Age of Empires scores 9/10 in the verdict of The Games Market editorial team.
Once Upon a Time
Age of Empires, Divide and Conquer and Play!
by Simon Larocca·September 28, 2025
“I am Maximus Decimus Meridius, and at my signal, unleash hell.” Do you remember it? The iconic line from the opening scene of “Gladiator,” starring Russell Crowe in one of his most moving and accomplished roles.
I don’t know about you, but in those tightrope-walking years between the millennium bug and the last remnants of Windows 95, I spent entire evenings conquering fierce nations and indulging my secret inclination as an enriched landowner on the backs of poor settlers, while plotting total war against the entire world under the lethal blows of my index finger on the mouse.
Age of Empires, published in 1997 by Microsoft itself and developed by the now glorious Ensemble Studios team, is recognized in every respect as the masterpiece that it truly is, a benchmark for any title that has ambitions in the RTS genre, that is, real-time strategy: this definition alone is enough to make us feel like Napoleon and Alexander the Great, I know it and you know it.
Talking about Age of Empires today means diving headfirst into a video game past wrapped in memories, the abstract material that connects to our senses and allows us to bring out what we felt while playing it and, in turn, what we will feel when returning to traverse the ancient world with the fictitious steps of our soldiers, peasants, workers, and men of religion to educate the masses of the population.
Unsealing the 1997 time capsule, we’ll use a CD-ROM to install and play. For those who, like me, were born in an era when the pinnacle of hardware technology consisted of small floppy disks whose meager memory could hold an entire game, the pleasure of hearing the thin rustle of the optical CD medium as the drive swallows it up is priceless.
Age of Empires was released in a highly crowded market period, with a myriad of first-person shooters capturing gamers’ attention and the fantasy component embracing every existing genre: Warhammer, Warcraft, and The Settlers plunged players into imaginary and fascinating settings, but it is with Ensemble’s work that historical realism finally begins to be given credit, already refined from assumptions that were still different from that other must-have, Civilization.
A player will have at their disposal real civilizations that have made our history books worth reading: Egyptians, Babylonians, Phoenicians with their colossal ships, the Greeks, without forgetting the possibility of looking further east, with the Chang and the Yamato.
One of the peculiarities of the game is the possibility of managing resources, building weapons and cities in complete freedom, fully immersing yourself in the selected era thanks to theme music (the soundtrack was composed using the musical instruments of the various available cultures) and an attention to every smallest detail that still amazes and delights today.
But the heart of Age of Empires was not just the ability to play single-player campaigns: LAN parties, with the advent of personal computers devoted to hardcore gaming, were the order of the day, and those who did not want to try their hand at ‘camper’ ambushes on the island of Far Cry or descend into the arenas of Quake to unload entire magazines at one another could organize multiplayer matches with friends.
Togther, to wage war for fun in always different scenarios, but with the same enjoyment, competing in modes such as Time Matches, Score Matches, or the ultimate battle royale, Conquest, where anything was allowed and far too real.
Planning, resource management and spectacular field battles, the evolution of a civilization under our command that progresses, refines itself militarily and culturally in order to rise ever higher and entertain us, while discovering curiosities about the history of the world that we may not have known.
I am Simon Larocca and at my signal, go play everyone.
9
Pro
An immense title in every respect: the campaign will keep you occupied for centuries (literally), and if you love RTS games, this is certainly THE game for you
A really useful tutorial campaign because it also allows beginners to learn the basics of an RTS in an intuitive way
Multiplayer for up to 8 players that gave the game infinite longevity: those were golden years
Contro
The game interface is not always intuitive, despite the online manuals that can be accessed at any time during play: the construction and resource management functions of every kind are many, and you need to spend some time to get the hang of them.
Mi chiamo Simon Larocca, e sono un videogiocatore, collezionista e amante della cultura pop in tutte le sue forme. Vado al cinema ogni volta che posso, leggo da quando porto gli occhiali, quindi da sempre, e ho la passione per lo storytelling in tutte le sue forme, così dirompente da farla diventare una professione. Ma come direbbe Doc di Ritorno al Futuro, non ci sarebbe presente se non si guardasse al passato con rispetto e ammirazione, ed è il Simon bambino di più di trent’anni fa, anno più anno meno.
Simon Larocca
Mi chiamo Simon Larocca, e sono un videogiocatore, collezionista e amante della cultura pop in tutte le sue forme. Vado al cinema ogni volta che posso, leggo da quando porto gli occhiali, quindi da sempre, e ho la passione per lo storytelling in tutte le sue forme, così dirompente da farla diventare una professione. Ma come direbbe Doc di Ritorno al Futuro, non ci sarebbe presente se non si guardasse al passato con rispetto e ammirazione, ed è il Simon bambino di più di trent’anni fa, anno più anno meno.
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