Age of Empires (Video Game Series)

Reality dated historical strategy video game series, Age of Empires, was first released on October 15. It was developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft Games. While its core mechanics and narrative are grounded in history, it offers players alternative scenarios through various game modes.

Age of Empires IV Ottoman Promotion Image (Photo: https://www.ageofempires.com)

Modes

Although different game series may feature varying modes, Age of Empires fundamentally has three distinct ones.

Campaign Mode

In this scenario, which reenacts historical events, the player assumes control of a historical civilization and directs all its actions.

This mode presents players with historical narratives through the wars and political maneuvers of various civilizations featured in the series.

Multiplayer Mode

In this mode, framed around competitive matches, players strive for victory by battling either against AI-controlled civilizations or against other real-time human players.

Scenario Mode

This mode allows players to design their own maps, armies, and settlements according to custom objectives and layouts, aiming to deliver a unique gameplay experience.

Game Series

Although the series has evolved through numerous DLCs and updates, its core titles are primarily known as Age of Empires I, II, III, IV, and Mythology.

Age of Empires (1997)

The first game in the series focuses on ancient Era civilizations.

Age of Empires I (Photo: imdb.com/title/tt0412305/)

Age of Empires II (1999)

Centered on the Middle Ages, it is one of the most popular titles in the series.

Age of Empires II (Photo: store.steampowered.com/app/221380/Age_of_Empires_II_Retired)

Age of Mythology (2002)

This spin-off series is based on mythological themes.

Age of Empires Mythology (Photo: store.steampowered.com/app/1934680/Age_of_Mythology_Retold)

Age of Empires III (2005)

It covers the transition to the modern era, focusing on the discovery of the Americas and the colonial period.

Age of Empires III (Photo: ageofempires.com)

Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition (2019)

Released with enhanced graphics and updated content.

Age of Empires II DE (Photo: arstechnica.com)

Age of Empires IV (2021)

Returning to the Middle Ages, it introduces new graphics and mechanics.

Age of Empires IV (Photo: xbox.com)

Core Gameplay Mechanics

Players begin the game by selecting a civilization and exert full control over resource gathering by workers, technological research priorities, troop deployment, and combat strategies.

Development in the game is divided into eras, and players can advance to the next era once they acquire the necessary resources. Each era unlocks new units, military, structural, and economic technologies. There are four eras: Dark Age, Feudal Age, Castle Age, and Imperial Age.

Resources—food, wood, gold, and stone—are gathered by workers from specific locations on the map. There are four primary resources: food, wood, gold, and stone (some civilizations have unique resources; see Byzantium = Olive Oil in AOE IV). Victory can be achieved through various objectives: eliminating all opponents through warfare, capturing and holding specific map locations for a set duration, or constructing a Wonder with sufficient resources and preventing enemies from destroying it for a specified time.

Although victory conditions are defined, achieving them against active human opponents or challenging AI levels is difficult, often leading to indirect forms of conflict.

Like in chess, players begin on equal footing and strive to gain advantages over opponents through superior positioning, unit composition, or timing, then leverage those advantages to control the course of battle. Because achieving victory conditions requires high resource and military investment, players focus on securing advantages before launching decisive offensive actions.

While the core elements—resources, eras, and military units—remain consistent across the series, minor variations exist between titles and civilizations.

Resources

Food: Required for units, workers, era advancement, and certain technological upgrades. Gathered from Bird animals (deer, boar, fish), sheep, and farms.

Wood: Required for certain units, siege engines, buildings, ships, and technological upgrades. Gathered from trees.

Gold: Required for elite units, siege engines, era advancement, and technological upgrades. Gathered from mines and trade.

Stone: Required to construct castles, towers, walls, and cisterns. Gathered from mines.

Eras

Dark Age: The earliest era, featuring primitive units with no or limited technology. Ships are used only for fishing; many civilizations cannot field cavalry; siege engines are unavailable.

Feudal Age: Units gain improved armor, light infantry units emerge, and basic technologies for resource gathering and combat become available. Ships begin to be armed, and primitive siege devices such as the battering ram are introduced.

Castle Age: Cavalry units, heavily armored infantry, and elite units such as crossbowmen become available. Resource gathering becomes more efficient. Castles and stone walls are constructed, and siege devices such as the mangonel and trebuchet are produced.

Imperial Age: Advanced technological research enhances existing elite units. Gunpowder weapons and cannons become usable.

Military Units

Spearman: Strong against cavalry due to their Long spears, but weak against archers. Produced with minimal wood and food.

