Another strategy game. After huge success of Age of Empires Rise of Rome, microsoft has released this game. In my opinion it is the best among all the stratgy games with its beautiful titans.
It is best and realistic of all stuff found in the gaming zone which I have experianced. The game is made realistic by true compaigns of . .
- William Wallace of Scotland
- Joan of Arc
- Barbarussa
- Ganges Khan (mongols)
- Saladin of Arab (saracen)
It is much more better than Age of Empires I (Rise of Rome) by having much more realistic graphics and each civilizations has its own types of houses, town centre, mosque, wonder and other buildings and characteristics of each civilizaation are unique.
Other features are following..
- Randome maps
- Snario (you can make your own maps)
- Multi Player (on LAN or Internet with human enemy)
- MSN gaming zone facility
| A house | A wind mill |
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Wallpaper 800x600 |
Wallpaper 800x600 |
Age Of Empires (Microsoft)
Age Of Empires is Warcraft with a bit of Civ thrown in, so most of the strategies that work in Warcraft apply equally well to AOE. The big difference here is that there are 12 tribes, each with different combinations of military units, with varying strengths and weaknesses. Multi-player mode really is the bollocks, but before leaping into that, there's a single-player game to master.
In AOE the AI can demolish players in double-quick time by building and making decisions far faster than any human. Fortunately, we humans have three secret weapons: pause, save and slow down. Use pause to check the tree charts, save the game in case you get slaughtered early on, and press the game speed (+/-) buttons during fights to reduce the AI's advantage. Useful stuff, and because we're so damn good to you, here's a load more hints that should leave you firmly stuck to that throne. Oh, and if all this isn't good enough, try out the amazing cheats at the end of this guide.
Get rich quick
The key to AOE is build, build, build. Learn the keyboard shortcuts and use them all the time. For example, hit H then C to build a villager. Then build another and another... To create multiple buildings of the same type, hold down the shift key. It works on town centres too if, ahem, for some reason they are accidentally destroyed. Oops.
Aim to grab resources quickly and methodically. Start harvesting the area around the base immediately, then explore further afield. As soon as resources are discovered further away from the base, switch production to these if possible. Just remember to protect the villagers, and station spare military units near any resources such as unmined gold or stone. Build a storage pit next to each resource - the less time it takes the villagers to walk between source and storage, the better.
Study the tribe chart thoroughly and decide which units are needed more than others. Siege weapons are excellent for attack; horse and elephant archers are brilliant, especially for defending weaker units. Cavalry are powerful in attack and defence, especially the heavies. They're brilliant when it comes to defending against the siege stuff, too. Academy units like hoplites, phalanxes and legions should be the mainstay of the infantry, with archers to back them up. Improved and composite bowmen are also good to have around, as they are cheap and effective.
The best attacking army is probably four to six siege weapons, protected by academy infantry and a couple of elephant archers to soak up punishment. On top of that, a group of heavy cavalry will cause havoc among villagers and counter almost anything the enemy dishes out. Chariots are ideal for hunting down troublesome priests. For some real damage, deploy a squad of war elephants. Keep some priests at the rear for healing beaten-up troops and converting enemy units, along with a few villagers, who can build near the enemy's camp and churn out reinforcements.
How to win territory and keep it
� Put four stables together and create four elephants much more quickly.
� Don't get bottled in. It's important to expand into - or dominate - at least a quarter of any map to be in a position to win. Besides, a well-spread settlement isn't such an easy target.
� If the 50-unit limit is a problem, select useless units and press delete. Or when there are 49, build a dozen or more different ones at once and the limit will be beaten!
� Remember, there's no limit to the amount of towers you can built, so use them. Just don't forget to keep mining stone.
� Construct several stables or academies close together. That way three or four decent units can be churned out at a time.
� Don't site buildings close together - build multi-directional 'motorways' through bases to stop moving units getting tangled up (AOE's individual unit AI routines aren't terribly good).
Attacking
� Can't get through the trees? Flatten them with heavy catapult area fire. This is also a great technique for nuking an opponent's wood resources. Hee hee.
� Attack from two or three different directions in quick succession - this means the defenders spend all their time moving back and forward. They end up confused and are less likely to form a damaging offensive.
� Remember, a good scout is a dead scout. Always precede attack groups with one or two scouts to get a better idea of what's coming.
� Triremes (all kinds) are excellent for bombardment. They're quick and can't be clobbered in hand-to-hand combat.
� Use walls, towers and ranged weapons to set up a solid, semi-automatic defence. This leaves you with more time to concentrate on building and attacking.
