Age of Empires is 25 Years Old and Fans Are Shaping the Franchise (arstechnica.com) 15
It's been 25 years since a small studio in Dallas recast the ancient world through the prism of a real-time strategy game. From a report: Age of Empires has echoed Monk wololos about our homes ever since: Parents believed that their kids were learning history; kids believed that they were gaming surreptitiously. And veteran players know that both were right. Yet Age of Empires did not always receive the love it does today. The rise of the Xbox saw PC gaming take a back seat for Microsoft: Communities like AoE's were left to fend for themselves.
In a very real way, it was the passion of these obsessives that led to Microsoft's renewed attention and the release of the franchise's latest entry, 2021's Age of Empires IV. All the games continue to receive updates or DLCs. Age of Empires games are headed for Xbox and mobile devices, complete with cross-play so console gamers can get their hands on the RTS classic and play with their PC-loving friends. Also, Age of Mythology is finally getting a definitive edition. Age IV is building momentum, too, with an anniversary edition crowning a year of updates designed to woo players who found it a tad stripped back at launch. AoE is now a point of real-time-strategy pride and a shining jewel in Microsoft's roster.
In a very real way, it was the passion of these obsessives that led to Microsoft's renewed attention and the release of the franchise's latest entry, 2021's Age of Empires IV. All the games continue to receive updates or DLCs. Age of Empires games are headed for Xbox and mobile devices, complete with cross-play so console gamers can get their hands on the RTS classic and play with their PC-loving friends. Also, Age of Mythology is finally getting a definitive edition. Age IV is building momentum, too, with an anniversary edition crowning a year of updates designed to woo players who found it a tad stripped back at launch. AoE is now a point of real-time-strategy pride and a shining jewel in Microsoft's roster.
Monk wololos (Score:3)
Re:Monk wololos (Score:5, Informative)
In the original Age of Empires, one of the units was a Monk that could convert units. They made a kind of distinct and somewhat amusing "wololo" sound [knowyourmeme.com] while they were doing it, which ended up being a standout. It led to a lot of early memes and comics and jokes, and it lives on. No telling why it's hung on, just some memes do.
Re: Monk wololos (Score:1)
I never played it. I was hoping that by now vr games would be persistent world versions of popular games. Imagine vr doom world, or vr homeworld, world, vr among us world,....
Give credit where credit is due (Score:3)
My first PC game was AoE II (Score:2)
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Build castle as fast as possible, spam artillery and cavalry units, repeat for the dozens of missions. AoE 2 in a nutshell.
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Yep. It was alot of fun. :)
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Don't worry. You'll be old before you know it wondering where all the time went. Cherish it.
The game was fun and unique for it's time. A good change of pace from Warcraft and Diablo. Glad to see it's still doing well today.
Still going strong (Score:3)
I just wish C&C Red Alert 2 had developer backing. OpenRA is nice, but just not the same
C&C amusement (Score:2)
I had more fun playing with the game than playing it. I would spend time to map all of the triggers, then set up a massive a force as I could muster before setting them off.
AoE III board game (Score:2)
I've been playing board games with a group in my area for a few years now. Back when it first came out, the Age of Empires III board game was a favorite. It had real staying power, hitting our table for weeks.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/22545/age-empires-iii-age-discovery [boardgamegeek.com]
Looks like there are a lot of used copies available.
P.S. Ever since COVID-19 the group meets more often via Zoom chat and plays games on BoardGameArena [boardgamearena.com]. The two games with the most plays are Race for the Galaxy [boardgamegeek.com] and Flaming Pyrami [boardgamegeek.com]
I was playing AOE II last night! (Score:1)
One of my favourite quirks is the BigDaddy [fandom.com] cheat. It gives the player a Chevy Camaro armed with a rocket launcher! I spawned one once, and accidentally let it an enemy priest convert it. So the AI promptly thrashed me with my own car!
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LOL. I vaguely remember that cheat....
Two words: random map (Score:1)