Age of Empires; The Timeless RTS Game That Needs a New Sequel

Sabrina Perry

Updated:

18 Jan 2017

The RTS game for the ages. Romans, Egyptians, Knights, and Samurai!

Age of Empires needs to strike back and return like a King.

Forget about Starcraft, Company Of Heroes, Command and Conquer, and Total War because it’s the AGE OF EMPIRES.

Do as the Romans Do in Age of Empires

In 1997, at the age of 8 years old Age of Empires let me do as Romans do. And it was seriously the best. When Age Of Empires II The Age Of Kings, came out I could rule my kingdom with an iron fist at the age of 10. By the time Age of Empires III came around I was 16 years old, and I was able to explore the world like a European conquering the world, tame the wild New World like the Native Americans, and even explore Eastern Asia like a Samurai. Don’t even get me started on the Age of Mythology spin-off series, I mean you can play as legends straight out of Roman Mythology.

Ensemble Studios Spin-Off Series Age of Mythology

Age of Empires, is for me the RTS game above all real time strategy games. Yes, it’s a completely biased opinion but I am here to tell you why, why it’s the best, and why Microsoft needs to bring it back. Recently, Bill Gates responded to a reddit post asking for Age of Empires 4 and I was put into a frenzy. He said, “I will look into this. How many empires do you need? For me, even the slightest idea of this happening, is almost comparable to winning a trip to space; and I wanted to be an astronaut. At this point, I would take any empire Mr. Gates. It has been nearly 20 years since the first Age of Empires game came onto the scene in 1997, but Age of Empires still has a strong fan base. Ensemble studios the developers of the game may have shut it’s doors down over 9 year ago but I am still holding on to hope that what Mr. Gates says is true.

In the early 90s and 2000s Age of Empires was Microsoft’s bread and butter and for good reason. Age of Empires is highly regarded as one of the best RTS games of all time. It is ranked up there with the likes of Starcraft, Company of Heroes, Command and Conquer and The Total War games. Here are a few reasons why Age of Empires needs to come back to life.

1) Simplicity

What separates Age of Empires from all the rest is the simplicity.

Anyone can pick up the game and start playing from little kids, casual gamers, to the hardcore esports gamer. It transports you to different time periods and brought different cultures to life. You could play as nearly all the great civilizations throughout time.

2)The Artificial Intelligence

The AI engine is also top notch. Whether you are playing against the computer in a skirmish, or playing through the campaign the AI utilizes tactics and strategy to defeat you. The developers also gave the AI the ability to learn from its past mistakes, don’t expect the AI to lose the same way twice with this RTS engine.

3) The Sound and Animation

One of the best things about AOE was the sound, music and animation. Other games just can’t compete or recreate just the enormous range of hilarious sounds the characters would make. HU-UGH! Not to mention the character animation for carrying large bundles. Lifting with your back is bad- didn’t the ancient people know that. Plus, there is nothing more satisfying than the sound of a completed building, especially finishing construction on one of the 7 Wonders of the World. It’s like a piston firing with like a sound of awe. And don’t get me started on the soundtrack. It is so well made, each culture and time period has its own ambiance, and feel. Even each little game action has its own music. There is the hunter gathering type stuff, the building and construction sort of sound, and then there is the intense battle music.

4) Replayability

Age of Empires not matter what game is one of the most replayable games. You can spend just as many hours logged into Age of Empires as a good MMO RPG game.You don’t get experience points but the satisfaction of bringing a civilization from the stone age to the industrial age is fulfilling. You can repeat levels ad nauseum and because of the AI you will never win or lose the same way twice. And that is what makes Age of Empires great.

5) Cheat Codes

Last but not least, Age Of Empires had the best cheat codes. Ranging from the ability to have a Corvette that shoots missiles, Photoman a dude who shoots lasers, firing cows out of a catapult, increasing your resources by 1000 at a time, to literally wiping out your opponent with the black death. Cheating was never as much fun as it was in Age of Empires. Seriously, you could remove the fog of war, get a cobra car, fire torpedos, turn hawks into flying dogs,control animals instead of people, and then when you were ready to die type wimpy wimpy wimpy and commit suicide.

Ensemble truly had a hit on their hands and it would be in not only Microsoft but the gaming world to bring back the myth and legend that is Age Of Empires. There is a whole generation of gamers out there that haven’t got to experience this gaming icon. There are so many games that owe its development and its style of AOE. Games like Age of Star Wars, Rise of Nations and Halo Wars. There is another Starcraft, there is another Total War, there is another Command and Conquer, and another Company of Hero 2. The only thing missing from this list is AGE OF EMPIRES 4. So please, please, please let me retire my 20 year old AOE CD Mr. Gates, and bless me with another Age of Empires installment. Grant me this wish oh, Great Microsoft Gods. Restore to me this great game franchise and let this be the return of THE AGE OF EMPIRES.