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Age of Empires
user avatarAdded by @Uereg

Age of Empires (1997)

by Ensemble Studios, MacSoft Games, Microsoft
Platforms:
Mac, PC (Microsoft Windows)
Genres:Strategy
Themes:Historical, Warfare
Game modes:Single player, Multiplayer
Story:
Age of Empires (AoE) is a history-based real-time strategy video game developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft. The game uses the Genie, a 2D sprite-based game engine. The game allows the user to act as the leader of an ancient civilization by advancing it through four ages (the Stone, Tool, Bronze, and Iron Ages), gaining access to new and improved units with each advance.
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Age of Empires is a true relic of the RTS Genre. This game is one of the main reasons i became interested in history, which later expanded to my interests in economics and politics. I remember getting this game in xmas 1998 and my life changed ever since. This game was simply enough to learn, but hard enough in the main campaigns to pose a true challenge. This game has aged relatively well to be a worthy addition to GoG's DRM-free catalog, even without the later remasters.dix.selken
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Stories about this game (35)
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user avatar@dix.selkenuser avatar@dix.selken
January 29, 2025
Age of Empires is a true relic of the RTS Genre. This game is one of the main reasons i became interested in history, which later expanded to my interests in economics and politics. I remember getting this game in xmas 1998 and my life changed ever since. This game was simply enough to learn, but hard enough in the main campaigns to pose a true challenge. This game has aged relatively well to be a worthy addition to GoG's DRM-free catalog, even without the later remasters.
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user avatar@ion00user avatar@ion00
January 30, 2025
Yes, AOE 2 improved the gameplay A LOT, but for me the first AOE will always have a special place in my heart. I've been playing this game for over 25 years now. I don't think it has ever left my hard drive. This game is pure nostalgia for me. The music especially gets me every time I hear it, especially the expansion OST. In case you didn't know there's an unofficial patch (called UPatch) that lets you play the game on modern operating systems flawlessly. It also adds some much needed balance changes, although unfortunately range units still reign supreme. The game is owned by Micros*ft so I'm not getting my hopes up.
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user avatar@TheStrangeFlanuser avatar@TheStrangeFlan
January 29, 2025
First strategy game I was ever given to play... and made a mess of it by focusing on building cities because it was cool. Oh, to be 9 years old all over again...
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user avatar@Andreasqiaouser avatar@Andreasqiao
January 29, 2025
My very first PC game and my childhood as well. It's simple yet addictive. The first time I've ever seen that wololo priest, never seen that done in other RTS games, except the sequel.
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user avatar@Bunny92Buser avatar@Bunny92B
February 04, 2025
Demo of AoE 1 was my very first game that I've played on pc. Loved that game. It got me into RTS genre. I have non DE and also DE version of it on steam. AoE 1 is mostly popular in Vietnam and people mostly prefer AoE 2 over AoE 1. But i personally also love AoE 1, it's a shame that it did not receive as much love and updates as AoE 2 DE did. I'd love to see it released DRM-free on GOG.
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user avatar@Hyldenchampuser avatar@Hyldenchamp
June 18, 2025
Want this so badly. The definitive edition doesn't allow you to play the campaign with the vanilla graphics, and this soundtrack is sooo cozy and good. I way prefer the eras in this game over AOE2 as well.
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user avatar@~ Akuburanir ~user avatar@~ Akuburanir ~
January 12, 2025
Premier jeu que j'ai acheté sur PC, je pouvoir seulement y jouer sur le pc de travail de ma mère pendant les vacances. Il m'a donné goût à l'histoire, même s'il y a quelques erreurs. J'ai passé énormément de temps dans l'éditeur de cartes pour faire mes propres aventures. Cela m'a donné également plus tard au modding.
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user avatar@BigFitzPlaysuser avatar@BigFitzPlays
August 30, 2026
Age of Empires (1997) needs to come to GOG The original Age of Empires is not on GOG. It is on the Dreamlist. That should have been enough. What you can buy legally right now is Age of Empires: Definitive Edition on Steam and the Microsoft Store. That is a 2018 remaster: 4K art, updated controls, Rise of Rome in the box, modern multiplayer. Fine game. It is not the 1997 Ensemble Studios build. Those are different products. One is the remaster Microsoft wants you on. The other is the Genie-engine game people still boot off old Gold Edition discs: Stone Age to Iron Age, twelve civs, priests converting your army while the soundtrack does its thing. Rise of Rome in 1998 finished that package. GOG’s whole catalog is built on selling that version of a classic, not only the later coat of paint. DE also stopped getting patches in 2021. The original has no official storefront at all. So the first Age of Empires either lives on a CD in a closet, a compatibility workaround, or a site Microsoft would rather you didn’t use. That is a preservation failure for a game that invented a franchise. Microsoft already put Definitive Edition on Steam. A DRM-free original on GOG does not kill that. It gives the people who want 1997 a clean, legal install that still works when a Store client does not. Same reason GOG has the original Resident Evil next to later remakes. Put Age of Empires Gold on GOG. Base game plus Rise of Rome. The 1997 game, not a substitute.
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user avatar@TombaRockzzuser avatar@TombaRockzz
January 30, 2025
-Translated from German to English, with Google:- The game was my first RTS as a child. I sat in front of the screen for an evening, I should have been asleep. My mother came in twice and told me off. The third time she ripped the cables from the screen like a madman, which were still screwed on at the time - all the pins were bent and I had to go to bed. A great time. :) -German:- Das Spiel war mein erstes RTS in der Kindheit. Ich saß einen Abend gebannt vor dem Bildschirm, ich sollte eigentlich schon schlafen. Meine Mutter ist 2x reingekommen und hat mich ermahnt. Beim dritten Mal riss sie wie eine Furie an den Kabeln vom Bildschirm, die damals noch festgeschraubt waren - alle Pins verbogen und ich musste ins Bett. Eine tolle Zeit. :)
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user avatar@T00N1Xuser avatar@T00N1X
February 01, 2025
The first Game I ever got to play on PC. To this day, I remember the cheats I used when playing this, because my 10-year-old brain wasn't capable of winning without them. "bigdaddy" for cars with rocket launcher, or "flying dutchman" for ships who can drive on land. But even without cheats, the sound effects of the game are also burned into my mind. It's hard to describe how much nostalgia I feel for this game.
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