Age of Empires: The Age of Kings
- November 29, 2005 13:25 PM PST
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Age of Empires for the DS may sound like a skirmish rather than an all-out war, but don't sell this little empire-builder short.
Tyrants-in-training should appreciate the fact that the DS may be getting serious about strategy games. Age of Empires: The Age of Kings is coming; and although it's turn-based and not a real-time strategy game like the PC mega-hit Age of Empires II on which it's based, this version doesn't shirk on the features.Empires doesn't turn your DS into a pint-sized PC by any means, but it packs historical punch. The preview cart presented an easy-to-use interface that instantly makes you the leader of one of five civilizations-Britons, Japanese, Franks, Mongols, or Saracens-where you're challenged to step into the strategic shoes of legendary leaders-Richard the Lionhearted, Minamoto Yoshitsune, Joan of Arc, Genghis Khan, and Saladin-respectively.
As with PC RTS games, you also construct and manage buildings, such as mines, mills, and universities that enable you to produce resources and research technologies (at least 50) like chemistry, ballistics, and spying. But Age of Empires appears to keep its sights clearly focused on conflict. On the battlefields, you can command 45 different types of units (that run the gamut from samurai to cannoneers) as well as special hero units, including Robin Hood and his Merry Men.
The preview controls did a more-than-decent job of moving units via the lower screen, even if at times the action appeared cramped and confined. Although on the surface it might seem more of a skirmish than an all-out war, in time this little Empire just might come of age.
