Age of Empires IV

Age of Empires IV is the fourth installment of the bestselling RTS series, developed by Microsoft. In contrast to the previous parts of the series, created by Ensemble Studios team, the game was developed by Relic Entertainment studio, the authors of the first two games in the Homeworld series, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War and Company of Heroes series.

Plot

Age of Empires 4 is set in the Middle Ages. Each of the four story campaigns presents events taking place over hundreds of years. An example is the campaign dedicated to the Normans, which begins with the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and ends with signing the Great Charter of Freedom in 1215. There are also various historical figures present during the game as stronger units. In between chapters we can watch special mini-documentaries, which are an introduction to the events presented in the next mission.

Game mechanics

Age of Empires IV remains faithful to the scheme established by its predecessors, but it also introduces many new features. Watching the action from a top-down view, we acquire resources (i.e. gold, wood and iron) and food, build military and economic structures, and put into battle powerful and diverse armies. As we progress, we move to subsequent eras, or stages of development, which is a visible proof of our growing power.

During the game we stand at the head of one of eight civilizations. We have China, Delhi Sultanate, England and Mongolia at our disposal. Each nation plays a little differently, because the developers made sure that they have individual strengths and weaknesses and unique units and abilities. The strength of the Chinese is thus the use of gunpowder, and its unique feature is the dynastic system, which provides it with interesting bonuses. The Delhi Sultanate focuses on defense and research, can field powerful war elephants in battle, and has monks under its command, which are special units capable of accelerating research and improving technology. The Mongols, on the other hand, as a nomadic people, can move their bases from place to place and also have cavalry units at their disposal from the very beginning of the game. As for the English, their main strengths are the castles and fortresses they build, while the units that other nations can envy them are the special archers, equipped with long bows that allow them to fire at enemies from a distance.

The changes introduced in Age of Empires IV do not end with a greater variety of civilizations. For example, walls built around cities no longer serve only as an obstacle for enemy troops. We can place our units on them, which will take an active part in defending the fortress from enemy attack. Of course, attackers are not helpless in this situation and can, for example, make use of siege machines.

Game modes

In addition to the single player gameplay variants (story campaigns, casual game) Age of Empires IV offers an expanded multiplayer mode mode for up to 8 players, in which we compete against commanders from around the world.

Technical aspects

The graphic design of Age of Empires IV presents a high level of performance. At the same time the whole was kept in quite an unusual style. While the landscapes look very realistic, pleasing to the eye with their various details, unit models may seem a bit angular and too colorful; the proportions are also a bit distorted, making our subjects seem too large against the background of buildings. This way, however, the authors wanted to allow players to quickly orient themselves in the situation prevailing on the map, and especially on the battlefield during the hustle and bustle of battle.

Last updated on September 4, 2017