12/11/2023 0 Comments Xbox age of empires 2![]() But through experimentation, the Age of Empires team happened upon a single solution that could significantly lessen many of the genre’s controller-based ills – and it’s all about artificial intelligence. This meant new controls, new UI, new features, new tutorials, everything.”Īll console RTS ports have gone through some degree of iteration to even work, and even then not all avoid being headache-inducingly fiddly. “To truly deliver a gold standard console strategy game, we needed to rethink and rebuild everything from the ground up, and do what was right for console. “We discovered quickly that simply porting our deeply PC-centric game to Xbox was not going to provide the right gameplay experience. “Our team conducted a significant amount of research and prototyping during development,” Alex Liu, design director at AOE developer World’s Edge reveals. Compromises and adjustments have to be made, and this definitely appears to be a title that has placed a considerable emphasis on finding a truly elegant control input solution rather than simply muddling out some ‘good enough’ offering. This wasn’t a simple matter of a port, however – because this is a genre that can’t just be dumped onto console. The complete package now makes its way over to Xbox, acting both as an exciting release in its own right and as a sort of prelude to the much more contemporary Age of Empires 4, which is coming to Xbox later this year. This release truly is definitive, featuring everything from the original game, plus a smattering of new additions, and even the option to choose between the original 1999 enemy AI and more advanced versions. The Xbox launch trailer shows how impressive a feat Age of Empires II on console really is.įirst up is Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition, a strong re-release with a beautiful 4K visual overhaul and a smattering of new content that was first released on PC in 2019. Age of Empires has hit Xbox, with a raft of improvements and tweaks to make it more accessible and easily playable on console, regardless of what control method you choose. Halo Wars was a decent bit of fun – and now another Microsoft strategy stalwart is entering Game Pass on console. I’d argue those games have a direct lineage in control scheme to Halo Wars. ![]() I have fond memories of those slightly-crap console ports of the earliest Command & Conquer games, and then C&C actually managed some pretty damn good controller-based releases of C&C3 and Red Alert 3. There have been a number of attempts over the years, of course. But a few types of game remain largely the purview of PC players – most notably, the real-time strategy genre. Many things previously thought impossible on consoles are now simple. We now have consoles that have online, graphics settings, and even keyboard and mouse support. Both games will be available on Xbox Cloud Gaming along with the ever-expanding library of Xbox Game Pass games.As technology has developed, it’s felt as though the line between PC and console gaming, once vast, has significantly thinned. Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition is scheduled to be released on Jan. The Xbox console ports of Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition and Age of Empires IV will launch next year in 2023. It's worth noting though, that console players are able to play with a keyboard and mouse if they choose. This concept has been a driving force behind the controller interface. It was touched upon that while a keyboard may be the definitive way to play RTS games, they want to make sure no player is left behind and that they can support every function via a two-button mouse. It's clear in this interview that accessibility is a high priority when it comes to crafting the controls for this game and Xbox Game Studios' other titles. No need to crack the whip! See this in action at 44:55. An example of this is a huge quality of life change, your villagers will now automatically go to the nearest unassigned job. With the console version, the player is put in more of a commander role than needing to micro-manage each individual task. Adam was keen to emphasize how committed Xbox Game Studios are to ensuring that console players can perform on a competitive level with PC players with this port. ![]()
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