Age of Empires

Age of Empires is the first in a series of real-time strategy video games developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft. Players choose from one of 16 available civilizations and lead the same to victory, which can be achieved through various means, such as destroying all enemy civilizations or by building and protecting a Wonder. Players start with few resources and subjects, and utilize them to build an empire, advancing through 4 distinct stages and researching technology and building monuments and armies. An expansion, titled Rise of Rome, was released in 1998, adding four more civilizations and a host of QOL improvements.