings (many more than in, say,
Warcraft II) to keep players exploring for resources. And if
those explorers happen to bump into a more advanced tribe... well,
these things happen. Besides, it might give AoE the chance to
show off its detailed end-of-scenario statistical screens. All
things considered, Age of Empires will more than hold its own on
the shelf of anyone who enjoys real-time strategy gaming.
|
More Games
3-D 1st-Person
Strategy
Adventure
Simulation
Real-Time Strategy
Home
|