Age of Empires (video game)
Age of Empires | |
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Developer(s) |
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Designer(s) | |
Composer(s) |
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Series | Macintosh |
Release | |
Genre(s) | Real-time strategy |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Age of Empires (AoE) is a real-time strategy video game based on history, developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft, and the first game in the Age of Empires series. The game uses the Genie Engine, a 2D sprite-based game engine. The game allows the user to act as the leader of an ancient civilization by advancing it through four ages (the Stone, Tool, Bronze, and Iron Ages), gaining access to new and improved units with each advance.
Originally touted as
Gameplay
Age of Empires requires the player to develop a civilization from a handful of hunter-gatherers to an expansive Iron Age Empire.[5] To assure victory, the player must gather resources in order to pay for new units, buildings and more advanced technology. Resources must be preserved, as no new resources become available as the game progresses; for example, trees that are cut down will not grow back.[6][7]
Twelve civilizations are available, each with individual sets of attributes, including a varying number of available technologies and units. Each civilization has technologies unique to them, so that no civilization possesses all the technologies possible within the game.[8]
A major component of the game is the advancement through four ages. These are the Stone Age (Mesolithic/Nomad/Paleolithic), the Tool Age (Neolithic/Chalcolithic), the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. Advancement between ages is researched at the Town Center, and each advancement brings the player new technologies, weapons, and units.[7][9]
Modes
The game features four
Age of Empires facilitated
The creation of user-made scenarios or series of scenarios (campaigns) for the game was made possible using the Scenario Builder. This tool is simpler and easier to learn than comparable editors used in more modern games, but it has fewer capabilities as a result.
Civilizations
Players choose to play as one of 12 civilizations: the
Technology
Technology is researched at specific buildings, to which they are generally related; for example, religious research is done in temples and improved armor is researched in the storage pit.[7] Technological advances come in many categories, such as military upgrades (better arms and armor for units), economic upgrades (increasing the efficiency of resource gathering), religious upgrades (faster conversion rates and more abilities for priests) and infrastructure upgrades (stronger fortifications and more resilient buildings). As basic technology research is completed, more advanced technologies may become available. Some technologies are not available to certain civilizations.[7]
Technology plays a very important role in the strategy of the game.[17] As a civilization progresses through the ages, technology becomes more and more expensive, which makes collecting the necessary resources to research them difficult.[17] As a consequence, balancing the workforce of villagers across the various resources can make the difference between victory and defeat.[17]
Units
Players control a variety of civilian and military units.[17] Most units can be upgraded through research (e.g. faster gathering for villagers, stronger armor for military units, and longer range for archers).[17]
Land-based units are the most prevalent in gameplay. Villagers are the most basic units in Age of Empires. Their primary function is to collect resources, cutting down trees for wood, mining for stone and gold, and
Nautical units often play a secondary role, but can be essential to victory.
Unit types are identical, regardless of civilization (though certain civilizations may have improved variations of these units). So, for example, a Korean
Buildings
The Town Center is one of the most important buildings in the game. Here villagers are created, and age advancement is researched.[17] Most scenarios have each player begin with a single Town Center; the ability to build multiple Town Centers is unlocked by the construction of the Government Center during the Bronze Age.[17] The Town Center provides population support for four units. In order to build more units, houses must be constructed. Each house supports four units, and although any number of houses can be built, they can only support a maximum of fifty units.[17]
Military units are produced at specific buildings relevant to their area. All sea units are created at the docks. Walls and towers are defensive fortifications (Age of Empires was one of the first real-time strategy games to include walls strong enough to form a feasible means of defense). Farms are used to produce food. Granaries, storage pits, and the Town Center are used to store resources deposited by the villagers.
