Age of Empires Online Open Beta!

[Kenryoku_Maxis]

vlad321 said:

Slimebeast said:

vlad321 said:

Meh. THat's about it. I hate the levelling. Absolutely hated it. I find it utterly pointless. This MAY have changed the game since last i played ( 1 month ago, maybe more) but they didn't even give you detailed information like armor and damage of pearticular units. There is a really good core, but it is covered by a whoooole lot of shit, and you have to dig deep to get to play the game in a state that is trully enjoyable and worthy of AoE.  Once you get there though, pretty fucking awesome.

Interesting but could you elaborate some more. First, do you mean the leveling is time-consuming, meaningless and boring but once you've done that the game becomes good?

And if so, how does it get good? (from an AoE 2 perspective)

Yes that is exactly what I mean. It is a worthless time sink that shouldn't exist, and it takes much longer than it should to get through it. The single-player quests I played weren't all that interesting (It's basically just AoE 2 missions with some improvements here or there, nothing on the scale of SC2 variety) and time consuming.

If the goal is an AoE2-like gameplay then the game is basically the escape sequence of Shawshank Redemption. You crawl through shit for a ridiculously long time and it is absolutely terrible, but then it is glorious.

I am also unsure that there is off-line play either, for LANs and stuff.

You are being way too harsh on the game.  If the game has any flaw, its just that its repetative.  But every RTS, from StarCraft to AOE is liek that.  Its about building a base and completing an objective.

Also, the game doesn't take longer than it should.  I've only played for probably 8-10 hours and I'm already level 30.  COuntless online games take way longer.  Heck, it took me longer to get a level 40 city in Age of Empires III.

Fans of Age of Empires will love the game.  Which is the point.  And I have a hard time believing you really played the game to level 40 when you complain so much about it being 'a worthless time sink that shouldn't exist'.

As for the question Slimebeast keeps asing, I will answer it.  here's PvP either 1v1 or 2v2.  Some quests even require playing human players.  And you can play human players anytime you want after a certain level (I think level 6).  Though most people wait till level 40 when they have their full skill list.

That's another thing.  This game allows you to unlock units how you want.  If you play more towards using siege and calvary, you can focus on that.  If you focus more on fast economy and long range units (like I do), it allows you to focus on that.  That's where the addicting aspect of the game is, being able to unlock new units and upgrades.

I'd also like to emphasize this game is in early Beta and the only playable race is the Greeks.  They're going to release the Egyptians soon and its implied that the Persians are in the game.