CaptainSharkFin Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 I know what you're thinking. A great majority of you have more than likely played the classic games at an earlier age. Some of you may have been sucked into the franchise by Age of Empires 3, or Age of Mythology. Age of Empires Online is Microsoft's effort to restore the franchise to its "former glory" by adopting an MMORTS Free-to-Play model. Despite my initial concerns and doubts, I've gotten into the game and...I'm actually thoroughly enjoying it. Its graphics are laughable, in the "adorable" kind of way; it's rendered to appeal to all ages and computer specs, like World of Warcraft. It looks a lot like Age of Mythology, but plays like the classic AoE games - with some major differences in the playing styles. The game has only two civilizations - which is FAR LESS than any other Age of Empires game had. You can choose to play as the Greeks or the Egyptians - and another civilization is being developed. It's brought in the Home City persistent leveling seen in Age of Empires 3 - the only difference being that your home city's quality level is also YOUR level. You can choose your technology as you level up and make use of them during the game. You take missions from quest-givers in your Home City, and can travel to other cities in the Mediterranean world. If you party up with other players, you can travel to their cities, as well. Missions play in the classic Age of Empires fashion; you build your economy, your army, and your empire and use all of these to defeat your enemies. The PvE is self explanatory - accept a quest, finish the objectives, kill everything in your path (if you can help it), and return to your quest giver to reap the benefits. However, the PvP plays like the classic multiplayer from the earlier games; only your technology progression will always be different from that of your enemy's. PvP is unlocked after reaching a certain level, or taking on a certain quest - it is not immediately available for obvious reasons (Read: no noobs in the opening matches). The Free-to-Play model does, as expected, have content that can be accessed through buying them off of the Marketplace. It runs off of Games for Windows Live - so yes, Microsoft's greed is written all over this game. However, the main content is not entirely hindered from this; most everything you can do doesn't need premium content that you can buy off of the Marketplace. "Premium" packs allows you further customization with your specific civilizations; but run at 1600 Microsoft Points ($20 equivalent). These packs allow you to build "arenas" in your city in order for you to access PvP directly, as well as giving you higher-quality loot and upgrades your storage capacity. Also, while you can access PvP in the game after completing a certain mission, you can't put yourself on the rankings unless you buy the premium package. If you tolerate Games for Windows Live, I would suggest giving it a try. If you have an Xbox Live account, you'll be able to access the game. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6kkvpkgUYQ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vesper Akiri Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 http://ageofempiresonline.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizcut Vanbrugh Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 I am playing a greek and paid for the greek civ. i sure could use some trading from others as i am only 18th lvl and could use a few items Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
