Its getting a bit old now, and it shows its age in terms of graphics (nice displays of synchronised hammering by the builders) and the sounds (mostly people speaking gibberish), but the game play is second to none, and it will run on just about any machine (its just about the only game i can run on my laptop now).
Anyone whos ever played Command & conquer, counter-trike et al will be familiar with the basic pricnciple, build a base, raise an army and complete missions/kick enemies ass. The diffrence comes with the extensive economy, where you collect 4 diffrent resources (food, wood, stone and gold) and the nature and extent of reasearch and development, its a much more substantial and complex task than in most other stratergy titles.
The relativly sophisticated economy and technolgy is the real strength of Age of Empires, and the ensureing need for stratergy and plannning is the reason this is a classic with real replay value.
The game is also very strong as a multiplayer game, although the AI can be a little weak, especially on the smaller maps and random maps so its best not to have computer opponents.
The number of civilisations (16 if you include the expansio pack) to choose from is both a blessing and a curse, the variety adds another dimesion to the stratergy, but can throw the game out of balance (Choson, Assyrian and Choson are the strongest, the Greek are very weak, but the cheats are so strong they also throw the game right out (try typing pow into the chat window).
Overall, the game is very highly recommended, especially if you want a stratergy title for an older machine, look out for the gold edition, and dont pay more than £15-20 for it.
More details
Addictiveness
Compulsive
Originality
Good
Value for money
Good value
Longevity/Expected Longevity
ongoing
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