Age of Empires is an historically accurate real-time strategy game in which players must build up a large civilisation to conquer single player scenarios or defeat the other player (computer or LAN multiplayer).
Starting with just three townsmen, players must build up their nation by collecting materials (wood, food, gold and stone) and researching new buildings and techniques. Single player scenarios are generally won by conquering the enemy army using a variety of weapons and mercenary.
One of the key features of Age of Empires is the ability to advance through four Ages: the Stone Age, the Tool Age, the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. As players advance through the Ages, a greater amount of buildings and military units become available. To advance through the ages, players must collect a certain amount of resources and build two buildings from current Age.
In Age of Empires, there are 12 civilisations grouped into four architectural styles:
| Asian | Middle Eastern | Egyptian | Greek |
|---|---|---|---|
| Choson | Babylonians | Assyrians | Greeks |
| Shang | Hittites | Egyptians | Minoans |
| Yamato | Persians | Sumerians | Pheonicians |
(Civilisation table courtesy of the Wikipedia: Age of Empires entry.)
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The map background is from the Microsoft Age of Empires website: used as per the terms and conditions of the Microsoft website. Certain buttons use AoE art available from the AoE Community website. All other graphics were made by myself.