Surpassed (Age of Empires (PC))

Member Name: B0nfire

Product:	Age of Empires (PC)
Date:	01/07/00 (6 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Interesting background

Disadvantages: Too old-fashioned in a fast-moving genre

A real-time-strategy game that actually teaches you something, Age of Empires gives you control of a tribe in a variety of historical scenarios. You take you chosen people from the Stone Age all the way to the Iron Age, developing new equipment and buildings as you go, and maybe even learning about the history of these people.
But of course people are going to play this for the game itself, not the learning experience, so how good is that? Well, AOE is very highly acclaimed in the press, but to be honest I really can’t figure out what all the fuss is about. You’ve got your basic Command & Conquer-style interface, only this time the resource-management takes more of a central role, and you find yourself basing your strategies on the natural resources of the area you start in.
I think the problem I have with the game is that I’ve never really been a big fan of the resource-management side of this style of game, and by making it more of an issue I think I find it less exciting to play. In addition I’m a relative newcomer to the game, having already been through both Total Annihilation games, and so the interface strikes me as cumbersome in the extreme.
So if like me you’ve been spoilt by the quality of the more recent RTS games, and hate resource-management, steer well clear. You’re sure to be disappointed by the nature and slow pacing of the game.

Summary: