While many participants in the Technical Stress Test weren’t a fan of the way the UI looks, my gripes with it were different.
It’s not all puppies and sunshine though.
Probably one of the reasons why World’s Edge and Relic Entertainment have opted to go back to this medieval setting, as most players know how the rock-paper-scissor mechanic works in this time period. Cavalry deal extra damage to archers, pikemen do well against cavalry and so on. It’s clear which units counter which, a problem often attributed to Age of Empires 3 where this was less clear for non-experienced players. Overall it seems Relic has nailed the classic rock-paper-scissor mechanics which are important in real time strategy games. And it works well – my relatively old PC was able to run the game fine and the amount of bugs I’ve encountered during my playtime were very limited. There are plenty of things I’d love to see changed, but Age of Empires IV is fun to play. It’s fun to play and matches are engaging. The most important thing Age of Empires IV is a good real time strategy game. I’ve played against AI (on the intermediate and hard difficulty) and have played plenty of online multiplayer sessions, either with friends or on my own. This weekend I’ve been playing around twenty games, with all four civilizations in various formats. This creates a somewhat hybrid version of these two instalments, which will either please all fans or none, depending on the final execution of the product by Relic Entertainment. The civilizations are diverse, many quality of life improvements have been made and the armies are smaller than in Age of Empires 2. However, when delving into the game a little deeper it suddenly becomes apparent there is more to this than just an Age of Empires 2 sequel. At first glance the game looks like a 3D version of the second game, with the same resource gathering element set in the same period of history – the middle ages. Relic is trying to strike a balance between these two types of fans. Some players like the classic gameplay of Age of Empires II, which was a clear evolution of the first game, while others are a fan of the new gameplay elements added in the third instalment.
The reception to all these new mechanics was mixed to say the least, which created two separate fanbases within the Age of Empires community. Stacked unit productions, a card systems, smaller maps and armies, hero units and less macro heavy economies. Back in the day – in 2005 – Ensemble Studios released Age of Empires III with a lot of new mechanics. A balance between old and new, a balance between Age of Empires II and Age of Empires III. It’s very clear from the very first minutes when playing Age of Empires IV the goal was to create a balance. With Age of Empires this is no different, as just like first person shooters, real time strategy games have been around for quite some time. Xbox fans know this all too well regarding Halo. Relic Entertainment is owned by Sega and is mostly known for their Company of Heroes titles.Ĭreating a new game in a well established franchise isn’t an easy task.
The latter is often seen as one of the last bastions of large strategy game studios. The former is a new studio within Microsoft established in 2018 overseeing the Age of Empires franchise. The developers of Age of Empires IV are World’s Edge and Relic Entertainment. And my impressions of the first ‘new’ Age of Empires game to release in over 16 years? The past few days I’ve been playing the Age of Empires IV Technical Stress Test. The neighbours have built a new shed, the street has been renovated and while you were away your house got a new coat of paint. It’s like coming home after a long vacation.Ī sense of familiarity, sure – but certain things have changed.
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