TheAge of Empiresseries has a very long legacy, with the first game making its debut all the way back in 1997, and it being a smash-hit from the get-go.Age of Empires 2improved upon its predecessor’s formula in some welcome ways, creating the quintessential real-time strategy experience for many fans, and thoughAge of Empires3wasn’t quite as well regarded, it didn’t damage the series' legacy. Thanks to the release ofremasters likeAge of Empires 2: Definitive Editionand the long-awaited sequel,Age of Empires 4, the franchise has experienced a resurgence in recent years, and that resurgence continues withAge of Mythology: Retold.
Originally released in 2002 – just three years afterAge of Empires 2–Age of Mythologytook the beloved RTS formula of its predecessor and gave it a mythological spin. Developers Forgotten Empires and World’s Edge have just released a ground-up remake of the 2002 classic, titledAge of Mythology: Retold, and it continues a great trend from the studios' previous work.
Age of Mythology: Retold Carries Forward Age of Empires 4’s Intuitive Control Scheme
Age of Empires 4 Set a New Bar for RTS Controller Support
Strategy gameshave been releasing on consoles for decades now, often to a mixed reception. For the longest time, it was believed that a strategy game simply couldn’t work on consoles due to its control scheme being much more limited than a mouse and keyboard. But gradually, over the years, this sentiment has begun to change.
Many PC strategy games see the player navigating through multiple tabs and using the mouse to quickly sift through lengthy menus. The best strategy games have streamlined this menu system for consoles by introducing radial menus that appear when the player activates a certain button or selects a unit or structure. These radial menus have been adopted by most modern strategy titles. While they work very well for slower-pacedgames likeTropicoandAnno, they can get a little tricky to use in faster-paced games, such as those belonging to the real-time strategy subgenre in which players often need to make a series of quick decisions involving large armies.
2019’sAge of Empires 2: Definitive Editiondid a good job of streamlining this console strategy control scheme even further forthe RTS subgenre, andAge of Empires 4continued to refine it. InAoE4, those using a controller can essentially play the whole game with just a few buttons. Most interactions inAoE4simply require the player to highlight a unit or structure, press the right trigger, and choose an option from the radial menu. Though the face buttons, D-pad, and bumpers are all assigned to useful inputs, the vast majority ofAoE4can be played using just the analog sticks, the “A” button, and the right trigger.
Age of Mythology: Retold Raises That Bar Higher
Having worked on the Xbox ports of bothAge of Empires 2: Definitive EditionandAge of Empires 4, it’s no surprise that developer World’s Edge has knocked it out of the park again withAge of Mythology: Retold’s control scheme on console.Age of Mythology: Retoldessentially liftsAoE4’s control scheme one-for-one, but adds a few refinements of its own in the process. The biggest improvement is the much clearer UI and icons that are used for the game’s radial menus, allowing players to recognize a unit, structure, or action much faster.
