2022 has been an incredible year for Age of Empires with over 25 game updates, more than 15 in-game events (with excellent rewards) and over 14,000 mods created and published. The Age of Empires community continues to grow and thrive.
Gratis Game Age Of Empire 1
Both console versions of the games will be available through the Microsoft Store, Xbox Game Pass, and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, bringing the trebuchet launching, castle destroying, empire building action to players across the globe on the platforms they want to play on.
The first game, Age of Empires I, was released on the 26th of October 1997. It is set during the early years of human civilization from the Stone Age until the Iron Age. That's why many have defined it "Civilization" in real-time, although the two games are quite different.
The game you can download here is a shortened version. If you would like to play the best version, we suggest purchasing Age of Empires: Definitive Edition on Steam. Check the link on the right.
Age of Empires is a series of historical real-time strategy video games, originally developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Xbox Game Studios. The first game was Age of Empires, released in 1997. Nine total games within the series have been released so far as of October 28, 2021.
Age of Empires focused on events in Europe, Africa and Asia, spanning from the Stone Age to the Iron Age; the expansion game explored the formation and expansion of the Roman Empire. The sequel, Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings, was set in the Middle Ages, while its expansion focused partially on the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. The subsequent three games of Age of Empires III explored the early modern period, when Europe was colonizing the Americas and several Asian nations were on the decline. Another installment, Age of Empires Online, takes a different approach as a free-to-play online game utilizing Games for Windows Live. A spin-off game, Age of Mythology, was set in the same period as the original Age of Empires, but focused on mythological elements of Greek, Egyptian, and Norse mythology. The fourth main installment in the series, Age of Empires IV, was released on October 28, 2021.[1][2]
The games in the series focus on historical events throughout time. Age of Empires covers the events between the Stone Age and the Classical period, in Europe and Asia. Its expansion, The Rise of Rome, follows the formation and rise of the Roman Empire. The Age of Kings and its Nintendo DS spin-off follow Europe and Asia through the Middle Ages. The Age of Kings' expansion pack, The Conquerors, is set during the same period, but also includes scenarios about the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, El Cid, and Attila the Hun. Age of Empires III and its first expansion, The WarChiefs, take place during the European colonization of the Americas. Its second expansion, The Asian Dynasties, follows the rise of Asia in the same period. Age of Empires Online focuses on the Greek and Egyptian civilizations. The series' spin-off, Age of Mythology, and its expansion pack, The Titans, are set during the Bronze Age, but focus on mythology as their themes, rather than history.
Age of Empires, released on October 15, 1997,[3] was the first game in the series, as well as the first major release from Ensemble Studios.[4] It was one of the first history-based real-time strategy games made,[5] utilizing the Genie game engine. GameSpot described it as a mix of Civilization and Warcraft.[6] The game gives players a choice of 12 civilizations to develop from the Stone Age to the Iron Age. The expansion pack, The Rise of Rome, published by Microsoft on October 31, 1998, introduced new features and four new civilizations, including the Romans. Although the two games had contained many software bugs, patches resolved many of the problems.[7][8]
Age of Empires was generally well received, despite some highly negative reviews. GameSpot criticized a confused design, while Computer and Video Games praised the game as strong in single and multiplayer.[9] The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences named Age of Empires the 1998 "Computer Strategy Game of the Year."[10] For several years, the game remained high on the sales charts, with over three million units sold by 2000.[11] The Rise of Rome sold one million units in 2000[11] and attained 80% as an aggregate score from GameRankings.[12]
In June 2017, Adam Isgreen, creative director of Xbox Game Studios announced Age of Empires: Definitive Edition at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2017. It will feature overhauled graphics with support for 4K resolution, a remastered soundtrack, and other gameplay improvements, and was planned to be released on October 19, 2017, but was delayed until February 20, 2018, when it was released on the Microsoft Store.[13][14][15] On May 30, 2019, Microsoft announced that the Definitive Edition would be coming to Steam in the future, along with the Definitive Editions of both Age of Empires II and Age of Empires III.[16][17]
