Age of Empires 4 - The Return of the King

Age of Empires 4 – The game received a rain of compliments

On October 28, 2021, Age of Empires 4, the latest version of Relic Entertainment’s real-time strategy game series, was released on PC and Xbox Cloud Gaming cloud service. Currently, international game review sites have in turn published articles reviewing the latest part of the Empire series, one of the long-standing game series that is closely associated with many people (even though most of them only play parts 1 and 2).

After the Open Beta weekend, testing for the strategy game Age of Empires 4 has finally officially ended. G GS spent a lot of time participating in this test and now would like to share with GGS readers our feelings about the game.

Age of Empires 4 is a real-time strategy game for PC developed by a mixed team made up of two studios, Relic and World’s Edge. Among these, Relic has long been famous for many strategy games such as Company of Heroes, Warhammer, Homeworld,… while World’s Edge is a brand new studio established by Microsoft to serve the development process of Age of Empires 4.

This game is a collection of both new and familiar things, with the goal of satisfying millions of extremely demanding gamers after decades of being pampered by Age of Empires 2. What did the development team do to help it achieve that goal?

Age of Empires 4 – A Different Game

The most obvious difference between Age of Empires 4 and previous Empire titles lies in the battle maps. Thanks to the power of modern hardware, the development team confidently pushes everything to 3D graphics, not only to serve the image but also to open up some new gameplay elements. Take the ambush feature for example: now, the forests in the game are no longer “impenetrable”, but you can let soldiers hide in the woods to ambush enemy troops. This helps enhance the game’s tactics as well as emphasize the role of scout units in combat.

Going deeper into the gameplay

As you go deeper into the gameplay of Age of Empires 4, you will realize that the factions in the game are no longer copies of each other, no longer sharing the same technology trees and soldier models. The four factions that gamers can try out in the beta really couldn’t be more different from each other, with their own tactics, their own units, their own technology, and their own ways of upgrading. Even the way of collecting resources is different, for example, the Abbasids have a House of Wisdom that strongly buffs the economy when reaching the Golden Age, and China has a “royal mandarin” to collect taxes,…

In part 4, you will be able to choose 1 of 8 medieval civilizations, along with 4 single-player campaign modes when the new game launches (gradually new campaigns will be updated): The Norman invasion of England in the 11th century, the Hundred Years’ War between the English and the French in the 14th – 15th centuries, the rise of the Grand Duchy of Moscow in the 13th – 16th centuries, and finally the brothers will be playing the conquerors of the largest empire in human history, the Mongol Empire in the process of conquering the territories of today’s China and Russia. If Age of Empires III takes players to the modern and colonial era, part 4 takes us back to the Middle Ages.

The most obvious difference is that when choosing a civilization, you will start with the main house and 6 farmers instead of 3 farmers like Age of Empires 2. Development is one thing, but according to Polygon, the best game mode of Age of Empires 4 is the competitive mode, with features from 1 vs 1 to free-for-all, whoever is strongest wins. This game mode allows you to face AI or other players via an internet connection.

Speaking specifically about the single-player mode, Polygon writes: Each campaign has several different missions, and they all start with beautiful cutscenes, combined with summaries of the situation of that exact period of history so the player gets the situation right before taking control of the chosen civilization. Those scenes will not make the player a true historian, but they are still enough to make each mission more important in the gamer’s eyes, creating the feeling that through this game, the player can rotate along with the wheel of history.

Overall, we feel that the British in Age of Empires 4 are the closest to the familiar gameplay of Age of Empires 2, while the Chinese, Romans, and Abbasids have a lot of gameplay differences. requires gamers to take the time to experiment. When the game officially launches, gamers will be able to use a total of 8 different civilizations to participate in battle, but this is not the final number. In the future, many other civilizations will be added to Age of Empires 4 giving gamers new options when playing.

The storyline in Age of Empires 4 will also be upgraded with modern technology. Each campaign of each faction in the game will have several hours of cinematic footage for gamers to enjoy, helping to highlight important details in the story.

