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Play Overview
Age of Empires IV (2021) is a strategy game where you command an ancient civilisation in real-time and must develop from hunter-gatherers to advanced forms of defence and war. This is similar territory to Civilization but focuses on resource management and direct warfare rather than politics and religion and is played in real-time.
It initially focuses on events in Europe, Africa and Asia, from the Stone Age to the Iron Age. Subsequent games in the series took players to the Roman Empire, the Middle Ages, the Spanish conquest of Mexico and Europe's colonising of the Americas.
To play, you click on buildings, people and items in the world to direct your population. You must collect resources, build camps and buildings and develop armies to survive. Mining, fishing and farming play a vital role. The combination of real history, with knife-edge strategic gameplay, has seen the series sell over a million copies.
For families, the earlier games are a great introduction to strategy games. You can take them at your own pace to some extent as well as play together online. Their age also means that they are simpler and easier to understand than more modern strategy games.
Our examiner, Oli Hawkins, first checked Age of Empires IV 4 years ago. It was re-examined by Jo Robertson and updated 12 days ago.
It initially focuses on events in Europe, Africa and Asia, from the Stone Age to the Iron Age. Subsequent games in the series took players to the Roman Empire, the Middle Ages, the Spanish conquest of Mexico and Europe's colonising of the Americas.
To play, you click on buildings, people and items in the world to direct your population. You must collect resources, build camps and buildings and develop armies to survive. Mining, fishing and farming play a vital role. The combination of real history, with knife-edge strategic gameplay, has seen the series sell over a million copies.
For families, the earlier games are a great introduction to strategy games. You can take them at your own pace to some extent as well as play together online. Their age also means that they are simpler and easier to understand than more modern strategy games.
Our examiner, Oli Hawkins, first checked Age of Empires IV 4 years ago. It was re-examined by Jo Robertson and updated 12 days ago.
Kids not old enough for this yet? There are lots of games similar to Age of Empires IV. Here are some similar younger-rated games:
Play Style
This is an Action and Strategy game with Adventure, Fighting and Point-and-Click elements. You can play this by yourself or as a 8-player online game. You can play with 100 people in Age of Empire Online, but the main Definitive Edition of the game is played with battles of up to 8 people each commanding a competing civilisation.
You can play this game in the following styles:
This has been enjoyed by families in the following styles:
Duration
Play Time: This game will take between 30 and a half hours and 43 hours to complete. This is for the original Age of Empires game, the expansions and newer games extend this considerably.
Benefits
This game is good if you want to:
This game has helped players develop their Disposition as part of the following pathways:
This game has been the inspiration for the following activities:
Horrible Histories
READING
Age Ratings
Content Rating
Users Interact: The game enables players to interact and communicate with each other, so may expose players to language usually associated with older rated games.
Rated for younger players in Australia. Rated Parental Guidance (PG) for Violence, Mild Themes, and Coarse Language.
Skill Level
11+ year-olds usually have the required skill to enjoy this game. Still, it's important for parents and guardians to consider the maturity required to process the game content. It's also important to ensure children understand in-game purchases and have spending limits set-up. As with any real-time strategy game, you need to be able to plan ahead and react to a changing situation. This can frustrate younger players who fail to scale up fast enough to be competitive. Still, on easier game modes it's a great way to start out in these kinds of strategy games.
Our Game Pathways reveal how 7-year-olds play this game:
- 7-year-old: Digging Into History
Account Rating
- You need be 18-years-old to to subscribe to Xbox Live Gold for online play, but can then configure family accounts for younger players to play online with Xbox One.
Costs
Age of Empires IV usually costs £29.99.
The main releases are as follows:
The recent rerelease of the HD version of the game has brought the series back to the fore. While the Age of Empires Online offers a free-to-play experience utilising Games for Windows Live.
It's important to set up your accounts and devices appropriately. More information is on our Financial Resources page.
Age of Empires IV
There are the following additional costs associated with this game:
- In-Game Purchases: Additional in-game purchases are offered for items that enhance the experience.
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You need a subscription to play online:
- You need to purchase a Xbox Live Gold subscription to play online with Xbox One.
The main releases are as follows:
- Age of Empires (1997)
- Age of Empires II (1999)
- Age of Empires III (2005)
- Age of Empires: The Age of Kings (2006)
- Age of Empires Online (2011)
- Age of Empires II: HD Edition (2013)
- Age of Empires: Definitive Edition (2018)
- Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition (2019)
- Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition (2020)
The recent rerelease of the HD version of the game has brought the series back to the fore. While the Age of Empires Online offers a free-to-play experience utilising Games for Windows Live.
It's important to set up your accounts and devices appropriately. More information is on our Financial Resources page.
Game Details
Release Date: 28/10/2021, updated in 2023
Out Now: PC, PS2 and Xbox One
Skill Rating: 11+ year-olds
Players: 1 (8 online)
Genres: Action, Strategy (Adventure, Fighting and Point-and-Click)
Accessibility: 0 features documented (Tweet Developer )
Components: 2D Overhead, Grid and Open World
Developer: Relic Games (@RelicGames)
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Written by parents for parents, the database complements the in-depth discussion about video game addiction, violence, spending and online safety in the Taming Gaming book. We are an editorially independent, free resource without adverts that is supported by partnerships. |
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