Interface & Sound

Deja vu

Returning Age of Kings players might do a double-take the first time they sit down at the game. Not only does the game graphically resemble its predecessor, the interface is virtually unchanged. Everything you knew and loved about the Age of Kings interface is back. The bottom bar with the commands is the same as always, and again some of these commands expand to more elaborate detail menus. Want to set formations, patrols or a defensive stance? If you came from AOK you could do it blind-folded!

Kill the wabbit kill the wabbit!

Sneaking past

Multiplayer endgame

The Age of- games have a very powerful interface, though the abundance of icons and the use of sub-menus does make it a bit cluttered, especially when compared against fresher titles. One thing we found particularly annoying with the sub-menus was when employing a mixed military group. Instead of displaying the combat menu by default, the game would offer players the regular menu from which the combat menu is the only possible selection (with the exception of the Norse, whose infantry build their structures.) Attack-move and even attacking are only marginally effective, thanks to the weak unit AI and even weaker pathfinding. The AI has a nasty habit of not properly selecting targets when commanded to attack-move. While we don’t expect units to avoid their counter and go for units they’re strong against, we would be happy if they were smart enough to realize that an enemy army is a larger threat than a house.


The mouse controls are different from the Craft titles, and while it’s not a big adjustment to switch over we are beginning to question this strange form of developer pride in which they don’t give players the option to switch mouse controls. This is especially puzzling in Age of Mythology, which has (surface roughness aside) by far the most powerful keyboard interface of any RTS. There seems to be a shortcut for almost everything a player would want to do. Players can look for specific buildings, find idle units, build units, set their attitudes and formations – everything but actually tell them where to move. On top of merely selecting various units and buildings, players can also queue villager tasks the way they’d set waypoints with their military.

Dedicated players who learn these controls will have a huge advantage over their slacker counterparts. The time saved with remembering but a few of these commands is astronomical, even given the languid pace that Age of Mythology can sometimes suffer from.

Falalala!

The sound design went in two different directions. The game’s effects are generally subdued and reserved. Melee battles ring out on the field, but they feel properly distant and don’t take over. As with Age of Kings, there are certain units that make their presents known just by their sound. Whether it’s the thundering footsteps of a colossus or giant, or the roars of war elephants, a player’s attention is immediately drawn to this new sound. Whether this is by design or accident, the stand-out sounds for these special units are a real boon to the game, both in singleplayer (helping immersion) and multiplayer, where they serve a warning role.

Ph34r my base

Deforestation hurts the environment

So does overfishing

The musical score is unimpressive on all counts. It’s just too plain timid and confused. It would be one thing if the tracks were written to be mellow and atmospheric, but the composer obviously had grand designs for the songs. Unfortunately, whoever recorded them did not manage to deliver the ambitious performance the composer intended. The music is not a huge problem but it clearly got the short end of the production money, which is a real shame considering how rock solid the rest of the game is.