Remastered Original Age Of Empires To Return This Year

Microsoft

The news Age of Empires fans have been craving is finally here.

For years the strategy game’s old fashioned computer requirements have prevented many fans from being able to play.

Now it’s time to dust off their your armies and prepare for some epic battles with the release date of Age of Empires: Definitive Edition drawing near.

This is a remastered version of the iconic, historical game, available for PC as of February 20 2018, according to an exciting announcement from Microsoft.

Adam Isgreen, Creative Director at Microsoft, posted:

When we set out to create the Definitive Edition of the original Age of Empires, our goal was to deliver the best possible version of this classic, from a top notch audio-visual presentation to multiplayer to core game systems.

Everything needed to be as good as you remembered it (or better!) to deliver a compelling RTS experience 20 years after its original release …and that took us a bit longer than we’d originally planned.

And now I’m happy to announce that Age of Empires: Definitive Edition is launching on February 20 worldwide for Windows 10 PCs at $19.99 USD.

Those who have been waiting an eternity for this development have previously been left disappointed when the original October 19, 2017 release date was postponed in order to ‘treat the Age of Empires franchise with the respect it deserves.’

Hopefully the finished product – with many parts having been lovingly remade from scratch – will be more than worth the wait.

Check out the thrilling trailer below:

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There will naturally be strong loyalties to the original game, ensuring a welcome sense of nostalgia for die hard fans.

However, Age of Empires has also been adapted to fit with modern times, promising an enhanced gaming experience.

Players can immerse themselves in more than 40 hours worth of updated campaign content, complete with fresh narration, pacing and orchestral score.

Thanks to modern competitive features, history game buffs can play online in battles involving up to eight participants.

Modern players can experience 4K HD visuals with overhauled animations. They can create unique situations using the scenario builder, sharing custom campaigns through mod support.

Quality of life improvements include better path finding for units and an increase in regards to the unit population limit.

Back in September, Microsoft’s Jörg Neumann told Mashable:

We redid every piece of art, every sound effect, we rewrote all the music, but we kept its soul intact as much as we possibly could.

Neumann added:

It’s kind of like how you remember Age of Empires 1 from ‘97, just better.

However, if you really can’t bear to see any changes to the legendary game, then Microsoft has your needs catered for too.

If you so wish then you can play the vintage game without any improvements or new fangled additions. Close your eyes and you can pretend its 1997 all over again.

Excitingly, this release appears to be only the beginning of a glorious new golden age for Age of Empires

Definitive Editions of both Age of Empires II and III are said to be in the works.

Furthermore, last summer a complete sequel, Age of Empires IV, was announced during the Gamescom trade fair.

After what must have seemed like a civilisation spanning wait, Age of Empires fans are finally getting all the mythological adventuring their hearts desire.

Julia Banim

Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.