WOLOLO! Sometime in late ’97 or early ’98. My cousin and I were looking through demo games on a CD from a computer magazine in their guest room, where the computer was set up—and there was no heating. While our butts were freezing, we found Age of Empires and had no idea what it was. We were so shocked and excited that we could hunt deer. Yes, that was all the effort a game needed to put in to get us excited and interested.
As I write this, it’s been 27 years since the release of Age of Empires, and I still play the game regularly in different ways. For a while, I played it on my daily computer, as it was compatible. Later, when the game became too old to work with modern systems, I used VMs, PCem, and various other methods. Then they released the Definitive Edition, which is still fun, though some improvements shift the gameplay a bit too much. For example, production and unit queues are nice quality-of-life updates, but they change the feel of the game. Despite these updates, I always find myself coming back to the original.
The game itself is pretty simple: manage your economy and army, then defeat others by capturing ruins or artifacts and holding them for 2000 years, or by building a wonder before any other civilization and protecting it for 2000 years. It sounds easy on paper, but it’s rarely that straightforward.
While I think Age of Empires is great fun, it can also be frustrating in some areas. The unit controls and combat aren’t the best. Units don’t always follow instructions, get stuck in bushes, or split into smaller groups as they take different paths to the destination (often after blocking each other and needing to find new routes). Sometimes, a big group of the same type of unit will turn into a long line, arriving at different times and totally messing up your plans.
Sea combat can also get frustrating, with ships often blocking each other and struggling to maneuver. Their pathfinding is no better than a blindfolded person running through a maze while juggling.
And yes, the AI cheats in some ways! You might disagree with me here, but I think almost every RTS game does this to an extent. However, in Age of Empires, it’s especially noticeable. Many actions in the game require selecting a unit, then choosing an action, then targeting, and even with keybinds, this can be time-consuming. Meanwhile, the computer opponent seems to control every unit perfectly, all at once. It almost feels like 20 people are behind the screen, each commanding a single unit. This is especially obvious when facing multiple priests—they “wololo” the heck out of you in seconds, and you’re left watching half of your army turn against you.
But honestly, this is part of the game, maybe even part of the fun. Sometimes, you can use these quirks against your opponents, finding different tactics that make it all work out.
I don’t have much to say about multiplayer. I used to play Age of Empires on Microsoft’s MSN Zone (back when it was zone.com, I think), but cheating was a huge issue. Sometimes, players would attack with 40 fully upgraded elephants within 10 minutes!
When I think about this game, it doesn’t feel like nostalgia, because I still play it today. I just love it. It never gets old, and I still enjoy (almost) every minute of it.
Hardware Specs used in the video:
Gigabyte GA-6BXC
Intel Pentium II MMX 266mhz
32MB SDRam
ATI Rage 128 Pro
Creative SoundBlaster Live!
40GB Seagate HDD (IDE)
Microsoft Sidewinder Gamepad
