When it released late last year we hailed Age of Empires IV as "a natural extension of Age of Empires II’s brilliance". Today comes a big update (that's also free to all existing players) in the form of Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition which introduces two new civilizations, the Ottomans and Malians. Plus, new maps and biomes.



Here's a breakdown of the new civilizations and new Art of War challenges.

The Ottomans civilization benefits strongly from their military prowess, their Imperial Council system, as well as their unique Military School system.

The Malians focus on strong economic play, making gold and spending gold, and prefer strategic hit-and-run tactics with their unique infantry units instead of prolonged military battles.

New Art of War Challenges

At last, Survival Challenges have come to Art of War. This release brings two new single-player “Art of War” survival challenge missions focused on the Ottoman and Malian civilizations. Use them to hone your understanding and mastery of the unique abilities of each civilization.

In the Ottoman Art of War challenge, you must defend your Town Center and prevent it from being destroyed by opponents. Use the unique features of the Ottomans to build up their economy, strengthen their army and hold out against waves of enemies! Strategizing with the new Ottoman units and production buildings will be key to success in this scenario. You will gain a medal (Bronze, Silver, Gold) based on how long you’re able to survive the enemy waves.

In the exciting new Malian Art of War challenge, you must defend your Open Pit Mines from waves of enemy attackers. To be successful, you must use the unique Malian units to put together strikes on the enemy forces and prevent destroying your Open Pit Mines! You will gain a medal (Bronze, Silver, Gold) based on how much gold your Open Pit Mines can gather before being overrun by the enemy.

For the full details on Season Three, the eight new maps, two new biomes, and new additions like waypoint markers and revamped naval warfare - head here.

We sat down with the teams at Relic and World’s Edge days before the launch of Age of Empires IV to chat about its development, the campaign, siege gameplay, and what’s in store for the future.

A snippet.

Making Changes While Staying True

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There’s playing it safe, and then there’s staying true to a look and feel. Age of Empires IV is in many ways an extension of Age of Empires II, and with the move to a fully-3D presentation it allows for more expansive siege warfare and other elements to highlight faction and civilisation identity.

“There's another balancing act,” Quinn Duffy explains. “You could bury the player in nuanced and sophisticated systems, things that can detract from the overall experience. Even though you have the ability to do it in-engine, it doesn't always pay off the way you think. We had tonnes of really sophisticated line-of-sight stuff with terrain and everything. And it just ended up being a bit too hard to read with the unit numbers you're dealing with. You have to be careful, but there's also really cool presentation stuff that comes with improved graphics, lighting, and 4K.”

Also, maintaining that Age feel has a lot to do with the series’ accessibility. For many, Age of Empires was their gateway to computer games back in the 1990s -- and the concept of an RTS. This can be felt in Age of Empires IV, across everything from resource management and technig up, through to the speed at which a round or mission plays out.

Our Full Age of Empires 4 Interview

Oh, to relive the days whenst gameries were packaged in CD-ROM format and placed gingerly inside cereal boxes. Apologies for the old timey lingo there, but that's how we talked back in the early '90s. And the rad days when game CDs were stuck onto magazines and placed inside cereal boxes. Weirdly, only those two things. Well, to celebrate the launch of Age of Empires 4 (our review here) the team at Xbox Australia have created something... grouse.

An Age of Empires cereal called WOLOL’Os.

With the name of the cereal deriving from the battle cry of the priest in the early edition of the game, believe or not, but WOLOL’Os is a real and completely edible cereal! Packed full of goodness to help build strong and healthy strategic minds, this cereal is not only a great way to start your day but also a sure way to convert your enemies!

And with that Xbox ANZ is giving fans the chance to win a box which will come packed with the Age of Empires II original soundtrack on CD. Plus, a 12-month subscription to Xbox Game Pass for PC to jump into Age of Empires 4.

"Receiving a CD in a cereal box all those years ago would have been the first gaming moment for many and kick-started a lifelong passion," said Tania Chee, Xbox Business Lead for ANZ. "With the much-anticipated release of Age of Empires IV, we’re thrilled to be able to have a bit of fun with this throwback. Age of Empires IV is a brilliant game, and we can’t wait for fans to start playing and developing their civilizations.”

For your chance to win head on over the Xbox ANZ Facebook page -- where ten limited edition WOLOL’Os Cereal boxes will be given away.

Age of Empires IV has been in development for sometime now, with Xbox studio World's Edge and RTS veteran Relic Entertainment bringing the franchise back with a brand new entry. With a special fan preview event streaming late into Saturday night (at least here in ANZ) we got our first proper look at Age 4 gameplay. Oh, and we got to interview the team too.

But first, Age of Empires 4 gameplay.



With the new campaign being presented like a high-end documentary series, athe new civs, and expanded multiplayer options, ahead of the reveal we got to sit down with Relic and World's Edge to talk about all things Age of Empires IV.

Head Here For Our Big Age of Empires IV Interview Feature