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SummaryRRP: $79.95 Publisher/distributor: Emsemble Studios Format: PC CD-ROM Classification: General Requirements: - Processor: Pentium 166 - Operating System: Win 95/98/NT Graphics: 5 stars Gameplay: 4� stars With lavish visuals, vast armies and some of the most sonorous soundtracks in the strategy game business, Age of Kings is very impressive the first time you fire it up. This sequel to the popular Age of Empires looks like being the best top-down strategy game we are likely to see this year. But first a warning: this game is very tough on your posterior. Most missions take several hours to complete, and even worse (or better depending on your view point) the play is so additive you will probably find it impossible not to finish a mission once you have begun, even if you are forced to restart a couple of times. Age of Empires is a real-time strategy game. You are given control of a loyal tribe, and you must help your people thrive, and more importantly, survive, in the game's harsh medival world. You can choose to lead any one of 13 nations, each with a number of traits and advantages. There are warlike Mongols, Goths, Celts, Japanese and Saracens, just to name a few. Best of all, many of the campaigns are closely based on historical fact, so you can don the robes of Genghis Khan (the self-proclaimed punisher of the gods), unite the Mongol hordes and sweep westward into Europe. Or you can lead the French as Joan of Arc and reunite your nation, closely following this tumultuous period in French history. There are 11 other nations at your disposal, each with a unique story, and a host of historically derived missions to play. Age of Kings is probably the most enjoyable history lesson you could ever have. The resource management side of the play is more complex and rewarding than just about any other real-time strategy game. The real-time paly is so logical and straightforward that Age of Kings (like its predecessor) will probably win over many new converts who have never before touched strategy games. A successful empire is dependent on four basic resources: food (which can be hunted, fished for or farmed), wood, stone and gold. Food is the most basic resource, and once you put enough on your people's plates, you can get them busy breeding more able-bodied workers. Food can also be an extremely useful resource, because you can maximise output by building farms. But you will also need large amounts of the other resources, especially the most important of all - gold. Gold may not seem necessary to your empire building early in a campaign, but once you get to the business end of the technology tree, and want to build the more powerful units and the most significant advances in civilisation, you'll need a doubloon or two. In Age of Kings (especially in the later levels) your success or failure often depends on how well you manage these resources and can effectively predict the economic needs of your people. This may sound a little dull and basic, but it isn't. Unlike the first game in the series, this time you can dig yourself out of a hole if you are under attack, and desperately short of a particular resource (while having plenty of other resources in store). The game lets you trade resources, at a cost cost, at your town's market. It is played using the pleasantly familiar top-down isometric mapboard perspective,and Age of Kings really does the business in teh aesthetics department. All of the animals, buildings and people are drawn with aplomb, and the 3D-rendered models move about with a lifelike look that is very hard to generate unless you are an accomplished computer artist. The structure in the game are also a lot larger than in Age of Empires. Some of the grander structures, such as the medieval castles, mosques and fortresses, are truly breathtaking to behold, but they also take up a large proportion of the screen. This means your encampment is usually quite decently sized too, and this can make defending your home base more of a challenge. Combat is very much improved when compared with the original game. There are simple and advanced modes for combat, and these help the game meet the requirements of both acolyte and hard-core strategy gamer. The game also presents a huge tactical innovation - workable pre-set formations. You can assume a number of comabt formations that help greatly because you can keep your forces in battle doing what they do best. Using formations, you can have your footsloggers always at the front of your ranks, missile troops at the rear, and harrying troops on your flanks. This single feature makes game play a joy, and stops it deteriorating into an uncontrollable mass brawl. Your people have also gone to navigational school (when compared with teh folks int he original game), and they are now capable of receiving many more combat and non-combat commands, and acting with a fair amount of initiative. There are some great instant skirmish battles, and your armies look superb marching in formation. Age of Kings is instantly accessible, yet riddled with the kind of complexity that will have you coming back for more, or even worse bleary eyed and totally devoted to your citizens long after the sun has vanished over the horizon. |