Tempting as it may be to wax poetic about Age of Empires’ past, be honest. You may already know about it very well. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never played them; the Age of Empires series was a cornerstone of real-time strategy story and is likely to make a comeback in the future after developers mostly ignored the genre in the 2000s. Age of Empires 4 will be remembered as a standard for RTS games in 2021. With a generous quantity of quests, storylines, and multiplayer possibilities, it’ll feel like your rich granny tossing out presents at Christmas when you play the eagerly awaited PC game.
Intimately, Age of Empires 4 is a typical RTS base-building, sword-clashing, and village-pillaging game. Assuming control of an English or French player in a game set in the High and Late Middle Ages, it’s as if you’ve been teleported to a new age of strategy games altogether. It’s got a lot of significant aspects to it, too, like nostalgic comfort food for older players. Even while Relic has taken risks here and there, it’s in those locations where this battlefield performs finest and most contemporarily.
A Fun Return to the RTS Genre
In light of the criticism Dawn of War 3 received from the gaming community several years back, it’s maybe not unexpected that Relic has stayed considerably closer to the established order this time around. Age of Empires 4 has a startling resemblance to its predecessor, Age of Empires II. Although I’ve been sentimental about Age of Empire 2 for almost 20 years, every scream from an individual worker and every bang on the stone walls seems what I perceive them to be like back in the day.
The franchise can be described as a management simulation where the goal is to protect people from invading armies or to smash entire populations with your mighty fist. Step right up, control freaks, for your better outcome is about to begin. A brigade equipped with specialist soldiers and assault equipment will be at your command, as well as citizens who will help you develop villages and gather resources. All of these resources are required to keep your civilization going across numerous different eras and deliver ever-more-advanced technologies. When it comes to achieving success, it’s all about making the most efficient use of the resources and terrain available, given the circumstances. You can use infinite legions of archers and swordsmen to torment the surrounding population, or you can strengthen your defenses and focus on creating a “Wonder” to demonstrate the people’s superiority.
Excellent in Terms of Empirical
Every civilization of Age of Empire 4 has been carefully developed to give a unique playing experience, whether in missions or against other players in Skirmish mode. The English, French, Chinese, and Mongol civilizations returned from previous games with only minor adjustments. In contrast, the new empires of the Delhi Sultanate, Holy Roman Empire, Abbasid Dynasty, and Rus all made their debut in this installment. While all societies share basic units, facilities, and technology, each has its own set of dynamics and teams to become proficient.
Another outstanding characteristic of the Mongols is their mobility; they could relocate their entire city when necessary. When it comes to history, the Russians have Warrior Monks. The Abbasids possessed camels and a House of Wisdom that could be enlarged with more wings to provide researchers with more alternatives, and the Dehli Sultanate owned elephants. Elephants! The costumes, armor, and structure of each culture are all very different from one another, although if you play dull old English, you’ll still find little visual delights to enjoy.
Successful people have mastered the art of spending their time where it’s needed most. Foraging for food and building supplies will be necessary as you explore the landscape beginning with a town center and a few residents from the Dark Ages. This early stage is one of my favorites since my town still looks nascent and vulnerable, making every decision I make all the more critical.
The Skirmish mode lets you pick from various situations where you can play against the game’s impressively intelligent artificial intelligence (AI) or other players. Make up your situations by adjusting the resources, map dimension, and level of your game.
Work of Historical Significance
Age of Empires 4 is sincere about its history, yet it’s not a barrier to having a good time while playing. A historic storyteller provides background information while you play, in a somewhat ASMR-like manner. Although the introduction clips can be skipped and the additional ones unlocked by performing ignored, they are a tremendous aspect that makes you feel superior by just existing. They’re not mandatory. As a former British schoolkid, I certainly know quite a lot about King Henry and the Normans. However, I was particularly interested in learning about Russian campaigns and Genghis Khan.
Even if you’re zoomed out as your massive army marches over the landscape or concentrate on a sole fisherman throwing his net from the bank of a lake, it’s all stunningly beautiful to look at. As if you were the king of a vast nation’s crown, you’d have an astounding assortment of toy troops for your birthday and get to watch them come to life. It seemed uncomfortable only once throughout the excursions when I saw a massive regiment of warriors attempt to cross a small stone bridge. At the same time, their AI minds battled to keep the formation I’d instructed them to march in. Even for fully conscious soldiers, however, I suppose it’d be a challenge.
Final Words
Age of Empires 4 tends to stick to the tried-and-true formula far too much; however, it shines once pushed to new limits. With a minor unit limitation, confusing pathfinding, and underwhelming visuals for a 2021 video game, the large campaigns and unique races such as the Mongols and the Russians remain essential strengths. There are parts of it that keep me entertained and others that left me wondering how much place is there for such an old standard now that the RTS genre has progressed so far owing to other brands’ improvements.
The game developers have claimed that they will expand the number of civilizations in the coming time. It’s a game that I expect the players will play and enjoy for many, many years from now. In Skirmish mode, You may create all kinds of bizarre circumstances, and the game has enough complexity that I can’t fathom growing tired of it.
