MENA Gamer - Where Game Begins

Taking a look back...

In this series of reviews I will look at some ‘older’ titles and show you what’s good, bad and again what is considered ugly. I will cover a wide range of games from the ever popular Age of Empires Series to the less so ‘popular’ Star Trek series. Like with other reviews showing an in depth experience of each game and what it offers for players.

Age of Empires
(1996, US - 1997, UK)

“We built this city with, rock, wood and coin...oh and some food...”

Introduction
Age of empires which was released back in 1997 by Ensemble studios, it brought us a redefined game type which was popular among the masses. With its Real time strategy based game play or RTS for short, it offered a simple but effective type of game style and structure which has been maintained up to this date with Age of Empires III and multiple expansion packs.

Each version of this series has its merits and demerits but personally the original is the best and the most satisfying to play, let’s take a look.

How it looks
Typically of games in this style it is a 2D world rich with detail. The game looks like another of this type and is the foundation for many games which preceded it. Each unit has a unique look and is not hard to distinguish from the enemies. The game is made up of 2D and 3D graphics, which complement each other as the buildings and the user interface seem to fit together seamlessly. The buildings and units are represented as best as they can be in such an early graphical age of gaming.

How it works
Like with most games, Age of Empires requires some sort of knowledge or understanding of this type of RTS game play. The game allows players to go through the ages, from the Stone Age to the Iron Age and stages in-between. Playing as a tribe you work your way up through the ages by increasing your technological status, population and military prowess.

The difference with this game and others of its type is that every time you play, you get a different experience. So there is less chance of boredom and a greater chance of new and unique game play. If you have had enough with the same civilization, then mix it up a little, you have up to twelve to choose from, each with their own strengths and each with a vast technology tree which will help you progress further. Starting the game you are faced with the initial choice, eat or be eaten. You will need to expand or die, to do this you need to gather resources, these being, wood, food, stone and coin. Each one provides an important role in playing the game and keeping the right balance is sometimes harder than it seems. Once you have gathered enough food for instance you can train another worker from your camp. The workers are used to protect, explore and to gather more resources. The more workers you have the more you can gather, but be careful though, there may be more deadly foes, than not getting enough food. There are enemies and predators out there, some in the form of rival civilisations and others in the form of the natural wildlife. To progress through the ages, and thus become the dominant civilisation you will need to progress technologically. Now this is done by selecting certain units and structures and researching new skills, buildings and units. These then allow for increased production and performance on the battlefield.

Then once you can, progress to the next level of civilisation, this will open up new features and units depending on your tribe. You will get the chance to expand your civilisation further afield, to overseas and to areas where you could not go or would get killed trying.

How it plays
This is one of the early games in this genre and as a result it does suffer from very basic AI and graphics. But don’t let that put you off, this is definitely a game which will have you playing for hours (Unless you don’t like RTS, then this review is pretty pointless). Once you have gotten past the initial how-to-play tutorials if you needed to you are presented with the main game window. This is where you will control and command units and research items to progress further. Because there are twelve different civilisations in which you can choose from it makes it a bit more of a challenge learning to use each one and play on their strengths to your advantage. I find that playing or getting to know the enemy’s strengths and weaknesses will make the game a more enjoyable and challenging experience.

Making sure that you have the right balance between workers and military units is vital as this may be the decider when push comes to shove in a battle. Building and unit queues are one of the tools that you will need to keep a close eye on and making sure that you have the right units for the right situations. Stone, wood and coin are the building blocks and must be replenished, so once you have found an ample supply, defend and protect it because there is always someone who would want to take it for themselves. Commanding units on Age of Empires can seem a little sluggish at times, especially when it comes to battle. Making group selections is pretty nonexistent and making a unit attack a target without prompting it can seem a little frivolous. So be prepared to micromanage and look after pretty much every unit and building on the game, especially in the heat of battle.

Controls and ease of use
The simple point and click to move and select units and to make actions, works in this games favour and is one of the easiest to use and play. The game does not feel sluggish like some other games of this genre and this era. Where the interface and the controls feel to be restricted and thus hinder game play. Simply by selecting a unit using the left mouse button and right clicking in any space will move the unit to that location or to attack any other unit.

Multiplayer
Multiplayer similar to that of the single player game works in pretty much the same way, but in this mode you can utilize game play modes such as king of the hill. The game does come into its element in multiplayer; it can seem to be a bit ‘slow’ or lacking ‘pace’ in the single player mode. So every once in a while it can be beneficial to take a plunge. The problem nowadays is trying to get someone to play in this mode, so if you find someone who is interested make sure you get their contact details, because if you want to play again then you will have to do some searching.

The Good
The unique style of game play delivers a timeless classic that is still as fresh today as it was then.

The Bad
Poor AI and graphics does make this game seem outdated, but hey what do you expect? It’s over 10 years old for goodness sake.

The Ugly
I can’t say there is anything particularly ugly about  this game, although some features are ‘missing’ or needed, which were added in later versions of the game.

Summary
This game is one of the all time classics, and is a ‘must play’ even if you have played its younger siblings. I would recommend this as a starting point when looking into playing your first RTS as it provides a good way to manage and build up your civilisation from scratch. Overall this game is a fun, practically endless and classic of a game.