� Concentrate units on single objectives for maximum effect.
� Gather troops into units, selected with the number keys. Place infantry into one group, the archers into another and so on. This makes it easy to send cavalry after catapults, catapults after buildings and so on.
� As a general rule don't mix slow and fast units in the same group. However, some mixed types can work well together - a few horse archers mixed in with heavy cavalry gives them extra firepower.
� Try to put priests in groups of one so they can be sent straight into action. It's a complete waste to have six priests converting the same enemy unit.
� Use the high ground. The 25% chance of triple damage is a big boost to archery and siege units.
� Concentrate firepower - target multiple units and kill them one by one. Two infantry units versus a tower is suicide, but ten swordsmen can bring it down with minimal losses.
Defending
� The computer will start attacking very early; undefended villagers are its main target. Always protect them - either with military units, towers or walls.
� Take out attacking catapults first - they do more damage to your base than anything else. Combined cavalry and infantry are the best way to deal with siege weapons.
� Double or triple walls work well but you still need defence in depth. Siting towers near your town centre is vital.
� Don't be afraid to delete a couple of wall units when a quick exit is needed. Sometimes it's better to cut your losses rather than hang around and be utterly annihilated.
� Funnel attackers into kill zones with diagonal walls and more towers closer to the main entrance of the base.
Tribes
Each tribe has specific strengths and weaknesses, so make sure you choose the right tribe for the map that is to be played. It's also important to make sure the strategy to be used is suited to the tribe picked.
Assyrian
Nicely-balanced in attack and defence. Strong early on, but may lose momentum if you don't plan your moves in advance.
Strengths Cavalry, horse/chariot archers, siege weapons, triremes
Best units Chariot archers
Weakness No elephants
Best maps Any (but land is best)
Babylonian
They find it difficult to spread their wings and invade new territory, but they're hellishy hard to dig out of their own hole.
Strengths Fortifications
Best units Catapults and chariots are your only hope...
Weakness No elephants, heavy cavalry or triremes
Best maps Land only
Choson
Weakest of the 12; the best strategy is to build a cavalry horde.
Strengths Cataphracts, triremes
Best units Cataphracts or legions
Weakness No elephants, chariots or catapults
Best maps Any (but island is best)
Egyptian
Hold their own in battle and boast startlingly effective priest attacks.
Strengths Priests, chariots and ships
Best units Groups of priests can drive your enemies mad!
Weakness Infantry and cavalry
Best maps Island/coastal
Greek
Weak early on, they only really come into their own when used defensively later in the game. The ultimate counter-attacking force.
Strengths Heavy infantry, siege weapons, ships
Best units Academy units are fast and dependable
Weakness No archers, elephants, chariots
Best maps Any (but island is best)
Hittite
The best aggressors on land, with great artillery. Not so hot when it comes to defending though.
Strengths Heavy infantry and elephants
Best units Chariot and horse archers
Weakness No ballistas or triremes
Best maps Land only
Minoan
Powerful afloat, hard to attack but a liability in defence.
Strengths Heavy infantry, siege weapons, ships
Best units Composite bowmen - that +2 range is devastating
Weakness No elephants, chariots or towers
Best maps Any
Persian
Best all-round aggressors, with superb sea power. They love going from coast to coast wreaking havoc in the process.
Strengths Archers, elephants, cavalry and ships
Best units Heavy horse archers
Weakness No chariots, weak on siege weapons and infantry
Best maps Any (but island is best)
Phoenician
Good all-rounders apart from their lack of heavy artillery, although their strong elephant force more than makes up for it.
Strengths Infantry, archers, elephants and ships
Best units Triremes and war elephants are your best chance
Weakness No siege weapons
Best maps Island only
Shang
Shang can be the dark horses - villagers appear quickly early on and proceed to build some pretty impressive walls. They will not be easily broken.
Strengths Balanced land forces
Best units Heavy cavalry and lots of ranged units
Weakness No elephants, weak ships
Best maps Land only
Sumerian
Best all-rounders, full stop. If in doubt, try them. They're a good introduction to the game with a firm grasp on most aspects of empire building.
Strengths Tough villagers, heavy infantry
Best units Catapults... they're unstoppable in big groups
Weakness No cavalry
Best maps Any (but land is best)
Yamato
Hopeless in set-piece attacks but wonderful for raiding. Almost Barbarian in the way they approach life.
Strengths Heavy infantry and cavalry, good ships
Best units Triremes and juggernauts
Weakness No elephants, chariots, siege weapons or towers
Best maps Island only
