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========================== ABOUT AGE OF EMPIRES ========================== Age of Empires is a series of computer video games developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The first title of the series was Age of Empires, released in 1997. Since then, seven titles and three spin-offs have been released. The titles are historical real-time strategy games, and their gameplay revolves around two main game modes: random map and campaign.
The games are set amidst historical events. The first two games focused on events in Europe and Asia Minor, spanning from the Stone Age to the Classical period; one game explored the formation and expansion of the Roman Empire. The next two games were also set in the Middle Ages and the Spanish conquest of Mexico. The subsequent three games explored the early modern period, when Europe was colonizing the Americas and several Asian nations were on the rise. A spin-off game, Age of Mythology, was set in the same period as the original Age of Empires, but focused on fictional elements of Greek, Egyptian, and Norse mythology.
The Age of Empires series has been a commercial success, selling over 15 million copies. The popularity and quality of the games has earned Ensemble Studios a strong reputation in real-time strategy gaming. Ensemble collaborated with Big Huge Games on Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties. Critics have credited part of the success of the series to its historical theme and fair play; the artificial intelligence (AI) players fight with less "cheating" than in many of the series' competitors.
Common gameplay elements An iron age civilization (in red) under attack in a beta version of the original Age of Empires. The screenshot shows dead enemy units (in blue) and buildings on fire as a result of battle damage. A Greek phalanx has been selected, and its unit data is visible in the bottom left corner. An iron age civilization (in red) under attack in a beta version of the original Age of Empires. The screenshot shows dead enemy units (in blue) and buildings on fire as a result of battle damage. A Greek phalanx has been selected, and its unit data is visible in the bottom left corner.
The Age of Empires games belong to the real-time strategy genre, with the exception of the turn-based Age of Empires: The Age of Kings for the Nintendo DS. The series features two recurring modes of play: "random map," and "campaign." "Random map" is described by lead designer Greg Street as a "hallmark" of the series.In this mode, the player selects a civilization and plays on a randomly created map, most of which are based, at least loosely, on a real-world geographic area. A variation on random map is "death match," where players begin with large amounts of resources and fight until only one side remains. A "campaign" is a series of interrelated missions with a specific storyline. Earlier games in the series included several campaigns; however, Age of Mythology was an exception to this trend, with one campaign. Games in the series also offered multiplayer game options, via LAN and modem connection. Age of Empires,The Age of Kings, and their expansions, also offered online play via the Microsoft Gaming Zone (the Zone), though this ended on June 19, 2006. Age of Mythology, Age of Empires III, and their expansions, offered online gameplay via Ensemble Studios Online (ESO), a system similar to the Zone and Blizzard Entertainment's Battle.net.
The missions in a campaign generally follow a historical setting and focus, yet do not strive for absolute historical accuracy.For example, while Germany in the early modern period ù when Age of Empires III was set ù was largely Protestant, the design of the German church building is Catholic.However, in The WarChiefs, the design team did take great care to ensure they portrayed Native Americans as accurately as possible, and relied on expert historians for assistance.Age of Empires games use historical figures and units that are relatively well-known, but also include several "strange or exotic military unit[s]," to make the games more interesting.The series' sporadic faithfulness to history has earned it criticism; critics have generally panned the notion of unhistorical skirmishes such as "Japanese vs. Vikings and Franks vs. Persians, " none of whom ever fought.
Games
The games in the series focus on historical events throughout time. Age of Empires covers the events between the Stone Age and the Classical period, in Europe and Asia Minor. Its expansion, The Rise of Rome, follows the formation and rise of the Roman Empire. The Age of Kings and its Nintendo DS spin-off follow Europe and Asia through the Middle Ages. The Age of Kings' expansion pack, The Conquerors, is set during the same period, but also includes scenarios about the Spanish conquest of Mexico. Age of Empires III and its first expansion, The WarChiefs, take place during the European colonization of the Americas. Its second expansion, The Asian Dynasties, follows the rise of Asia in the same period. The series' spin-off, Age of Mythology, and its expansion pack, The Titans, are set during the Classical period, but focus on mythology as their themes, rather than history.
