It’s still every bit the “PC game” that Age of Empires II is, albeit with several key refinements. Sacking towns and buildings to generate resources as the Mongols, placing out of the way Hunting Cabins in the woods to amass gold as the Rus, getting access to game-changing canons as the French.Įven after you finish the engaging Moscovite campaign (after lengthy and memorable jaunts as the Normans, French, and Mongol empires), in an epic siege that sets the scene for Ivan the Terrible to begin his reign over most of Europe, there’s still a trove of things to discover. Best of all, to learn what makes each civilisation click. To refine a strategy, to better learn positioning and how siege warfare works. But the learning curve never feels steep, it’s one that invites you to try new things. And how those tools fit into the larger picture.
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It requires an understanding of not only how to do something but what tools will best help you achieve that something. Make no mistake about it, Age of Empires IV is complex. How units path-find and even cheat a little when moving through each other so as to not bottleneck is another nice touch. Cavalry at the front, archers at the back. That said, one of the many brilliant touches is the automatic way troops and armies always fall-back into and attack in formation. That whole “PC game” label is in reference to Age of Empires IV baking in things like managing groups and different units via the keyboard into the very core of the experience. From the clean and intuitive UI to the wonderful Art of War missions that teach you high-level play via simple to follow instructions, there’s a simplicity here that doesn’t belittle or soften the deep layer of strategy sitting below the surface. Realistic units and weapons and structures filtered through the guise of something that is fun to learn and play.
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The Age of Empires franchise is one that has a rich history in the PC landscape, whilst using real-world history to define its distinct tone. For a genre steeped in keyboard shortcuts, understanding tech trees, the importance of a build queue, and multi-tasking so you can turn that gold into gold-plated armour, Age of Empire IV’s easy-to-learn interface and systems go the opposite route to what you’d expect when throwing the word ‘streamlined’ into the mix. The word streamlined or simplified can take on a certain meaning when it comes to the strategy games we play. With Age of Empires IV, you’ve not only got a game that feels in line with the best of the series, it’s the most impressive strategy game in years. Age of Empires IV might be the first mainline release since 2005’s Age III, but thanks to a string of Definitive Edition remasters and continued support in the form of content drops for games like Age of Empires II - it’s relevancy hasn’t waned. And with examples few and far between in 2021, having something exceptional arrive takes on an extra special quality. Dating back to the time PC games first integrated the mouse and keyboard for input the isometric perspective of the RTS, the real-time combat, the shoring up of defences, and training a large force to take on threats is still timeless. Age of Empires IV is something of a marvel, a modern-day RTS released at a time when the real-time strategy genre exists mainly on the periphery of the genre landscape.
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