| Conquering
new territories will earn you more money and help you
to "Age-up" your civilization to the next
level. This will make you stronger and allow you to
develop new technologies in a variety of disciplines
such as chemistry, ballistics, siege machines and spying
techniques, all of which can be applied to your war
efforts. You will also earn points which can be used
to unlock new units and new maps.
The
turn-based system allows you time to plan out your
strategy since there's nothing to immediately react
to. You can position your units, create structures,
harvest resources and research new technologies. Then
your opponent takes his or her turn.
There
is a multi-player mode in which up to four players
can take part in using the wireless system, or you
can choose to play against the AI which does a good
job of keeping up with you and trying to trap you
into changing your strategy. The good thing about
the turn-based strategy system is that you can play
against other players by passing the DS around when
it's their turn to play. This only requires one copy
of the game and allows you to play with friends that
can't afford their own DS. I call these unfortunate
kids, moochers.
The
bottom screen shows the map while the top displays
the various units, buildings and terrain. Things can
get a little crowded on these small screens so you'll
probably have to consult the interface more than you
normally would on the PC just to keep track of things.
Fortunately the menus are heavy on the icons and short
on the text which makes things easier and faster to
locate. The top-down view is perfect for seeing most
of the battlefield but you'll have to do some scrolling
on the larger maps.
The
armies animate smoothly as they take to the battlefield.
You can hear the clashing of swords, the battle cries
of the victorious and the screams of the defeated.
Each faction is accompanied by their appropriate music
but it does get repetitive and that can be a bit of
a pain since the replay value is incredible.
Age
of Kings is one of the smartest games on the DS. It's
highly recommended for gamers of all ages and intelligence.
Features:
- Command
one of five different civilizations: the Britons,
Franks, Mongols, Saracens or Japanese
Control special 'hero' units such as Richard the
Lionheart, Minamoto Yoshitsune, Joan of Arc and
Genghis Khan whose special Hero Powers affect the
battlefield
- Lead
over 60 different types of units into battle--from
archers and monks to hand cannoneers, battering
rams and samurai
- Construct
and upgrade buildings to create resources for your
civilizations and provide access to new units and
technologies
By
StewXX
CCC
Staff Writer
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