Age of Castles Review
Once-a-Month Coffee-Break Game
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You can buy it at RegNow for that price.
- Average game for Strategy-genre fans - Very quick learning curve of around 30 minutes or less (The minimum learning curve standard) - Demo feature, though very common among downloadable games nowadays, is always a great addition
- Great lack of variety in almost every aspect - Sound, gameplay and graphics become too repetitive too quickly; lack of variety - Very low or no chance to become successful, money-wise
It won’t be the next WoW (World of Warcraft, world’s number one MMORPG as of the date of the writing of this article) and it won’t even sell the amount of units its creators probably expect it to.
The concept is average; not original but you can't really expect much variety concerning the Medieval Age. There is little detail concerning the story and background of the game which is somewhat of a good thing, allowing players to use their imagination to construct their own stories, fantasies or tales utilizing the tools of the game. However, this is one of the few things you can appreciate about the product and at the same time, it is not even a ground-breaking feature.
Like I mentioned earlier, this game swiftly becomes dull and monotonous due to its lack of variety in almost every aspect . The sound is a bit “old school” compared to the current generation of our technology. Its repetition all through out the game might urge some of its gamers to mute the sound entirely after awhile or worse, be inclined to rejecting the thought of purchase, as it is not exactly pleasing to the ears. The game play offers miniscule control over the simulation unlike other games of its genre which are able to grant its players more in-depth access and make more decisions to produce a more accurate outcome. Lastly, the graphics become painful to the eyes before long and is hardly close to the concept of our more advanced “eye candy” games.
And finally, what I believe are the most important parts of a game : originality and “hook factor” (hook factor is just something I made up; represents addiction level). The product would have to be at the lower end in terms of originality. I have witnessed several low-budget or freeware games that almost have the exact same playing style and one ant-colony management game that is EXACTLY like it, obviously except for the fact that this game features kingdom management. Its “hook factor” is not good either. Sure, you MAY have fun playing around and getting excited during the first few minutes of the game but immediately after that phase, you grow rapidly tired of the game’s repeating concept. I would have to say the addiction level is a 2 out of 10.
Compared to the next-gen video games that we have at our arsenal, this game is an ant waiting to be stepped on. I would advise against purchasing the full version of this game unless its producers revamp the entire game style. The best thing to do is to play the demo of this game when you have a few minutes extra during break time.