Age of Empires: Definitive Edition (2018)

Finally, my Chronolog has put me through the civilization's initial journey of history from ~8000 BC to 740 AD with the first entry's remaster of Age of Empires.

My history with Age of Empires stretches back nearly three decades, from a demo shown by a classmate to countless hours lost in campaigns and custom maps. (Even had own campaign projects to make AoE version of Warcraft II campaigns, on a funny note)

As of today, the Gold Edition CD has been lent out to an old friend, who moved away shortly after with it, and the game box still remains in my storage of curiosity. But the interest carried on with the sequels that followed. The franchise had a rollercoaster in relevance with time but the community was strong enough to maintain to the point that the two first games got their modernized face-lifts in their Definitive Editions, thanks to developers like Tantalus Media and Forgotten Empires (consisting of people dedicated to the franchise and its ongoing longevity). Before my Chronolog idea was conceived, I wasn't planning to replay AoE in its new edition...

...until I luckily won it in an official giveaway on Discord.

Gameplay remains the same foundation that defined early RTS design: gather, build, conquer. Quality-of-life tweaks like farm reseeding smoothen out the experience, but unit pathfinding still stumbles like it did decades ago, often demanding extra micromanagement to get the most out of my tactics. The strategic core is intact and satisfying, though it shows its age in places where modern RTS titles have long evolved.

Presentation sees the most noticeable upgrade. Higher resolutions, 3D-rendered units and buildings, and updated sound effects breathe new life into the battlefield. Scenario briefings now feature spoken narration, adding immersion to each campaign. The remade soundtrack sounds richer, though I found myself missing some of the original’s distinct tones. It’s a visual and audio upgrade that mostly lands, even if it doesn’t fully replace the old charm.

In the end, this is a welcome remaster attempt with the complete packaging that also leaves some QoL improvements and bug fixes to be desired yet. I would have preferred the Return of Rome DLC for AoE II over this for addressing the above-mentioned issues, although it's this game that holds some exclusivity with a few official campaigns left out.

Age of Empires: DE is a polished relic—still sturdy, still influential, but carrying a few cracks from the past.

Chronolog III a: The Ancient Era - Old World

If there's one game franchise that truly shaped the concept of the Chronolog, it's Age of Empires. The way it brings historical conflicts, civilizations, and leaders to life through real-time strategy is something that’s stuck with me ever since childhood.

It all begins with Egypt—the perfect introductory civilization. In Age of Empires (the original), Egypt’s campaign served as both a tutorial and a deep dive into one of the earliest organized societies, stretching from ~8000 to 2500 BC. I progressed through it smoothly, taking my time to read every historical briefing that accompanied each scenario. It felt like watching the human story unfold—not just in terms of warfare, but also through the gradual introduction of farming, trade, and military innovation.

Even after all these years, I still find joy in watching civilizations evolve over time in AoE. And for the sake of Chronolog, I’ve made a point to collect every official campaign released—even when they revisit old material in new ways.

A great example is Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition and its “Return of Rome” DLC, which brought the original AoE campaigns into the AoE2 engine while adding entirely new content from the ancient period—like Sargon of Akkad, a powerful ruler of the Akkadian Empire. This campaign raises the difficulty a notch and might be tough for newcomers. My advice? Stick with Egypt until you’ve nailed the basics, then move back on to these heavier hitters.

As I moved through the scenarios, I bounced between Greece, Hittite, and Babylon, which provided a fresh sense of variety while showcasing parallel cultural developments. Each civilization added its own flavor to the bigger picture of human progress.

Obviously though, AoE wasn’t the only RTS helping to fill out the ancient world.

Games like Empire Earth and Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom also found a place in my Chronolog—though their roles were more temporary. In Empire Earth, I played through the Phoenician tutorial levels and a bit of the Greek content. I like the fact that the scenarios themselves were designed to resemble real-world maps—adding a nice educational touch. Unfortunately, the game's dated mechanics and technical instability held me back from wanting to finish it. Instead, I now rely on YouTube playthroughs for the rest.

With Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom, I made it through the Xia Dynasty tutorial. The game had its charm, but the slow build-up and micromanagement bogged down the pacing. In the end, I chose to follow the campaign’s story through mission briefings online to keep my Chronolog moving forward.

Back on Age of Empires, speaking of skipping ahead, I must admit that not every mission was completed “organically.” The harder scenarios made my habit of checking community guides or dusting off old cheat codes (yes, photon man still echoes in the back of my mind).

Still, the experience has been fulfilling. From the Rise of Rome expansion campaigns (including Pyrrhus of Epirus in 2nd game's Return of Rome) to legendary figures like Alexander the Great in Empire Earth (and hopefully soon in AoE’s upcoming entries), this stretch of the Chronolog has been nothing short of epic.

The countdown to 0 CE continues, and so does the evolution of civilizations. The next post will cover games that are putting a closer focus within a few civilizations.

The Stone Age <-- The Chronolog --> Rome & Egypt

Finished Egypt campaign.

Beginning of greatness, but quite rough in functionality. It is a little hard to go back to this game after all the "smoothe" RTS games that have come after. The graphics definitely look modern and nice but DANG are the units dumb some times... It is a kind of funny sometimes to be honest.