Microsoft’s course to revive the classics is definitely pleasing both by the very fact of its existence and by its implementation. Prefix Definitive Edition has already successfully grown to the first two games in the series. Fans got tangible graphical improvements (Age of Empires 2: Definitive Editionis probably the most beautiful 2D isometric game today), a sensibly redesigned interface, improved AI bots, and even a bunch of story and more add-ons. October 15 this year on virtual shelves Steam and Xbox livefinally, the reissue of the long-suffering third part was laid down, becoming the last nostalgic frontier before the upcoming Age of empires 4…
Meeting an old friend by dress, I was not disappointed. Tandem Studios Tantalus Media and Forgotten empires Did a good job on unit models and texture updates. The lopsided angular Buratins acquired a human appearance, the environment became clearer and more detailed, the area was overgrown with grass, which honestly crumpled under the boots of the marching soldiers. However, with some modern Iron harvest the re-release hardly compares graphically. It was not possible to completely hide the dilapidated basis of 2005, because the animation is no longer good for anything. The local videos on the engine look especially sad, but it would be naive to wait for their total processing, given the amount of work. The two-dimensional Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition is visually perceived even more accurate and smooth, but it is understandable, shoveling a fully three-dimensional game to modern standards is obviously more difficult. We have the right to wait for a real feast for the eyes before the release of a full-fledged new part.
As in the case of past reissues, the matter was not limited to external polishing. The interface has undergone a total redesign. There are three options to choose from: an updated, classic straight from the original and our personal choice – updated with the arrangement of all elements in the manner of the previous part. In this case, a line with resources, the number of workers in each type of work and peasants-idlers will be located in the upper left corner, the mini-map in the lower right, and the lower left will show information about the selected unit. At first glance, the extreme tab seems overloaded, but there is a sea of useful data in it – there is a damage multiplier for all enemy classes, as well as protection against different types of attacks. Workers now display the current rate of resource extraction, allowing them to assess how much, say, hunting is more profitable than working in the beds.
In addition to the main story campaign about the Morgan dynasty, the project contains two previously released story add-ons. The WarChiefs tells the story of the Black family and immerses us in the hardships of being a native American. Asian dynasties does not concern the conquest of America, but is devoted to the delicate affairs of the East: in three small acts we will plunge into the whirlpool of Chinese, Japanese and Indian wisdom of the late Middle Ages.
It’s nice that even such a set was not enough for the developers. In the Definitive Edition, fans of single player playthrough have prepared another completely new addition – the “Historical Battles” mode. There are six unrelated tasks here. Among them are the reckless raid of the Spanish colonies with Francis Drake, and even the frost-riddled mission for Ermak Timofeevich in the Chuvash Cape. And although it is not entirely clear to us why real tigers and polar macaques guard the treasures near the Tura River, the task turned out to be interesting. Each historical battle turned out to be complex, complex and eventful. It is not clear only, in connection with which the tasks are opened sequentially one at a time, if there is no plot connection between them.
