Age of Empires: The Age of Kings (Nintendo DS, 2006)

Solid game play mechanics. Many military units to command. Historical reality. This is one of the best games on the ds in a very long time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Highly recommend it if you are a fan of the pc versions of this type of genre. Will not be dissapointed in the depth of options and rich graphics and music style. The Age of Empires series can now go where you do with Age of Empires: The Age of Kings for the Nintendo DS. You can engage in turn-based gameplay as you battle five different civilizations with more than 45 unique unit types.

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We were surprised by the announcement that Age of Empires: The Age of Kings was headed to the DS, since when we think of the title, we think of the deep and sophisticated real-time strategy series for the PC. How could such a complex and fast-paced game, which requires precise mouse-and-keyboard controls and quite a bit of micromanagement, be successfully translated to a portable system? Well, it looks like the developers of the DS version had a good answer to this question, because the DS version of Age of Kings seems very well suited to the platform on first impression.

We got a chance to play a work-in-progress version of the game at E3, and the first thing we noticed is that Age of Empires has gone turn-based here. So it's no longer a fast-paced RTS that requires you to constantly keep track of a thousand different details. It's now a turn-based experience that you can play at your own pace, strategizing for as long as you need to before committing your forces. As a result of that major difference, Age of Empires for the DS ends up playing more like Advance Wars than like Age of Empires...though, of course, the historical theme certainly sets this one apart.

You'll be able to play as a number of distinct factions in the game, including the Britons, the Franks, the Mongols, the Saracens, and the Japanese. Each will have its own unique strengths and units, as the game will feature about 45 different units in all, such as swordsmen, cavalry, crossbowmen, pikemen, catapults, and many more. In addition, you may research a different technology each turn, and there's a ton to choose from, letting you bolster your military might or your economics. One issue we noted with this build was that it didn't seem to explain what any of the research upgrades would actually do. However, we expect something like that to be addressed. We also had a little trouble trying to discern some of our units from one another when they were all clumped up. But other than that, the game's interface was intuitive and easy to get into.

The bottom screen of the DS is where most of the strategic gameplay takes place. As you guide your units around, the top screen displays useful stats and information about what's happening in context, such as whether the different terrain will confer defensive bonuses, and so forth. When units attack one another, the top screen switches to an Advance Wars-style look at the outcome, and these sequences look quite nice. Cavalry charge the ranks of swordsmen, archers rain arrows on their foes, and more. The animation is smooth and good-looking, and we could easily tell the difference between the Briton units we were playing as and the Saracen foes we were fighting against.
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Age of Empires: The Age of Kings looks like just the sort of PC-to-portable translation you'd hope for. The game seems to take all the core elements of the Age of Empires experience and translates them effectively to a por

When I first heard of Age of Empires (AOE) for the DS, I was both optimistic and concerned. The concern came from how well a successful PC RTS could translate into a handheld game. The optimism came from the Nintendo DS's unique control set up: the stylus could offer pinpoint control more akin to a mouse and alleviate control issues we've had to deal with on the DS's bigger Console brethren. Majesco managed to qualm my fears by doing something that initially turned me off about the game all together: they changed the genre of the game itself.

But, before you AOE hardcore scoff at the fact that our precious RTS series is now a TURN-BASED strategy game, let me assure you this, surprisingly, has done nothing to hurt the core gameplay of AOE. You still have to build farms, perform research, train units, and do battle, and it all works surprsingly well, turning what could have been a disaster of a port into a very deep and engaging handheld interpretation of a classic PC series.

As mentioned earlier, the purpose of the game is to take one of five available Empires (it's possible to play the Empires in any order, but there's a natural difficulty progression that comes with each), through the course of their rise, conquering opponents and capturing resources. Turns are taken per day, with each side issuing build orders, unit movement, and attack orders, and then ending their day when they're through with their turn. Computer AI is simple, yet competent, and provides a decent challenge, comparative to the Advance War games.

The game is controlled via the stylus or the D-Pad and face buttons. Either way functions fairly well, the exception being that when a large group of units are bunched in together, it becomes difficult to tell what unit is selected, and is difficult to pinpoint a unit without selecting a different nearby unit with the stylus.

Graphically, the game is simple, yet serviceable, with the menus taking on the appearence of an old English manuscript. The music is period-y stuff, which stays unobtrusively in the background. The sounds are actually quite well done, with the expected clinks and clanks of swords clashing and the cries of foes dying.

Overall, if you're a fan of strategy games (turn-based, or otherwise), and you've got a hankering for a little more depth than your average side-scrolling platformer, you're going to find something to love about AOE DS. 4 out of 5.

What I like about this game is the way it teaches you history while letting you act out the part of some of history's most well known players. before each campaign, it gives you a history lesson about the person you are using in the game, plus while you are playing, for each upgrade you go for, it gives you a lesson on that as well.

Being a big fan of Age of Empires for PC, i figured the DS game would be all the fun of this awesome game on the go! But, the transfer to turn-based made it loose its fast paced excitement, and it seemed to be like a poor version of Advanced Wars: Dual Strike. I wouldnt buy this game, in fact, i'm selling it back on ebay! :)

I'm a huge fan of the computer games, but I didn't know what to expect with the DS versions. Although it took me a little while to learn the pieces and which ones fight better against other ones, since figuring it out I can't put it down. It's like a complex game of chess with a bunch of extra little twists and perks. I know this turn based strategy game is not exactly a new concept, especially if you're into some of the more Anime-oriented ones like Fire Emblem and Tactics Ogre, but some are definitely more fun than others and this one is fun.

My only issue thus far is being able to see the characters clearly at times when they're standing next to each other. It's a little hard to select the one you want at the angle they chose to make the map.