Outside of the campaigns and Age of War challenges, there’s a new win condition for Age of Empires IV. It’s a nice touch which, especially in multiplayer games, could be a real game-changer if chosen well. Here, the game takes on a similar idea to the politician system in AoE III, where players choose a strategic landmark to build in order to progress - each of which is unique and tailored to benefit their respective civilization. The main progression mechanic, as with previous Age of Empire titles, is by moving your civilization through four ages. Unfortunately, due to the limited pool pre-launch, we haven’t been able to test out the multiplayer modes just yet.
When it comes to multiplayer, there’s the choice of Quick Matches, Custom and Observe, with Ranked soon to come after launch. The campaigns are a real shining point of AoE IV, offering a lot of interesting moments in history beyond the key battles that you’re more likely to have heard of. While the civilisation and campaign selection is slightly less than in AoE II, they are incredibly well fleshed out. Beginning with the Battle of 1066, the Normans is your classic starting campaign for Age of Empires IV, and although it’s a little slow to show off some of the great new features the game has added, it’s a walk down memory lane for series fans and a smooth introduction to the gameplay for newbies. In single player, you can choose from the Campaign, Skirmish or Age of War modes - all of which will be familiar to Age of Empires veterans.Īs of launch, the base game has four campaigns the Normans, the Hundred Years War, the Mongol Empire and the Rise of Moscow, which can be played in Story mode, Easy, Intermediate, or Hard difficulty. There is a great variety of ways to play, too. The strengths and focal points of these civilizations are significant enough that on every difficulty level (with the small exception of Story Mode in the campaigns), you’ll really feel the benefit of leaning into them. Each civilization has unique bonuses and units which players can use to their advantage, whether in aid of battle, commerce or faith.
We don’t know where Age of Empires IV will fit into this history, but the choice of developer - Canada’s Relic Entertainment - suggest a more traditional approach to the series. Age of Empires III was released in 2005, focusing on the colonial period, and adding a number of new game mechanics, and in 2011, the series tried its hand at free-to-play, with Age of Empires Online and its cartoony aesthetic. Players had to guide their troops through the Stone Age to the Classical period, with a follow up in 1999, Age of Empires II, taking the action to the Middle Ages. The first Age of Empires came out in 1997 as a real-time strategy game developed by the now-defunct Ensemble Studios. But even that will be enough to get fans of the series excited. There’s no release window for the game just the launch trailer above, filled with concept art of historical battles. More than a decade after Age of Empires III was released, publisher Microsoft Studios has announced that Age of Empires IV is in development and coming to PC.
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