Age of Empires is a solid turn-based strategy game, so much so that sometimes it's not entirely noteworthy.
I've been holding out buying this game, but I've been on a strategy kick lately, after just recently beating the latest Advance Wars and playing some medieval strategy boardgames with friends. I've heard good things about the AoE game for DS, so when I finally found a copy (not as easy as I expected) I decided to give it a try.
Those familiar with turn-based strategy games will have no problem diving right into AoE. The game plays out in a series of missions... on some, your forces are pre-deployed, and others you must create them by having villagers build a town. Town construction plays almost like AoE's RTS roots, you must build resource-gathering buildings on resource-full sites using your building units, then manufacture garrisons and the like to muster forces. In addition to all this, many buildings can be upgraded by building others adjacent to them, and you can conduct research to give random bonuses to your army. It's quite fun, and adds some depth to the game.
When it comes to fighting, it plays just about as you expect a fantasy game like this would. There are several different types of units, that have all sorts of logical strengths and weaknesses. You can field infantry, which are good at destroying enemy buildings. Cavalry move fast and smash infantry, but fall to pikemen. Archers can attack from several squares away. You can also build war machines that move slowly but decimate units and buildings. There's a fair amount of unlockable units too, and the more you research in your town, the more upgraded units you can field.
And so, you slosh through the campaign, marching units across the countryside, waging battles and razing enemy towns. All good fun. The game is really solid, and the AI is only stupid when it wants to be (basically, in the tutorial missions). The mission plots draw on actual historical accounts, so they're somewhat interesting. The multiplayer functions are all there, with plenty of maps to play... a shame you can't make your own though. I also find myself wishing there might have been a single-card download play function, but that might just be wishful thinking on my part, and hotseat works great at the lunch table.
The graphics are good... the map is clear, though I'm sad you can't rotate it. The top screen is left for unit and terrain info, as if ripped directly from Advance Wars. Come to think of it, this game plays a LOT like Advance Wars, excepting the isometric camera angle and fantasy setting. The sound is pretty average, with generic battle cries and sword-clanging over top of the same sweeping orchestral fantasy fare you've heard for decades now.
The Verdict:
Those who enjoy turn-based strategy will be right at home with AoE. It's a solid game all-around, with lots of content and tightly-balanced gameplay. Fans of AoE might be turned off by the turn-based nature, but this game proves that it can translate between game types fairly smoothly.
As a fan of turn-based games like this one (I've thoroughly played games like Advance Wars, Dia Senryaku, Fire Emblem, a wealth of tactics RPGs, Shining Force, Military Madness, etc) I have to admit that although Age of Empires is quite good, it really plays it safe when it comes to strategy games. It really doesn't do much that hasn't been done before. In this regard, the game rarely ever "wowed" me. It's definitely worth playing, but there comes a point when a game has to separate itself from the crowd to be truly unique. If I wasn't a die-hard fan of medieval warfare, I might have nearly become overwhelmed with the idea that I'd played this game already before I'd ever bought it.
That being said, AoE might not take as many risks as it should have, but it delivers what it promises, a meaty strategy game that anyone with a little patience, a love of history and having their doods fight other doods with swords can really get into. I recommend it and am glad it's part of my collection.
+Good graphics
+Solid turn-based gameplay that's well-balanced
+AI is decent
+Compelling historical plot
+Plenty of missions to play
+Solid multiplayer support
-Doesn't take any risks with the TBS formula
-No single card download play