On paper, finding out that a new Age of Empires game is about to be released is always a good thing. AoE 2 is one of the set texts of the RTS genre, up there with Command and Conquer, StarCraft, and Total Annihilation. With Civilization 7 and Frostpunk 2 inbound, it’s heartening to see the return of the strategy series, the last full outing for which was back in 2021. But the upcoming Age of Empires might not be precisely what you hoped. It will be released very soon, and we’ll definitely give it a chance, but this isn’t the full return to PC of which you might have dreamed.
I’m going to preface this by reminding everyone of Civilization Revolution. Streamlined, thinned, and variously trimmed and truncated for consoles and mobile devices, the Revolution games are nevertheless fantastic fun, and a perfect gateway to Civ proper. With that in mind, I’m going into Age of Empires Mobile with the best faith. A strategy and RTS game cut from the main series, while I’ve been let down by the likes of Command and Conquer Legions, I still want to see what AoE mobile can do.
You can start with the French, Byzantine, Roman, or Chinese civilizations, and from there gradually expand your empire by building, winning battles, and recruiting historical heroes. There are siege weapons, a giant map, and you can muster more powerful attacks and ambushes by utilizing different types of terrain.
The new AoE isn’t coming to PC, at least not at launch, but it will be launched on mobile devices in the very near future. The Age of Empires Mobile release date is now set for Thursday October 17. If you want to pre-register, you can do so right here.
Otherwise, get a load of the best strategy games available right now, or maybe go bigger with the best 4X games ever made.
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