But still very familiar

While the civilizations of Age of Empires 4 are now completely different in terms of gameplay and units, anyone who has spent time playing an Empire game will recognize the similarities between the two versions. the latest version with its predecessors, especially Age of Empires 2. “When we look at Age of Empires 4 yes, it is inspired by Age of Empires 2,” said Michael Mann, the game’s producer. know.

The game development team admitted that they intentionally designed many features in Age of Empires 4 to be similar to previous versions to create the necessary feeling of familiarity. Specifically, we can mention the game’s four-generation mechanism (even the name “Dark Age” is retained), resource collection features, and familiar types of units. The game also retains the mechanism of buying individual soldiers identical to previous versions, although Relic likes to use the mechanism of buying an entire army in its games (Company of Heroes, Warhammer,…).

Besides, you can also notice the overlap in timelines. While the first three Empire versions chose three different timelines, Age of Empires 4 and Age of Empires 2 chose the same timeline, the Middle Ages. This is a very risky decision, but also very safe. To say it’s safe is because this is the timeline that Empire gamers are extremely familiar with and is the most loved of all time, and to say it’s reckless is because Age of Empires 4 will inevitably be compared to its predecessor. The shadow of Age of Empires 2 is extremely huge, so if the new version does not have its own appeal, gamers will return to Age of Empires 2.

And when the armies in Age of Empires 4 meet on the battlefield, we once again see familiarity. Effectively micro-uniting each military unit will still make a large contribution to the outcome of small battles. Once you hit the troop limit (still 200) and participate in multiple battles on multiple fronts, with everything happening at the same time on-screen and off-screen, you will have to rely a lot on your intelligence. of AI as well as its ability to “dance” shortcuts to keep reinforcements constantly appearing. This is when your APM index is tested at the same time as your overall tracking ability, and a small mistake can completely lead to bitter failure.

Conclusion

To summarize, Polygon believes that, 16 years since the last version of Age of Empires (part 3), the world of video games has changed a lot, but Relic and Age of Empires 4 are still enough to bring the long-standing series to life. with new players, without losing the quality and personality of the entire game series. Empire 4’s multiplayer mode was not revived and brought to life with too big changes. Instead, Relic retains the essence of the entire series, combined with very smart tweaks to aging systems.

Similarly, VG247 also concluded: Age of Empires 4 is a game with many colors and many egos. It has greater ambition than any previous version in terms of inspiration and content, but at the same time is extremely grounded and restrained in changing the basic systems of the game. In reality, there’s no need to replace what’s working perfectly, but there will be a few changes that can help make Age of Empires 4 feel fresh and exciting. The single-player mode is so good but still lacks new content

NME, meanwhile, praised the game’s artificial intelligence system: the game’s AI is very smart. Computer opponents know how to carefully and calculatedly take each piece of a player’s territory. Instead of going all in with the risk of losing miserably, the AI always knows how to attack gradually, each attack dangerous enough to reveal vulnerabilities in your defense system, until the AI thinks they have become strong enough to defeat players. If your army has a weakness, and if the AI recognizes it, failure is a very common occurrence.

In conclusion, NME said that the Empire’s strengths will remain the same in part 4. The long, tiring, and complicated preparation process will eventually lead to bloody battles in which both sides will suffer. heavy loss. Victory is not for the side that causes more damage, but for the side that knows how to use resources intelligently and calculated.

Sharing the same opinion as Polygon is Tom’s Guide. They think that there is a vague feeling that makes Age of Empires 4 no different from Part 2, in terms of scale, gameplay, and theme. But in return, a historical real-time strategy game of this caliber is rarely released, so part 4 is still excellent work, even though Relic’s approach is still a bit too safe. full. We have to wait until new civilizations appear and new single-player modes are updated, then we will know the true potential of Age of Empires 4.

