They are a lot tougher in AoE4, so if someone is used to pinging one with a vill in AoE2 and head back to the tc, they might be surprised by the damage they apparently can do. There is a tech at the mill to make it easier, but I’ve never bothered with it or the boars. I just grab as many sheep as I can, harvest the berries and deer, and farm.
Thanks for those videos.
I am not a Age of Empires 3 player, Aussie has a great speaking voice, and he does good work.
Reviews are good
Ok so I clicked on the review that gave it 60 and I’m pretty sure it was written by someone who has never, ever played an RTS, certainly nothing like AOE, Starcraft, Red Alert etc. I’m not even sure they played this particular game as they’re rambling about establishing cities… Or complaining about the lack of cultural aspects of the game, perhaps wishing for a cultural/diplomacy win?
However, it is difficult to really consider the game as a way for players to experience and take control of history when the mechanics are limited to building strong militaries and conquering throngs of faceless enemies.
Textual game reviewing is at an all time low, except this fine establishment of course.
Also, reviews are meaningless for this particular title as they can’t establish how good or bad the game is in MP, where the real deal is. Judging by what I’ve seen in a few clips on Youtube, there are some major issues that may prevent it from taking the crown from AOE2 in the foreseeable future.
I read the reviews at IGN, PC Gamer, Polygon, all “positive”, but all pointing out that Relic basically played it safe by essentially remaking Age 2. IGN’s reviewer pointed out that the only time she was excited is when Relic tried something new, which is the Mongol and Rus factions, which play differently than previous games.
But then I read Rob Zachny’s review, and he made it sound a lot more appealing than the others.
That’s always been the issue, even back when Ensemble was still doing the series. Age of Empires 2 is almost perfect, so the bar is very high for any games in the franchise coming after. You can add 3D and stuff like Pantheon powers or Home City upgrades, but the meat of the rock-paper-scissors army conflicts is right there in Age 2.
And now, it’s tough because the recent Age 2 Definitive Edition is great with the upgraded graphics, additional QoL changes, and regular live-service stuff.
The whole beta was a rage fest of aoe2 players saying it was aoe3, and aoe3 players saying it was aoe2.
People are able to stream AoE4 starting today, so a number of streamers are playing.
Is there a “ campaign”?
We didn’t get to try them in the betas, but there is a campaign mode.
Yes. To quote that Rob Zachny review above’s section on the campaign:
The plodding narrative campaigns of Age of Empires II , with over-wrought narrations desperately trying to provide some kind of narrative tissue to simplistic “go here and kill everything” mission designs, are mercifully gone. In their place are slickly-produced documentary-style campaigns that capture the undeniable pleasure of a pre-reality-TV History Channel marathon. Between missions you’ll be treated to charming cutscenes that place each chapter of a campaign in historical context, complete with modern-day footage of the key locations overlaid with augmented-reality animations of Age of Empires IV armies pouring across car parks and sightseeing trails. Over the course of the game you’ll also unlock mini-documentaries covering different topics of interest like, “How did they make all that chainmail?” and “What’s the difference between hunting with hawks versus falcons?” These asides are well-made and presented, like good extras on a top-shelf collector’s edition DVD.
Mission design doesn’t always keep pace. While I appreciate the fact that its campaigns are frequently loving paeans to medieval siege warfare, even my mighty appetite for defending or reducing ancient citadels was tested. Yet those battles were far, far more enjoyable than the “trail of breadcrumbs” missions that the campaigns love to throw at you. There were a lot of missions I overcame purely through repetition, learning both the map layouts and the exact timing of different threats. This is a less welcome throwback experience, even if the missions themselves are still much better designed and scripted than much of what you’ll find in the earlier games.
Cool Txs.
All the ads on Reddit today were for AoE IV, kinda nice.
Color me disappointed.
We have a gazillion times more processing power than Age 1 and Age 2, and yet this is what they chose to do with it? I’d have love to have seen some advancements to the genre, but this is for all intents and purposes just a fancy-looking Age 2.
And we already had the Definitive Edition for a “fancy” looking Age 2. Without that, I can see the sense in playing it very safe. With the DE being a thing, I wouldn’t mind seeing more risk taking.
That being said, I’m not sure I’d want Relic to be the ones taking the risks. Everything they’ve released since the original Company of Heroes has been a dud for me.