Heavy Infantry: Equipped with armor and swords. Strong against archers, primitive cavalry, siege engines, and spearmen, but weak against cavalry, crossbowmen, and musketeers. Produced with food and gold.

Primitive Cavalry: Unarmored horsemen armed with spears. Strong against archers, crossbowmen, musketeers, and siege engines, but weak against cavalry and spearmen. Produced with food and wood.

Heavy Cavalry (Cavalry): Heavily armored horsemen. While they rarely lose in direct combat, they are vulnerable to spearmen, crossbowmen, and musketeers when facing mixed or hybrid armies. Produced with large amounts of food and gold.

Archer: A unit armed with Classical ok. Benefits from range advantage but has low health and is vulnerable to close combat. Effective against unarmored units. Produced with minimal wood and food.

Crossbowman: A highly accurate but low-health unit armed with a crossbow. Used to neutralize armored units from the rear lines due to its high armor-piercing capability. Produced with minimal food and gold.

Musketeer: Less accurate than archers but has low health. Functions similarly to crossbowmen, gaining advantage from rear-line positioning and dealing high damage to siege engines. Produced with food and gold.

Age of Empires IV Chinese Units: Left to Right—Worker, Spearman, Heavy Infantry, Scout, Primitive Cavalry, Heavy Cavalry, Archer, Crossbowman, Musketeer, Monk; Top to Bottom—Technological Upgrades (Photo: ageofempires.com)

Battering Ram: Cannot attack units; a primitive siege engine used to destroy fences, walls, and castles. Its ability to be produced in building units provides flexibility. All siege engines are weak against military units. Produced with wood.

Mangonel: A siege engine that launches stones in groups, effective against clustered units. Less effective against buildings but can cause harm. Produced with wood and gold.

Springald: A large arrow-firing device, favored for its range. Can strike multiple units at once and can be positioned on defensive structures such as castles and towers. Often used to disable enemy siege engines from a distance. Produced with wood.

Trebuchet: A high-range siege engine that launches large rocks. Primarily used to destroy castles, towers, and walls. Produced with wood and gold.

Gunpowder Cannons: Available in many variants, all deal high damage to all targets. Primarily used for fast destruction, breaking walls and castles. Special variants can extend range to dismantle siege engines. Produced with large amounts of gold and wood.

Age of Empires IV Ottoman Shahin Cannon: Left—Ready to Fire, Right—In Transit (Photo: ageofempires.com)

Buildable Structures

House (I): Required to increase population capacity.

Mill (I): Used by workers to deposit food and research technologies that improve food gathering efficiency.

Wood Camp (I): Used by workers to deposit wood and research technologies that improve wood gathering efficiency.

Mine (I): Used by workers to deposit gold and stone and research technologies that improve gold and stone gathering efficiency.

Farm (I): A fixed structure used for food resource collection.

Barracks (I): Used to train infantry units and research infantry-specific technologies.

Dock (I): A coastal structure where boats and workers deposit fish and where all ship units are constructed.

Tower (I): A standard wooden tower offering high opinion. Can be upgraded to stone and armed with weapons. A small number of units can be stationed inside to fire arrows at nearby enemies.

Wooden Fence (I): A weak defensive wall constructed from wood.

Blacksmith (II): A research facility that provides general military unit upgrades.

Market (II): A building used to produce traders who establish trade routes with other markets. Unit exchanges are also possible here.

Center (II): A building that enables the production of workers.

Archery Range (II): Used to train ranged units (archers, crossbowmen, musketeers) and research ranged-unit-specific technologies.

Stable (II): Used to train cavalry units and research cavalry-specific technologies.

Stone Wall (II): Defensive structures made of stone that cannot be destroyed without siege engines.

Wall Tower (II): Towers built atop stone walls that attack enemies.

Castle (III): A heavily fortified structure with high health, ranged attacks, and multiple weapon types that damage nearby enemies. Multiple units can be stationed inside.

Religious Building (III): Produces religious units and can store special ancient relics to generate additional resources.

Siege Workshop (III): Used to produce siege engines and research siege-engine-specific technologies.

University (IV): Buildings where advanced technological research is conducted.

Wonder (IV): Requires very high resource investment. Upon completion, it sends a challenge to all opponents to destroy it. If not destroyed within a set time, it results in victory.

Era Building: Symbolic structures built to advance to the next era. They vary by civilization and offer players strategic choices with unique features.

Stone walls, towers, and castles are built with stone. The Center is built with stone and wood. The Wonder requires large quantities of all resources. Era buildings are built with food and gold. All other structures are built with wood. The number in parentheses indicates the era in which each structure becomes available.