![]() ![]() You want to get your cavalry out of the way of spearmen, perhaps to get them to tie up enemy archers if you can get swordsmen to cover their withdrawal. This isn't a problem in and of itself regardless of the age of the system, it allows for a significant amount of depth when it comes to planning assaults or making tactical changes in the middle of a battle. For example, cavalry is countered by spearmen, who are laid to waste by swordsmen, and they fear just about anyone on horseback. It's largely the same units, and critically, it is the same "rock paper scissors" dynamic. Despite the new campaigns, flashy presentation, and some other bells and whistles, the basic gameplay in AoE4 isn't that much different compared to the older game. Under Relic's development, the game is a love letter to fans of the franchise and especially to those who enjoyed Age of Empires 2. ![]() Any way you look at it, the release of Age of Empires 4 is the return of a giant, but it feels like a reintroduction of the franchise rather than of an attempt to reinvent it.Īge of Empires 4 has benefited from its time away. In that time, the RTS genre has seen the rise and subsequent decline of numerous milestone entries from Relic Entertainment's own Company of Heroes to the trio of StarCraft 2 releases. They’re handy for sure, but it’s a long way from being a fashion revolution.It's been over 15 years since the release of the previous mainline Age of Empires game, 2005's AoE3. If you’ve been playing the series since its inception, it’s like slipping on a well-worn, comfortable piece of clothing, while the improvements here and there basically amount to someone having added pockets to your outfit. Some players may be disappointed that Age of Empires 4 is so familiar. ![]() Balance will surely come through updates after the game is in more people’s hands. It’s hard to tell at this early stage how well the balance has been found between them, but whether you’re utilising the English, the Romans, or the Abbasid Dynasty they feel individually distinct while retaining that all-important familiarity. Relic has set out their stall with eight factions in Age of Empires 4, though there’s the promise of further civilisations being added via future DLC. This could have been an element that you’d bypass, but instead it feels utterly essential. Mixing modern day footage with super-imposed imagery of the past works fantastically well, and everything has the sheen of a high-quality documentary, with the related editing down to a tee as well. It helps that the storytelling and the additional material are provided with plenty of drama and excellent presentation. The Hands on History videos and documents feel integral to the AoE4 experience The four campaigns – Normans, The Hundred Years War, Rise of Moscow and the Mongol Empire – focus on a full time period’s events, taking you through multiple battles and generations as you experience history as it happened. Two of the most enjoyable new features in AoE4 are the campaign narrative and unlockable content that you gain as you level up. Be prepared to work for those victories though. You’ll also need to make sure you’re utilising all of their secondary skills at the right time, but the rhythm of attack and defence feels just right. A huge part of that is utilising Control Groups, and it’s a cinch to add units that you can then call on with a press of button. You’ll soon learn that you need the tightest of controls on your army to succeed, at least on Intermediate difficulty or higher. These aren’t things that are unique to AoE4, and the RTS genre as a whole has struggled with them for years, but don’t expect any remarkable solutions here. Large armies will bump and jostle their way through environmental bottlenecks, pathfinding sometimes feels a touch loose, and if you allow it to happen battles can degenerate into messy melee with a little too much ease. There are still moments where things don’t quite hang together. Building your settlements in AoE4 looks better and more naturalistic than ever. ![]()
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