Age of Empires Online – PC – Review

The Age of Empires is one of those series gamers have embraced for well over a decade. The Age of Empires series was a pivotal title that helped defined the RTS genre. Each Age of Empires game released spawned several add-on packs that fans gobbled up. Most fans played each game for well over a year before any update or sequel was released. Age of Empires Online has taken an approach that is different from what everyone was so accustomed to. Instead of buying the game you can actually play for free. With the release of Age of Empires Online most fans want to know if the free to play model it will stand up to the standards set in place in the titles of the past.

Story: The initial release of the game focuses on two civilizations the Egyptians and the Greeks. Most of the missions revolve around something set in the annals of each civilizations history. The Greeks campaign for example will have you embark on quests to lead up to the Battle of Troy. Now this is not the only story arch covered by the Greeks campaign but it will be the only one I cover here.  It is really nice that AOE online doesn’t cover only one story arch per civilization but many tucked away inside each civilizations campaign.

Gameplay: While playing through each of the campaigns you will encounter many types of quests most revolve around gathering resources, defending something or defeating the enemy. Some quests are rather difficult and some can be completed in a matter of minutes. The game really offers a great range of challenges for all levels of experience. AOE Online differs itself from the Age of Empires games of the past by offering players the chance to play the game for free. The game is advertised to offer over 40 hours of gameplay to the person that wants to play for free. One of the goals Microsoft has set with this new game is that they plan on offering players new civilizations and new content on a regular basis instead of locking players down to purchasing add-on packs down the road. They have planned to offer a load of new content most of which is being prepared for release over the next 6 months. The more dedicated player can choose to purchase a single civilization or a $100 bundle that will give a player access to all the content being released over the next 6 months. There are 2 other civilizations being prepared right now the Celts and Persians which will be released in the coming months. The gameplay itself stays true to the style of gameplay people are used to. There are only a few exceptions to this. They have included a more developed economic system that not only includes the trading of items and materials but the opportunity to beef up your army with items. There are 4 different tiers of items accessible to the player they are labeled as common, uncommon, rare, and epic items. Free to Play players can only use common and uncommon items while people who choose to purchase a premium civilization can use rare and epic items. While playing through quests you can obtain chests that contain random items. These items will help you beef up your capital and army. The Capital is where you get new quests and access stores made available to you. Your Capital is completely customizable you can construct new buildings and place decorations and make it your own unique city.

Graphics/Sound: The style of art is rather cartoony but nothing over the top. Everything looks amazing. Each unit in your army is expertly crafted and each one looks pretty awesome. The nice thing about the artists who helped make this game is that they are serious enough but leave little bits of humor in the game. The game is scored very well and at times the gameplay is so intriguing you don’t even notice that the audio is looped.

Multiplayer: The game has two modes of multiplayer co-op and player vs. player. Co-op is rather simple to setup. You can invite someone on your friends list to your party or even someone you found in the in-game chat. You simply find a mission that allows co-op, check the box and hit start game. Player vs. Player has 2 different modes 1 vs. 1 or 2 vs. 2 each mode allows for ranked and unranked matches.

Overall: Age of Empire holds up well to the games of the past but with inclusion of Free to Play some people can find themselves feeling like they are being nickeled and dimed. The thing Microsoft wanted to offer players is the chance to customize their experience by offering players the chance to sculpt the game as they see fit while actively offering players the opportunity to gain access to new features down the road. Free to play games are not a new thing as some are being offered on social platforms such as Facebook. The only difference is the immensity of gameplay offered in AOE Online. The best thing about this game is that you can experience mostly all of it without having to pay a single cent for anything and you can choose to buy items at any time without losing items or levels gained while playing. I think this might be the future of gaming but only time will tell. If you are willing to play something without having to pay a cent download Age of Empire Online and check it out it may be more than you expect.

Score: 7.5 out of 10 (F2P) 8 out of 10 (Premium)

Popularity: unranked [?]