Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition News

It looks like we've got some new Age of Empires 4 screenshots and game details to drool over ahead of the RTS game's launch following some leaks that have appeared online. A couple of Redditors have spotted what appears to be a Steam page for the upcoming strategy game that seemingly went live and has now been taken down again, with screenshots revealing a bunch of - not confirmed - but seemingly new info about the title.

Redditor EgoTonic has posted a link to a Steam page for the game which, er, isn't now there, but does seem to confirm its short-lived appearance. The preview in the post shows a new montage image for the game that we've not seen before, but very much in the AoE art style fans know and love. Elsewhere, AoE fan MrBritchesTheBold has captured screenshots of the Steam page which give us a good peek at what's to come.

The Steam page rundown mentions of some of AoE4's eight launch civilizations - the English, Chinese, and Delhi Sultanate, which are already known, alongside the Mongols - as well as "four distinct campaigns with 35 missions that span across 500 years of history from the Dark Ages up to the Renaissance". The page also references playing as figures like Joan of Arc and Genghis Khan in the screens.

Read the rest of the story...

RELATED LINKS:

Age of Empires 4 civilisations - a quick guide

Age of Empires 4 fans are upset over regional pricing differences

Age of Empires 4 mod tools won't be coming until next year

Back in April, we reported Age of Empires IV fans' concerns over the game's graphics after its official gameplay reveal. It's a debate that still crops up two months later, but it's not the only thing that followers of the upcoming RTS game are worried about.

Another hot topic appears to be the Delhi Sultanate. Revealed as one of the eight civilisations that will be available at Age of Empires IV's launch (the other three known civs being the English, Mongols, and Chinese), it's currently AOE4's only South Asian civilisation, and the only representation of the Indian subcontinent's medieval history.

Passionate fans on the Age of Empires IV forums have spent the past couple of months discussing why this could be problematic. Essentially, while it's acknowledged that the Sultanate was a legitimate part of the region's history, some are concerned about it being the sole representation of the Indian peoples in the historical strategy game (forum user GKShaman summarises the main points of the discussion in a post earlier this week). Microsoft has now issued a statement to PCGamesN addressing these concerns.

Read the rest of the story...

RELATED LINKS:

Age of Empires 4 civilisations - a quick guide

Age of Empires 4 fans are upset over regional pricing differences

Age of Empires 4 mod tools won't be coming until next year

April 29, 2021 Yup, they're still angry, but there's also plenty of appreciation going around as well

On April 10, 2021, we were treated to our first real look at the highly anticipated RTS game Age of Empires IV. We learned about the campaign, two new civilisations, some of the new features, and even a little bit about the Age of Empires 4 release date. Also on April 10, concerns appeared on the official Age of Empires forums regarding the game's art style. Weeks later, that debate is still raging.

User Jimmy19846071 started the main thread, voicing their opinion that Age of Empire 4's art style looks "cartoonish". It wasn't the only thread to emerge regarding the graphics, but they've all since been merged into one super-thread keeping the debate in one place. You can also see similar concerns being raised in places like r/pcgaming, as well as the game's official Steam forums.

The debate is multi-faceted; generally speaking, there seems to be a lot of concern from some that the graphics are 'cartoon-ish', although most take umbrage with the game's more subtle visual effects, such as what some fans think are oversized weapons, large arrows, and other less 'realistic' effects.

Read the rest of the story...

RELATED LINKS:

Age of Empires 4's biggest challenge will be its own legacy

Age of Empires 4: release date, civilisations, and everything else we know

Age of Empires 4 - everything we learned from the recent RTS fan preview

What do you do when your biggest threat is your past self? Recently we were treated to our first proper overview of Age of Empires 4, the long-awaited new entry in one of strategy gaming's most enduring series. We got a taste of the campaign, new civilisations, and insights into the design. It was a lot to take in.

One thing that became apparent quite quickly is how similar Age of Empires 4 seems to its most influential predecessor. Age of Empires 2 is easily the most popular RTS game on the market right now, let alone the most popular in the series. It was the first Age of Empires Microsoft decided to uplift into HD back in 2013, and the only game in the series that has seen consistent support since then, which has only continued through its definitive edition. We also know it's set to get even more support across 2021.

In other words, it's a behemoth, and Microsoft's decision to set Age of Empires 4 in the same time period and act as a spiritual successor (of sorts) to Age of Empires 2 is bold. And risky.

Read the rest of the story...

RELATED LINKS:

Age of Empires 4: release date, civilisations, and everything else we know

Age of Empires 4 - everything we learned from the recent RTS fan preview

Age of Empires 4 "gameplay, civilizations, campaigns, and more" to be shown next month