At first I wasn't sure about it. I even asked Kevin Unangst at Microsoft why the graphics on Age of Empires Online seemed less detailed compared to AOE3. His explanation was plausible; Microsoft created Age of Empires Online to be available on a wider range of hardware, and in doing so rather than dumbing down the graphics they made them more animated.
He assured me that if I just gave the game a chance I'd fall in love with it.
Well I finally had a few hours on Sunday to play Age of Empires Online and I'm telling you this game is awesome! It really took a few tries to realize that game has a great deal of depth. You just have to get past the comparisons between the old and the new.
For the first time in the Age of Empires history you are building a progressive city. You continue to add to your tech tree as you choose, and the mini quests get better as you move along. It's a very exciting combination of Real Time Strategy with MMO.
It's like World of Warcraft meets Age of Empires, and it actually plays out well. Rumor has it that Microsoft plans to make the game free and they will create expansions and in game items that you can buy.
Personally I'd pay for the game out of the box and I hope they don't charge a monthly fee to play. I think they should do a combination of an initial buy + in game enhancements that can also be purchased. I'd also like to see it scale to 4800x2560, I'll find out in a few days if it does. If it doesn't Microsoft will be hearing from me.
I would also pay an additional fee for graphic enhancements for higher end hardware (like a graphics and immersion enhancement pack -- if I were Nvidia or AMD I'd think about creating these types of enhancements to give their hardware a competitive advantage). The new world of gaming should be less about commoditization and more about micro transactions to build a perfect experience the way the customer wants.
Whatever Microsoft is thinking, welcome back guys! This is a great first step at bringing back the fire to Microsoft's PC Gaming business. If any Starcraft II fans are out there I would suggest you give this game a try -- it's just a much better game. I can't say enough good things about it -- it just took a couple of tries and an open mind to realize it. (I want to thank Jason Cross for making me try it again with an open mind...thanks man!)