Main series
Main articles: Age of Empires (video game), Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome, Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings, Age of Empires II: The Conquerors, Age of Empires III, Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs, and Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties
Age of Empires, released on October 26, 1997, was the first game in the series, as well as the first major release from Ensemble Studios. It was one of the first history-based real-time strategy games made, utilizing the Genie game engine. GameSpot described it as a mix of Civilization and Warcraft.The game gives players a choice of 12 civilizations to develop from the Stone Age to the Iron Age. The expansion pack, The Rise of Rome, published by Microsoft on October 31, 1998, introduced new features and civilizations, such as the Romans. Although the two games had contained many software bugs, patches resolved many of the problems.
Age of Empires was generally well received, despite some highly negative reviews. GameSpot criticized a confused design, while Computer and Video Games praised the game as strong in single and multiplayer.The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences named Age of Empires the 1998 "Computer Strategy Game of the Year."For several years, the game remained high on the sales charts, with over three million units sold by 2000. The Rise of Rome was not as popular: it had only sold one million units in 2000,and attained 80% as an aggregate score from Game Rankings.
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings, released on September 30, 1999, used the Genie game engine, and had gameplay similar to its predecessor. Age of Kings is set in the Middle Ages, from the Dark Ages to the Imperial Age. It allows players to choose one of 13 civilizations, from Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Microsoft published the expansion, The Conquerors, on August 24, 2000. It added new units and five new civilizations, including two Mesoamerican civilizations; the Maya and the Aztec.The expansion also introduced the concept of technologies that were only available to certain civilizations. The Age of Kings was a bigger critical success than the first two games, with Game Rankings and Metacritic scores of 92%. Microsoft shipped out more than two million copies to retailers, and the game received numerous awards and accolades. Critics agreed that The Conquerors expanded well on The Age of Kings, though issues of unbalanced gameplay were raised.The Age of Kings and The Conquerors won the 2000 and 2001 "Computer Strategy Game of the Year" awards from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, respectively.
Age of Empires III, released on October 18, 2005, was built on an improved version of the Age of Mythology game engine with the most significant changes being the updated graphics engine and the inclusion of the Havok physics middleware engine. The game is set in the period between 1421 and 1850, and players can choose one of eight European nations. The game introduced a large number of features, such as home cities. Described by Ensemble Studios as "an important support system to your efforts in the New World," home cities helped provide the player with resources, equipment, troops, and upgrades. They could be used across multiple games, and upgraded after each battle; it was compared to a role-playing game character by Ensemble Studios. The first expansion to Age of Empires III, The WarChiefs, was released October 17, 2006. Most gameplay changes in the expansion pack were small, but it introduced three new civilizations, with a focus on Native Americans. Most notable was the introduction of the WarChief unit. The second expansion, The Asian Dynasties, went on sale October 23, 2007. It was a jointly developed product; Big Huge Games helped Ensemble Studios develop the game, with Brian Reynolds joining Bruce Shelley as lead designer. The game expanded the Age of Empires III universe into Asia, and introduced three new civilizations. Reception towards Age of Empires III was mixed; Game Revolution described it as "about as much fun" as a history textbook, while GameZone argued it was "one of the best looking games, much less an RTS game, that is out on the market currently". It sold more than two million copies, and won the GameSpy "real-time strategy game of the year" award. The WarChiefs failed to equal the success of its predecessor; it had a lower score on both Game Rankings and Metacritic ù The Asian Dynasties lower still ù with 80%.
Several collectors' editions of Age of Empires III included a hardcover artbook. The last page of the artbook has a pictorial depiction of the series; the Roman numerals below each panel range from I to V, indicating the series would include an Age of Empires IV and Age of Empires V. Ensemble Studios employee Sandy Peterson said the image "was total speculation on [their] part."
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