It's clear that when 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Age Of Empires IV was being crea♎ted, the developers wanted to make a game that was full of RTS nostalgia. For eagle-eyed fans, there are plenty of little nod𒁃s and references to previous games that are nice to see and make the experience much more pleasant.
From simple things such as choices in the design to the inclusion of classic sound effects and even the music featuring similarities to the original ✃score, there are so many great references to enjoy. Fans of the series, old and new alike will find plenty of "member berries" to chew on, so if you loved this series then here ༒are a few things players of the previous games in the franchised noticed that are worth pointing out.
10 The Soundtrack⛎ Nostalgia
If there's one thing 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:fans of Age Of Empires know well it's the game's theme song. Originally created in 1997 by Stephen Rippy, who composed the track for the original game as well as its sequel Age Of Empires: Rise Of Rome, it was an instant classic whose sweeping orchestral notes really set the grandiose tone of diving into the annals history that the game was going for.
It's made reappearances over the years with some small tweaks to the melodies here and there, but in Age Of Empires IV it sounds the most similar to its original score, and hearing it blast out when you first load into the game is guaranteed to bring a smile to your face. It's a simple little touch that greets you with open arms and fanfare as it shows that the developers know what they were doing when they made this.
9 ♓ ༺ Classic Sound Effects Are Back
Even though it's very subtle and you won't necessarily notice it at first, some of the original sounds from the series have made an appearance in Age Of Empires IV. It's not completely the same and it's not for everything in the entire game as there are new sounds, but some classics have been sprinkled here and there.
For example, when a Villager spawns in at a Town Centre there's a deep breath sound to notify you they're available. It appeared in the very first game and it's nice to see it's still there. Another is the clanging of weapons when a soldier is created or when a unit is selected they will respond in their language or say a specific phrase that fits with the game's approach to historical accuracy. There are plenty more little nods to past titles in the Age Of Empires franchise and it's always nice when you discover another one as you play through the game.
8 🍰 🏅 Animal Spies Return
One weird and fun feature that's made a comeback in Age Of Empires IV is the ability to use sheep as woolly spies. In the original games when you found animals that could be domesticated, such as sheep or cows, one sneaky tactic you could do was to use them to spy on an enemy base.
It was safer than risking your own units to scout out the map and if they get captured it's no big deal as they don't cost resources. Although this time around sheep spies are much harder to get rid of as the only way to capture them is to use a villager to herd them to a nearby mill for slaughter. It's a silly but fun mechanic that was sadly missing in Age Of Empires III, so it's nice to see this odd feature make a return.
7 🌺 The Cutscenes Are Now Mini-Documentaries
One thing fans of the Age Of Empires franchise will notice straight away as soon as the first campaign loads is that the cutscene budget must have been pretty large. In previous games, their approach to storytelling was to use a mix of CGI and cutscenes using in-game models, but now everything's gone live-action and it feels like a documentary produced by the History Channel.
They now show real-world locations of historical battles with a sci-fi-looking hologram animation layered over it to make things more interesting and to help to show how events played out. So what you end up with is this odd mix of educational documentary and videogame that shows you ancient history but set against a modern backdrop. It's an incredibly creative choice that fits right at home with how the series likes to have players reenact certain important moments from ancient history and it's the first proper cutscenes the Age Of Empires franchise has had.
6 🌊 💖 Siege Weapons Are OP
Experienced Age Of Empire players know all too well just how 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:ridiculously overpowered artillery in the game can be. Siege Engines were once closed off relatively high up in the tech tree💦 in past games and unlocking for your army always felt like an achievement. They were ridiculously strong in past games and it seems the devs have kept that trend up because in A♏OE IV these trundling war machines get things done.
Available after building an Arsonal, Siege Engines can put out a lot of damage in a very short space of time. They're perfect for saturating an area with big rocks or blowing apart solid stone battlements with ballista bolts and cannonballs. An example of how strong they are can be found in the early streams of the game before it launched where friendly developer vs developer streams would always descend into "whos brought more catapults and cavalry". However, in what's possibly an attempt to nerf them a little, for the first time in the series you now need to deploy siege engines before they can fire. Catapults, canons, and other machines can no longer just rumble along firing as they go, now they have to spend several seconds deploying first. Even though this animation is very brief, it adds a nice touch of realism that can make you think more tactically about your fights instead of just zerg rushing all your units into range.
5 🍷 There Are No Cheats Just Yet
One interesting and oddly baffling thing that people who have played Age Of Empires IV will notice is that the cheats aren't active. It's never been explained why, and in a series that's legendary for its absolutely 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:bizarre and weird cheats, they are sadly missed.
But, thankfully the developers are aware of this and have promised cheats are coming. Creative Director Adam Isgreen has said that the team is working on them and they are due to be introduced as part of a future update or a patch. When this will happen exactly is anyone's guess, so for now fans will just have to wait and see how weird the devs get with their newest AOE game.
4 Lords Now Have Special Abilities 𓂃
A welcome new feature for Age Of Empires IV is the inclusion of Lord abilities. These are essentially free-to-use powers that operate on a cooldown and provide buffs for your units and they can be incredibly helpful in a pinch as they're able to turn the tide of battle with just a hotkey press.
The powers you can play with vary in usefulness and there are definitely some that are more useful than others. ♍For example, a Lord could boost the attack speed of nearby soldiers or increase their defense, briefly turning what was once a small squad into a deadly commando force. Knowing when to use these abilities can be crucial to surviving the mosh pit fights in Age Of Empires IV often turn into, so get to grips with them when you can.
3 The Card Syste🍸m Is Gone
Normally when a new game in a series is launched it brings in new features and mechanics to keep things fresh and interesting for the fans. The last innovation we had was in 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Age Of Empires III with the card♏ system, and looking back it's safe to say that everyone can agree that this was a mistake.
For those not familiar, cards in Age Of Empires III were add-ons that could either be consumed to gain additional units, resources, and buildings or held in your deck to provide passives for your faction. It allowed for a lot of custom deck building and it didn't take too long for overpowered builds to be discovered. It was a feature that mostly went ignored as it was pretty finicky and it got in the way of gameplay. So it's reassuring to see that the team behind Age Of Empires IV was aware of this and decided to strip it out. Now the game is all about tactics and classic base building, the way it was meant to be played.
2 T꧅he Minimalist UI ꧃
The UI changes are another thing fans of the franchise will notice. In the classics, large portions of the screen were covered in horizontal bars that provided information on resources, units, building production lines, and more. It was par for the course for RTS games of the time as it made the screen look more visually interesting, but in Age Of Empires IV they've opted for a more modern approach
Things are a lot more slimmed-down now, menus and the UI as a whole feels and looks a lot slicker. It's easier to navigate and offers a lot of visual transparency so you can still keep an eye on the map whilst you're running your base. It's a modern approach to strategy game UI that is welcome as the screen can get incredibly busy, especially during battles, and being able to see as much of the screen as possible is always a bonus.
1 ꧃ 💛 Walls Can No Longer Be Stacked
One thing that's sadly been removed from Age Of Empires IV is the ability to double stack walls and defenses. In previous games, it was possible to 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:frontload your base defense with multiple layers of walls and towers to create an impr✤egnable fortress that nobody could break into.
Whilst it is unfortunate that it's gone, taking it out does make sense as it keeps the campaign balanced and stops multiplayer games from devolving into fights of who can build the best tower defense maze. Now buildings are assigned to a grid and tiles have certain space requirements. It's a minor limitation, but it does encourage you to get more creative with your base layout. Now space matters, so you need to get smart with how you build your big fort.