Age of Empires IV

Age of Empires IV is the fourth installment of the bestselling RTS series, developed by Microsoft. Contrary to the previous parts of the series, created by Ensemble Studios team, the production was developed by Relic Entertainment studio, the authors of the first two games under the Homeworld banner, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War series and Company of Heroes series.

Story

Age of Empires 4 is set in the Middle Ages. Each of the four story campaigns presents events taking place over hundreds of years. One example is the campaign dedicated to the Normans, which begins with the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and ends with the signing of the Great Charter of Freedom in 1215. There are also various historical figures present during the game as stronger units. In between chapters we can watch special mini-documentaries, which are an introduction to the events presented in the next mission.

Mechanics

Age of Empires IV remains faithful to the scheme developed by its predecessors, but it also introduces many new solutions. Observing the action from a bird's eye view, we obtain resources (gold, wood and stone) and food, construct military and economic buildings, and put into battle powerful and diverse armies. As we progress, we move to subsequent eras, or stages of development, which is a tangible proof of our growing power.

During the game we stand at the head of one of eight civilizations. We have China, Delhi Sultanate, England and Mongolia at our disposal. Each nation plays a little differently, because the developers made sure that they have individual strengths and weaknesses and unique units and abilities. The strength of the Chinese is thus the use of gunpowder, while its unique feature is the dynastic system, which provides it with interesting bonuses. The Delhian Sultanate focuses on defense and scientific research, can field powerful war elephants in battle, and has scholars, or special units capable of accelerating research and improving technology, under its command. The Mongols, on the other hand, as a nomadic people, can move their bases from place to place and also have cavalry units at their disposal from the very beginning of the game. As for the English, their main strengths are the castles and fortresses they build, while the units that other nations can envy them are special archers, equipped with long bows that allow them to fire at enemies from a greater distance.

The changes introduced in Age of Empires IV do not end with a greater variety of civilizations. For example, walls built around cities no longer serve only as an obstacle for enemy armies. We can place our units on them, which will take an active part in defending the fortress against the onslaught of enemies. Of course, attackers are not helpless in this situation and can, for example, make use of siege machines.

Game modes

In addition to the variants of single player gameplay (story campaigns, casual games) Age of Empires 4 offers an expanded multiplayer mode for up to 8 players, in which we compete against commanders from around the world.

Technical features

The graphic design of Age of Empires IV presents a high level of performance. At the same time the whole was kept in a rather unusual style. While the landscapes look very realistic, pleasing to the eye with their various details, unit models may seem a bit angular and too colorful; the proportions are also a bit distorted, making our subjects seem too large against the background of buildings. This way, however, the authors wanted to allow players to quickly orient themselves in the situation prevailing on the map, and especially on the battlefield during the hustle and bustle of battle.