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings, released on September 30, 1999, used the Genie game engine, and had gameplay similar to its predecessor.[18] Age of Kings is set in the Middle Ages, from the Dark Ages to the Imperial Age. It allows players to choose one of 13 civilizations, from Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.[19]
On August 24, 2000, Microsoft published the expansion, The Conquerors. It added new units and five new civilizations, including two Mesoamerican civilizations: the Maya and the Aztec.[20] The Age of Kings was a bigger critical success than the first two games, with Game Rankings and Metacritic scores of 92%.[21][22] Microsoft shipped out more than two million copies to retailers, and the game received numerous awards and accolades.[23] Critics agreed that The Conquerors expanded well on The Age of Kings, though issues of unbalanced gameplay were raised.[24] The Age of Kings and The Conquerors won the 2000 and 2001 "Computer Strategy Game of the Year" awards from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, respectively.[25][26]
In April 2013, Age of Empires II: HD Edition was released on the Steam digital distribution platform for Windows operating systems. The HD Edition includes both the original game and the expansion The Conquerors, as well as updated graphics for high-resolution displays.[27] Originally a fan-made modpack made for The Conquerors, Age of Empires II: The Forgotten was an unofficial expansion that added a new campaign, playable civilizations, maps, and quality of service updates. The Forgotten was later developed into an official expansion with SkyBox Labs and Forgotten Studios, and in November 2013 The Forgotten HD was released by Microsoft exclusively for the HD Edition on Steam.[28] A third expansion named The African Kingdoms was released by Microsoft in November 2015, also exclusively for the HD Edition.[29] A fourth expansion entitled Rise of the Rajas was released on December 19, 2016.[30] On August 21, 2017, Microsoft announced Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition.[31]
In June 2019, Adam Isgreen, now the Franchise Creative Director for Age of Empires, shared more information regarding the Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2019. He confirmed that the Definitive Edition was being developed by Forgotten Empires, Tantalus Media, and Wicked Witch Software. He announced that the game would featurenew 4K graphics, Xbox Live support for multiplayer, exclusive achievements, four new civilizations (Bulgarians, Cumans, Lithuanians, Tatars[32]), three new campaigns, a new spectator mode and tournament features, and additional quality of life improvements. It was released on November 14, 2019.[33][34] Bert Beeckman, co-founder of Forgotten Empires, confirmed on June 12 that Age of Empires II: HD Edition would not be removed from sale after the release of Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition.[35]
Age of Empires III, released on October 18, 2005, was built on an improved version of the Age of Mythology game engine with the most significant changes being the updated graphics engine and the inclusion of the Havok physics middleware engine.[36][37] The game is set in the period between 1421 and 1850, and players can choose one of eight European nations. The game introduced a large number of features, such as home cities. Described by Ensemble Studios as "an important support system to your efforts in the New World," home cities help provide the player with resources, equipment, troops, and upgrades. They can be used across multiple games, and upgraded after each battle; the feature was compared to a role-playing game character by Ensemble Studios.[38] The first expansion to Age of Empires III, The WarChiefs, was released October 17, 2006. Most gameplay changes in the expansion pack were small, but it introduced three new civilizations, with a focus on Native Americans.[39] Most notable was the introduction of the WarChief unit.[40] The second expansion, The Asian Dynasties, went on sale October 23, 2007. It was a jointly developed product; Big Huge Games helped Ensemble Studios develop the game, with Brian Reynolds joining Bruce Shelley as lead designer.[41] The game expanded the Age of Empires III universe into Asia, and introduced three new civilizations.[42] Reception towards Age of Empires III was mixed; Game Revolution described it as "about as much fun" as a history textbook, while GameZone argued it was "one of the best looking games, much less an RTS game, that is out on the market currently".[43] It sold more than two million copies, and won the GameSpy "real-time strategy game of the year" award.[44][45] The WarChiefs failed to equal the success of its predecessor, with a lower score on both Game Rankings and Metacritic, and The Asian Dynasties' score was lower still with 80%.[46][47][48][49] 2ff7e9595c
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