Wonders are enormous monuments representing the architectural achievements of the time, such as the
Development
Age of Empires (under the working title Dawn of Man)
The Rise of Rome
The Rise of Rome is an expansion pack for Age of Empires. It is based on the rise of the Roman Empire, and adds the Roman Empire and three other playable civilizations to Age of Empires. It was officially released on October 22, 1998.[27]
Gameplay-wise, the expansion introduced numerous interface tweaks, such as unit queuing, the ability to double click a single unit and highlight others of the same unit-type, balancing damage done by catapults, and the option to increase the population limit beyond 50 (only in multiplayer games). By installing the 1.0a update from 1999, it is also possible to use the
According to Microsoft, The Rise of Rome demo received one million downloads from its official website alone by April 1999,[31] and another 350,000 from CNET's Download.com.[32] Sales of the game reached 1.2 million copies by June 2001.[33] The Rise of Rome won Computer Games Strategy Plus's 1998 "Add-On of the Year" award. The editors wrote that it "added whole new campaigns, refined rules, and a fresh new gaming experience for a title that was already highly regarded."[34]
Reception
Sales
In the United States, Age of Empires debuted at #7 on
Age of Empires was also successful worldwide, according to Microsoft. It was released in 55 countries during its first four months,[39] and over 650,000 copies were shipped globally by December 12.[40][41] Microsoft reported that it was consistently the top-selling computer strategy title in the United States, France, Germany and the United Kingdom through January 1998.[39] Globally, the game sold-through 850,000 units by February.[39]
Age of Empires was a hit in the German market,[42] where it debuted at #1 on Media Control's sales rankings for the latter half of October 1997.[43] After holding this position in the first half of November, it remained in Media Control's top 5 through the end of 1997.[44][45] The following year, Age of Empires placed consistently in the top 3 through March, when it rose again to #1 in the last two weeks of the month.[46][47][48] By the end of May, it had spent 28 consecutive weeks in Media Control's top rankings, with placements of fifth and eighth that month.[49][50] Age of Empires proceeded to become the fourth-best-selling computer game in the German market during 1998's first nine months.[42] It received a "Gold" award from the Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland (VUD) in August,[51] for sales of at least 100,000 units across Germany, Austria and Switzerland.[52] Sales in the German market totaled 115,000 units by the end of September,[42] and the VUD raised Age of Empires to "Platinum" status, for 200,000 sales, by November.[53] At the 1999 Milia festival in Cannes, Age of Empires took home a "Gold" prize for revenues above €15 million in the European Union during 1998.[54] It remained at 14th on Media Control's charts for the German region by January 1999, continuing a 60-week streak on the charts.[55]
Sales of the game in South Korea alone reached roughly 150,000 units by 2000.[56] According to PC Data, it was the United States' 10th-best-selling computer game during the January–November 1998 period.[57] Age of Empires was a commercial success, selling 3 million copies by 2000 and grossing $120 million in revenue.[58]
Critical reviews
Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
AllGame | [61] |
Computer Gaming World | [62] |
Computer and Video Games | 9/10[63] |
GameRevolution | B+[64] |
GameSpot | 6.8/10[65] |
Hyper | 82/100 (The Rise of Rome)[66] |
IGN | 7/10[67] |
Next Generation | [68] |
PC Zone | 9.4/10[69] |
PC Gameworld | 91%[70] |
Coming Soon Magazine | 90%[71] |
Game Vortex | 75%[72] |
Age of Empires was generally well received by critics, and scored highly on review aggregator websites[73] including an 8.3 out of 10 on Metacritic,[60] an 87% on GameRankings,[59] an 85 out of 100 on MobyGames.[74]
While noting the similarities with Warcraft II, PC Gameworld praised the uniqueness of each playable civilization, and noted that the "graphics are extremely detailed and have a hand-painted feel to them. It's rare to see a game this beautiful with such detailed unit movements."[78] Game Revolution was impressed by the amount of different units of the game, and noted that the developers "obviously did [their] research here, and the result is a well rounded, historically accurate product (at least for a game)".[6] The soundscape of the game was also criticized, with GameVortex stating that "the oral clues just aren't enough to let you differentiate just what's going on."[77] With a view to the future of the game, Game Revolution emphasized the scenario editor, which "allows you total control in the design of scenarios and campaigns", a "tool at your disposal to create a scenario exactly to your liking."[6]
Next Generation reviewed the PC version of the game, rating it four stars out of five, and stated that "Having been in development for nearly an eternity, Age of Empires has largely delivered what was promised by Civilization co-creator, Bruce Shelley, and his team at Ensemble Studios."[68]
The game won numerous awards, including
Definitive Edition
In June 2017, Adam Isgreen, creative director of Microsoft Studios announced Age of Empires: Definitive Edition at the
In May 2019, Phil Spencer, head executive of Microsoft's Xbox division announced to reverse the decision on releasing Age of Empires products exclusively through Windows Store and committed to releasing them on Steam as well.[90] On August 19, 2019, Age of Empires: Definitive Edition re-released with a new client on both the Windows Store and Steam, with cross-play available between the two platforms. Existing Windows Store players need to manually download the new client in order to receive game updates and multiplayer compatibility. At the same time, Age of Empires: Definitive Edition has also become available through Xbox Game Pass for PC.[91]
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Game of the Week//Age of Empires (Microsoft)//For PC CD-ROM//Price: £39.99//Release date: October 23
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Further reading
- Carnes, Shawn F. (April 1998). "How I learned to love nuke trooper". The Duelist. No. 24. Wizards of the Coast. p. 86.
- Backstab #7[1]