Age of Empires: Age of War is a strategy game that gives you the feeling of being in a large empire. You can switch from being a defensive unit to an offensive one quite easily. If you’re familiar with other Fall Of Rome products, this one has most of the same features, just a little more engaging. It’s definitely worth checking out.
Unlike its predecessors,
Rise of Empires: Age of War has two real-time campaigns. The first one lasts ten minutes and involves the capture of the city of Tortage. In this campaign, you have to defend your city against waves of enemy troops. Of course, the longer you play, the more powerful you will become since the more battles you fight and the more cities you defend.
The second campaign, on the other hand, is longer and involves three real-time battles. For this, you will reward with four technologies, namely, Pottery, Gunpowder, and Masonry. You will also give three new battle types: skirmish, planetary war, and civil war. Once again, the player gets to choose between offensive and defensive strategies. The skirmish is best for players who like to go all out in conflicts.
On each turn, you will give a certain number of action points represented by coins. These are used to make repairs on your cities, buy new technology and produce units. You can also move your cities to other cities of your empire by spending the right amount of money. All these actions perform in real-time.
Age of Empires: Ice and Fire are
more of an expansion than a sequel to the game. Although it has the same basic concept, it adds new features that make the game more interesting. For example, instead of earning credits per turn to replenish your coffers, you will be earning experience points accumulated and spent to acquire new skills. This way, spending your time honing your skills is more engaging and rewarding. The upgrade system is also more involving since you need to collect resources such as wood, coal, and iron ore, which can be earned or hired from the market.
You will also encounter four unlockable technologies during your playtime. The first is the “rush” technology which allows you to build three army units in one turn. Another is the” blockade” technology which blocks your opponent’s units and buildings from moving forward. The last is the “raid” technology which allows you to attack your enemy’s buildings and units directly. If you are having trouble deciding which one to use, you can always mix them up by choosing the same technology in two different games.
There are four multiplayer modes available to you:
Story Mode, which lasts for five turns without you getting to select your units; attack mode, which lets you select your units and strategies; defense mode, which reserves your forces for the battle; and resource gathering mode which allows you to gather resources only at strategic locations. These are the same rules as the single-player modes, with one exception – in the defense game, you get to choose whether to attack or defend. In the attacking game, you can choose to do either damage or simply stall your opponent. As you get used to playing the four multiplayer game modes, you will find yourself gravitating towards the strategies that work the best.
Conclusion
The graphics and sound are both very nice. I especially like the background music, which really makes a difference when you are involved in a heated battle. A bonus feature offered with the game is a tutorial that will help you understand some of the more advanced concepts in a simpler fashion.
