Age of Empires IV

Greybriar · February 17, 2018, 07:03:16 AM

Relic Entertainment has announced Age of Empires IV with this new trailer:

bbmike · February 17, 2018, 08:49:01 AM

Bring it on! O0

[edit] Oh bloody hell, I read that as Age of Wonders IV. Never mind.

Gusington · February 17, 2018, 11:55:02 AM

That trailer has been around for some time already hasn't it?

steve58 · September 16, 2021, 01:51:23 PM

Arise ye olde thread...

Release date is October 28. $59.99

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1466860/Age_of_Empires_IV/

Gusington · September 16, 2021, 02:56:35 PM

Looking forward to it muchly 😎 - I wonder of it will pull me away from the definitive editions of the updated earlier games...except for AoEIII, which never really clicked for me.

al_infierno · October 28, 2021, 04:12:45 PM

Out now, fairly positive reviews so far.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1466860/Age_of_Empires_IV/

Also available on GamePass.

Gusington · October 28, 2021, 09:25:41 PM

I'll be picking it up as soon as it hits that sweet price point of 25% off the original price.

al_infierno · October 28, 2021, 09:49:07 PM

Yeah $60 is a bit steep. However I'm several beers deep, and so I'll take a peep. O0

I realized that started to rhyme halfway through so I dove into the deep..... end..... that one fell apart a bit O:-)

Gusington · October 29, 2021, 06:23:35 PM

^Hahaha - *ahem* - anyway - post impressions! It's a forgone conclusion that I will get it, the question is how long can I hold out for. I still have so much content to get through in the AoEII Definitive Edition.

Destraex · October 29, 2021, 07:14:00 PM

Too expensive for me. But will get it when it comes down to $20 or so. Here it's $100 currently on steam.

al_infierno · October 29, 2021, 08:08:31 PM

My first impressions are quite strong. The graphics and presentation are nice, colorful without being cartoony - reminds me a bit of Medieval 2 Total War units. They've returned 100% to the AoE 2 formula with some small changes, most notable you construct special unique "Wonder"-like buildings called Landmarks to advance to a new age, which I like. I always found the Wonder system and the Age system to be a bit clunky in the old games, so I like that they mashed them together and made them a bit more manageable.

The biggest difference I'm noticing is that the civilization bonuses are quite a bit more extensive this time around, to the point that each civ has their own difficulty star-rating. I don't recall factions in AoE 2 being all that different except for the skins, unique units, and a few bonuses here and there. Nothing crazy or groundbreaking, just more uniques and more bonus stats.

$60 (or more for unfortunate folks like Destraex) is definitely a bit steep for what they're offering, but I'm glad I went for it. That said, I'll be returning to AoE II Definitive Edition for multiplayer because none of my friends want to shell out $60 for the game yet

EDIT - Actually, classic Wonders are still in the game - at least in the "Build and Defend a Wonder" victory type, which was always a classic. Dunno how extensively Wonders are featured in this one though.

al_infierno · October 29, 2021, 09:37:23 PM

Won my first 1v1 skirmish against an Intermediate AI, who put up a reasonable enough fight for the most part. I was worried at first because they outpaced me on reaching Age 2, but after some successful early battles it seems like they focused on unit production rather than economy. I'm not sure the timeline is 100% accurate because I remember seeing a message telling me that the AI leveled up to Age 3, and they even had a stat on how long into the game they did so.

I quite like what they did with the after-action screen, with a detailed timeline that includes battles and their winners. I'm not sure how the game determines this, to be honest - late in the timeline when my unit count drops swiftly, I would certainly have counted that as a battle won in their favor, since I broke down their walls and stormed their town, then got mostly wiped and pulled out. I guess the game thought of it as a stalemate because my surviving units hung around just outside the destroyed walls protecting the siege equipment while I trained reinforcements and brought them in.

Jarhead0331 · October 29, 2021, 09:58:46 PM

I'm quite enjoying it...the historical stuff between campaign missions is nicely done and engrossing.

al_infierno · October 30, 2021, 12:10:03 AM

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on October 29, 2021, 09:58:46 PM
I'm quite enjoying it...the historical stuff between campaign missions is nicely done and engrossing.

Yeah, the historical cutscenes are top quality. Like a high budget television/Netflix series.

Gusington · October 30, 2021, 09:01:39 AM

Thanks al and JH. On Green Man Gaming I can get it for 47.00...

...interesting about the landmarks too. And I really like the news about civ buffs, etc. I admit I am surprised at the initial positive reviews, I did not expect them, to be honest.

Maybe I'm getting old and crusty.

Have you tried any of the campaigns yet?