Referring to the historical aspect, PC Invasion believes that, if the gameplay of Age of Empires 4 still has a few flaws in terms of challenges, and the difficulty is not consistent across each game mode, then the game is still a perfect work to play. Learn about human history, a great combination of entertainment and education. As for WCCFTech, they put the words “The Return of the King” in the title line, giving the game a score of 9/10, with arguments about difficulty as well as new gameplay details that are not much different from other game review channels.

After what we experienced in the beta, we think Age of Empires 4 is an attractive game, but that may not be enough – its biggest competitor is Age of Empires 2, a game Classic still attracts tens of thousands of gamers every day. We won’t be surprised if it can’t surpass its predecessor, but Age of Empires 4 may be the best PC game of 2021 that comes closest to the throne thanks to the efforts of World’s Edge and Relic.

Minimum
OS: Windows 10, 64-bit
Processor: Intel Core i5-6300U / AMD Ryzen 5 2400G
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: Intel HD 520 / AMD Radeon RX Vega 11
DirectX: 12
Storage space: 50 GB available

Recommended
Processor: 3.6 GHz 6-Core Intel i5 / AMD Ryzen 5 1600
Memory: 16 GB RAM
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce 970 / AMD Radeon RX 570, 4 GB VRAM

Age of Empires 4 – Digital Deluxe Edition (Steam Key)

Bonus contents of the Digital Deluxe Edition

Official Age of Empires IV Soundtrack
Unit Counters Chart
Art compilation from digital painter Craig Mullins
Exclusive in-game content including a Coat of Arms, Player Profile portrait, and Monument

Featuring both familiar and innovative new ways to expand your empire in vast landscapes with stunning 4K visual fidelity, Age of Empires IV brings an evolved real-time strategy game to a new generation.

Return to History! The past is prologue as you are immersed in a rich historical setting of 8 diverse civilizations across the world from the English to the Chinese to the Delhi Sultanate in your quest for victory. Build cities, manage resources, and lead your troops to battle on land and at sea in 4 distinct campaigns with 35 missions that span across 500 years of history from the Dark Ages up to the Renaissance.

Choose Your Path to Greatness with Historical Figures! Live the adventures of Joan of Arc in her quest to defeat the English, or command mighty Mongol troops as Genghis Khan in his conquest across Asia. The choice is yours – and every decision you make will determine the outcome of history.

Age of Empires 4 (Steam Key) – EU

You will receive the key for the game from Xbox Game Studios via eMail within the stated delivery time.
One of the most beloved RTS games returns to glory, putting you at the center of epic historical battles that shaped the world!
Download Age of Empires 4 for free via the Steam network.
Steam can be found You will receive the key for the game from Xbox Game Studios via eMail within the stated delivery time.
One of the most beloved RTS games returns to glory, putting you at the center of epic historical battles that shaped the world!
Download Age of Empires 4 for free via the Steam network.
Steam can be found here.

This is an EU key that can only be used/activated within Europe.

Age of Empires 4 – Anniversary Edition (Windows 10) – EU Key

This is an EU key that can only be used/activated within Europe.

Age of Empires – Definitive Edition (Windows 10)

You will receive the key for the game by Microsoft Studiosvia eMail within the stated delivery time.
Age of Empires, the pivotal RTS that launched a 20-year legacy returns in definitive form for Windows 10 PCs.
Activate the key in the Windows 10 Store and download the game.

Age of Empires 25th Anniversary Collection

You will receive the key for the game by Xbox Game Studios via eMail within the stated delivery time.
Experience the ultimate collection of games and bonus contents from the legendary Age of Empires franchise.
Download Age of Empires 25th Anniversary Collection for free via the Steam network.
Steam can be found here.

This is an EU key that can only be used/activated within Europe.

Celebrate Age of Empires’ historic legacy with the Age of Empires 25th Anniversary Collection. In this collection of 6 beloved real-time strategy games, you will experience historical battles like never before!
The following contents are included in the 25th Anniversary Collection: