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Age of Empires
Ensemble Studios
(Distributed by Microsoft)
Previewed by Antonio Ruggiero
If there is one the gaming
community won’t be lacking in
1997 its real-time strategies.
This is the year of the "Click & Clash" games, and not too many look very
worthwhile. Yet, there are a few titles that have the look of a real winner. One of
them is Age of Empires by Ensemble Studios and Microsoft.
I know your probably saying "What!? Just ‘cuz its from Microsoft, that makes it a
great game?" Well, actually no. It’s not Microsoft’s piece that is so interesting
(although it is worth notice)—it’s Ensemble Studios that should raise your brow.
Again, I bet you’re saying, "Who the heck is Ensemble Studios?" Well, for your
information, Ensemble Studios is a small game developer. By small I mean in
numbers, because in talent they are HUGE! Just how huge in talent are they?
Well, have you ever heard of a couple of games by the name of Railroad Tycoon
and Civilization? If not, then I suggest you stop your 8-track tape of the
Bee-Gees and come out from under the rock you have been disco dancing
under the past few years! Those two titles should be on any hard-core gamers
"All-time Greatest" list. The designer for Age of Empire is Bruce Shelley who
co-designed, with Sid Meier, Railroad Tycoon and Civilization. The talent at
Ensemble doesn’t stop there, but this is a preview--not a documentary. Onto the
game…
A War procession rides through the city gates
A warrior watches as the ruins of an enemy fortress burn
Age of Empires is a real-time strategy game that lets you control one of 12
different empires. Each empire is different in their abilities of resource gathering,
defense, offense, and in their ability to learn new technologies. There will be 4
campaigns, each compromising 8 scenarios. The scenarios will be similar to
most other real-time games, in which you start the scenario in a certain position,
and you must complete the scenario by accomplishing a task, such as taking
control of a region, taking out enemy defenses, etc. If you feel the game
scenarios are not up to your standards, don’t fret! Age of Empires will also have
a random scenario generator, and a scenario editor that lets you create the
maps, set the AI’s aggression and intelligence, link multiple scenarios into one
campaign, and even set the winning conditions of the scenario. This editor gives
players incredible power, control, and flexibility to create outstanding scenarios.
As the history of user maps has shown us—some of the best maps and levels
come from the players.
Okay, now that you know what you have to do, how do you do it? Well, from the
screenshots, it looks like WarCraft II players will be right at home. The interface
looks very similar, and the controls will be similar as well. However, the C&C
players have nothing to worry about, because there will be an option to switch the
controls to a Command & Conquer type interface. Is it ripping C&C and
WarCraft II off? I don’t think so… if you play real-time strategy games, odds are
you have played one of those two a bunch. Why should a game force you to learn
new controls that have proven to be user friendly? Now, instead of wasting your
time with learning new controls, you can jump right in and learn the different
empires! I personally think its great that not only are they going with a similar
interface to one of the games, but they also let you switch to the other! Bravo!
We have seen how Age of Empires is similar to other games. What sets it
apart? Well, besides the 12 different empires to choose from, the random
scenario generator, and the built-in scenario editor, lets talk about the eye candy!
Age of Empires sports some gorgeous graphics (the screen shots are
incredible), and as if that wasn’t enough, you will also have a choice of
resolutions too! Don’t think 640x480 gives you enough screen to control your
empire? Well, try boosting it up to 800x600, or better yet, try 1024x768! Before
your tongue hits the floor, I’m sure you thought "That means it’s gonna have some
steep hardware requirements." Well if your in the 486 class, then anything
coming out this year is steep, but if you’re a Pentium owner (yes, even a P75
counts) then the game should give your some good frame rates. A lot of the
graphics routines were coded in assembly language, which allows this incredible
detail and richness to run smoothly.
A war rages within the walls of a fortress
The detailed environments look breathtaking
"All this attention to graphics and single player…I bet the multiplayer won’t
compare." Have I steered you wrong yet? The multiplayer has not been ignored,
and Age of Empires will have all the bells and whistles for us multiplayer freaks.
The game will have several ways to play--every empire for themselves, allies
(which can be broken in the heat of the game), and finally a much needed co-op
mode. Its about time that a real-time strat allows teams that can use each other
resources, units, and see the terrain your partner sees! You can use specific
maps or randomly generated ones. Like I said, this game has not ignored the
multiplayer aspect of world domination.
Unlike most games this year, Age of Empires is actually scheduled for released
BEFORE Christmas. And just when I thought I knew an industry! October 31st is
the date right now, but when has anything with a Microsoft label been released
on time?
However, the screen shots seem to reflect a pretty solid product, so we may be
blessed. If this game plays as well as I think (and hope) it will, and be actually be
released on time--well I’d rather not go into detail about what effect that would
have on me--but lets just say if I were a dog, and Age of Empire was a leg… Well you get the point.
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