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Age of Empires (PC)

GENERAL INFORMATION

GENRE/STYLE

Strategy/2D Real-Time Strategy

RELEASE DATE

30/SEP/97

ESRB RATING

TEEN, Animated Blood, Animated Violence

DEVELOPER

Ensemble Studios

PUBLISHER

Microsoft Corporation

ALSO AVAILABLE ON

Macintosh, Mobile, IBM PC Compatible, http://www.gamerdna.com/game/age-of-empires-ibm-pc-compatible

TRAITS (member-attributed "LIKES")

THE SETTING #USES

PLAYING AS #USES

PLAYING AGAINST #USES

HOW IT'S PLAYED #USES

GENERAL TONE #USES

RTS 99
strategic 85
serious 23

DESCRIPTION

The scope of Microsoft's Age of Empires runs the gamut from meager tribes to control of vast empires by beginning in the Stone Age, when mankind takes its first steps toward becoming the dominant species on the face of the Earth, until global warming ends the Ice Age, and hunters and gatherers slowly give way to the beginnings of the great civilizations.

There are four major ways to achieve victory in the random map or deathmatch modes of Age of Empires, and all are contingent on being the first player in the game to reach specific milestones. Control of all artifacts or ruins for 2,000 years earns victory, as does building the first Wonder of the World to stand for 2,000 years. Another means to victory lies in conquest of the other players — total destruction of enemy villagers, military units, war ships, and buildings. A final option allows for setting a time limit, with the team or player with the highest score at game's end declared the winner.

In single-player action, campaigns made up of linked scenarios allow you to select one of 12 civilizations to lead to glory by outscoring all other civilizations (players) in the game. For single and multiplayer participants, more than 40 preset stand-alone scenarios are available, as well as the option to generate random scenarios. Up to eight players can go head-to-head or join cooperative matches via a LAN or the Internet.

This turn-based strategy game, Age of Empires, lets you build your civilization and mold it as you see fit through the use of military might, expansion, diplomacy, economic dominance or technological advance. Civilizations include Assyrian, Babylonian, Ancient Choson, Egyptian, Greek, Hittite, Minoan, Persian, Phoenician, Shang, Sumerian and Yamato, each with unique qualities, attributes, weaponry, and special characteristics.

Age of Empires employs a large variety of game customization options including map size and type, victory conditions, starting age (Stone, Tool, Bronze or Iron), difficulty level, quantity of resources (wood, food, stone, gold), whether to enable cheating or not, fixed starting positions, and terrain visibility. The game supports a point-and-click interface with hotkey commands available in most situations.

Gameplay features empire building from the ground up: gathering resources, creating villagers, military units and boats, constructing buildings and repair facilities, trading, researching technology, advancing through the four specific ages and upgrading units and structures. The mastery of combat and diplomacy, healing, and conversion of enemy units plays a part in the success or failure of your fledgling civilization.

A scenario builder is included in the game to allow for customization of maps, terrain, players, units, diplomacy, global and individual victory conditions, options, messages, and cinematics. The game's manual provides historical perspectives on each of the 12 civilizations and covers information such as location, capital, rise to power, economy, religion, culture, government, architecture, military, decline and fall, and legacy. A glossy foldout contains quick reference to the tech tree, hotkeys, unit and civilization attributes, and the scoring system. ~ Michael L. House, All Game Guide

Age of Empires (PC)

GENRE/STYLE:

Strategy/2D Real-Time Strategy
RELEASE DATE:

30/SEP/97
TOP TRAITS:

Empire builder, RTS, large-scale battles
DESCRIPTION:

The scope of Microsoft's Age of Empires runs the gamut from meager tribes to control of vast empires by beginning in ... more

players 2,525

followers 1

#221

POPULARITY: PC PLATFORM

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Age of Empires (PC) by: Romexus

“Who needed history when you had Age of Empires? This game is going way back to the glory days when console gaming was laughable and PCs had the power and the play when it came to games. AoE defined the RTS alongside Blizzard's titans Warcraft and...”

created 09/SEP/2011

Age of Empires (PC) by: Kyuubi87

“One of my old games I found in the bottom of a box. It is a real-time strategy game and the gameplay revolves around two main game modes: random map and campaign. The game is focused on events in Europe and Asia, spanning from the Stone Age to...”

created 26/MAY/2011

hanlongyue played Age of Empires on 05/JAN/11

“Since then, every weekend I have one more accompanies her to learn English. I thomas sabo taught her to understand English language flexibly, teach her attention to the differences thomas between...”

created 06/JAN/2011

hanlongyue played Age of Empires on 03/JAN/11

“On February 14th, 2003, Valentine’s Day, he was thomas sabo a sales man in Thomas Sabo jewelry shop, in the meeting room, facing thomas sabo jewellery the leader of Thomas Sabo Company, he felt he...”

created 04/JAN/2011

Age of Empires (PC) by: Wedgemaster

“Classic well-balanced RTS game that brings a wide variety and a lot of fun.”

created 22/JUN/2010

Age of Empires (PC) by: RingoTsuru

“Old school RTS fun, and by fun, I mean the slaughter of those you are subjugating.”

created 14/DEC/2010

Age of Empires (PC) by: donaldmackay

“Great game of its era, Many a fun battle and the start of a good franchise”

created 30/JAN/2010

Age of Empires (PC) by: Raltar

“Like everyone else on the planet I played this game back when it first came out. One of the few decent games Microsoft ever made. I was never a huge fan though.”

created 24/OCT/2009

5 Most Influential Games by: ruijoel

“This is a list of the video games which influenced me most. This means they were very good games and in addition contributed something to the gamer I became or to the person I became. The list of 5...”

created 17/OCT/2009

What are the Top 5 Games that were most influential to your gamerDNA? by: QforQ

“CONTEST! We've all played games in our past that really turned us on to a type of game or a genre of games. These are games that you probably played in your formative gaming years..when you were...”

created 07/OCT/2009