You know what? Seven years have lapsed since I said I was going to start playing my Steam library in alphabetical order. How is it now, that I find myself back at the letter A? Have I made zero progress on the endeavour?
Quite the contrary, I've made over one hundred and fifty posts about my Steam Library, but like my post count, and my game library size, both continue to grow. What has, in recent time, continued to grow is my love affair for RTS games.
You see, it was all rekindled when I started to play Age of Mythology Retold at the insistence of my friend Krystal, having a little bit of Steam credit, and a desire to obtain all the RTS games I remember from my youth.
And, for the last few days, I've been spending some time in Age of Empires - Definitive Edition. Here is what I've learned about how nostalgia and memory can possibly make things better than what you thought they were, and how it might be time to let go of the classics to make way for the new vanguard of RTS design.
Its slow
Compared to the likes of modern RTS, MOBA, and other click-fest strategy titles, Age of Empires is played at an almost sloth-like rate of APM. Sure, there's the opportunity to do lots of things in lots of places on the map, all at once, but things take so long.
For instance, in one of the Egpytian tutorial missions where I needed to build a wonder, after I had vanquished all of my foes, I deleted all of my army, set villagers to be produced, and rallied them to the wonder.
It was going to take a painfully long period of time to build, and with no speed controls in single player in the middle of a mission (the likes of which games like Against the Storm, or Frostpunk do well) , I walked away from my computer to go make something to eat.
When I returned, I saw the victory screen.
It has a lot of content
This is a very good thing. There's an enormous amount of content, and it all takes quite some time to get through. Each historical empire has a lot of depth, is varied, asymmetrically balanced - and feels unique to play.
Coupled with the large number of included campaigns (and the enormous amount of mod content available) there's a LOT to keep you entertained for a very long time if you're a value concious gamer, and can appreciate a fine RTS with a slow pace.
It isn't taking a shot at the bar, it is more like drinking a fine, aged, tawny port by the fire, with a glint in your eye, and the weeks of leisure awaiting you for the next time you wake.
It runs on almost anything
PC gaming hasn't always known for being accessible, but something like the definitive edition of Age of Empires is definitely accessible, particularly if you have a computer with the following:
A mouse. A keyboard. A screen.
And there you have it, something from anytime in the last 15 years or so of computing.
Tastefully Upgraded
It runs well, it looks good, and it has a robust tutorial. These are all things that a modern gamer would expect to find with any game. They've even gone in and added online multiplayer so you can relive getting boxed in by an opponent, or turtling behind epic layers of walls.
But, with all of these upgrades, you can't help but look back at the years and years of development that have occured in PC gaming, to know that if you're a die-hard fan of RTS, and want to GIT GUUD, there's other options that are more enjoyable, dynamic, and interesting to play. For me, that's Age of Mythology: Retold (at the moment!) - but as I work my way through the other Age of Empires titles that I've added to my Steam library, my opinion is likely to change.
I am also very keen on revisiting the Command and Conquer series, as I've got those installed and ready to go, as well.
I've got countless of hours of strategy waiting for me, and as a result, I'll waste no more time on this post.
What is your favourite strategy game, and why?