This is the game that introduced and defined strategy games for me. I remember when I was in high school a friend of mine installed the demo on my computer and I was glued to the monitor that night.

The game has a simple concept; build an economy, progress through the ages and complete objectives or obliterate the enemy. Simple but in so many ways addictive.

Age of Empires is an isometric game (2 dimensional made to look 3D) and therefore does not require any graphics hardware acceleration beyond that which your computer already has. It is almost 13 years old yet the graphics feel fresh. Vivid colours, beautiful animations and great music.

Its an easy game to pickup and play. The learning curve isn't too big because all the actions are laid out in small numbers of buttons on the uers interface. These include movement, building, repairing, attacking and standing ground and so forth.

The interface has a minimap which allows you to keep up with all the action and make movements without having to navigate the whole map.

Age of Empires also features 3D sound meaning that when you move away from a certain area of the screen you do not hear any of that action.

The soundtrack is very beautiful orchestral music that varies over the game and fits the mood of progress or action.

Age of Empires has ages starting from Stone Age and finishes in the Iron Age. The campaigns are very enlightening (almost educational) and enjoyable. Some campaigns even taught me a bit about Egyptian and Hittite history - such as the Battle of Kadesh.

Multiplayer gameplay is fantastic. The old MSN Zone where matchmaking was done does not exist. Fortunately there is Voobly a matchmaking service that has games daily and a sense of community.

3 Es Enjoyable, Educational, Enlightening