W
hen
PDAs with storage slots became available, I thought for certain that we
would see a great influx of cartridge-style games would appear on the
market (ie in the style of Gameboys). Problem was twofold: First, most
games didn’t take up much space. Second, there wasn’t enough processing
power to handle most games either. Of course, there were a few various
titles released, but nothing on a major scale. MDM
has now released Age of Empire’s Gold Edition via a MMC format. Contained
within this card is cutscenes, music, sounds, and the game itself. But
how does this extremely addictive PC title do in a PPC conversion? Read
on for an in-depth review.

WHAT’S
HOT

   The game comes on it’s on MMC card! Why
take up additional space with all the extra add ons when you can have
it in an itty-bitty card. PLUS – it has space for your saved games to
spare!

SETUP

   There is no setup to speak of. You pop the
card into your open SD/MMC slot and start the program. This review was
completed on my iPaq 2215.

IN
THE BOX

   Since this version of Age of Empires Gold
came on a MMC card, there is of course, extra packaging. Within the
box is the MMC card, a SD/MMC card carrier, and a single sheet "Getting
Started Guide". You can click on the pictures below to view a larger
version.

The
MMC card itself is 32Mb, and has approximately 8Mb free for saved games
and additional scenarios.

PROGRAM
FEATURES

    First, let’s review the features (copied
verbatim) that Handango
has on their website:

  
Starting Age of Empires is, as mentioned above, as simple as popping
in the MMC card and starting the application. The initial startup
screen allows you to start playing the game, view the Game Overview,
read the Manual, watch the Intro Video, or Exit.

Choosing
"Play Age of Empires" will immeadiately launch the game
itself. If you do not have 10Mb of free program memory available (which
I consitently don’t), then you will receive a happy error message.
This can be a bit of a hassle, but is still manageable.

Once
the game begins to load, you are greeted with 2 intro screens (in
portrait format), and then the screen switches to landscape mode for
the main menu.

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This menu is just a bit of a waste in my opinion. You don’t have any
other option than Single Player, so why not go directly to the Single
Player menu? All you really gain is the Title screen, which could
have been behind the plain-jane startup (shown above).

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From the Single Player Menu, you have several options to choose from.
Note the lack of a game settings menu. There is a settings menu in
the game, but you have to be in-game to access it. First option on
the list is Random Map.

  
Next is Campaign. Which takes you through various history lessons/scenarios.
You first need to create a user to complete the Campaigns. Thankfully,
you are allowed more than one. If you attempt to remove an existing
player, you will receive a verification box.

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Each
Campaign has individual Scenarios (not to be confused with the Scenarios
on the Single Player menu, which we will go over later). And you can
change the Difficulty Level each time you play.

&nbsp

Each
of these, once loaded will show the History, Instructions, and Hints
for the scenario you have selected.

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Deathmatch
is the next choice on the Single Player list, followed by Scenario.

&nbsp

  
Finally is the Saved Game option, and Cancel (which returns you to
the title screen from which you can quit). From Saved Games , you
can select a game to load, delete an existing saved game, or press
cancel to return to the menu. As I mentioned in the What’s Hot section,
the saved games are stored within the MMC card itself. Thus saving
you valuable PPC storage.

Loading
a game is a 2-step process, first the game data is loaded, then the
save game itself.

&nbsp

&nbsp
Let’s look at how you initially start a game (the various screenshots
below may have different titles, but each of the gametypes (Random,
Deathmatch, and Scenario) contain essentially the same options). As
you can see below, the colum headings are Name, Civ (civilization),
Player, Team, and Settings. Name and Player are not changeable (as
this is a single player game). The drop-down arrows next to the player
names are for selecting the civilization for each of the players.
There is also drop down for number of players (up to 8).

&nbsp

16
races!

&nbsp

  
The Team option allows you team up with one or more of the computer
players with you or against you. In the example below, the Persians
(me) and the Macedonians (Team 1) are against the Assyrians and the
Egyptians (Team 2).

Next
is the settings button.

From
here you can change all the available options for the game. Below
are example screenshots of the settings themselves. First is the Map
Size and Type.

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Victory
Condition and Starting Age

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Difficulty
Level and Resources

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Then you have Fixed Positions, Full Tech Tree, and Reveal Map followed
by OK (save your settings), Cancel, and the Help context button. Which,
if you press and then tap on another part of the screen, will explain
that section.

&nbsp

LET’S
PLAY!

   
Let’s start with a new game. After specifying your settings, you
have to wait for the game to set up and load.

Across
the top is your available resources (Wood, Food, Gold, and Stone).
Next to the resource list is your current age (Stone in this case),
followed by the Diplomacy and Menu buttons.

  
The Diplomacy button shows you your current standing with the other
players (Ally, Neutral, or Enemy) and tributes (if payed). The Allied
Victory checkbox, when selected, means you will be victorious if
your allies are. Finally is the OK, Clear Tributes, and Cancel buttons.

The
in-game menu contains a plethora of options.

Choosing
Quit Game thankfully verifies that you actually want to leave.

  
Achievements shows in both table and timeline format the achievements
of the current game. The Scenario Instructions show instructions
for the current scenario (if available – see above for examples).

&nbsp

Tapping
on a column within the Achievements Summary will give you more details
(in the example below, Economy).

If
you choose Save, then a new screen appears, from which you can create
a new saved game, or overwrite / delete an existing one. Loading
we’ve discussed earlier in the review.

&nbsp

The
Restart button will reset you back to the beginning of the game
you are currently in.

Next
is the Game Settings button from which you can adjust the in-game
volumes, change the game speed (very handy), adjust the scroll speed,
and flip the Display Handedness (right or left).

Finally,
on the in-game menu, is the About button. Where you can read all
the fantastic legal tidbits about the game (or watch the scrolling
credits).

&nbsp

  
The center of the screen is your playfield where you interact with
the world via tapping on various objects. The bottom of the screen
contains the object information area (to the left), and then the
currently known overview map surrounded by 4 buttons. Tapping on
the overview map without a unit selected takes you to that area,
while tapping with a unit selected will send that unit to the selected
spot (if they are able to go there).

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The S button toggles the score, while the K button toggles the hotkey
panel. The hotkey panel buttons are as follows: T = Center view
on your Town Center; I = Select the next idle villager; E = Center
view on the last game event (such as an attack or completed unit/building).
Then there are 5 unit-assignable buttons. Assigning these are no
easy task, as you must first select your units, then hold down your
Ctrl key (hardbutton A, or in my case the Mail button), and then
tap the button you wish to assign to that group.

Below
the overview map is the Delete unit button, and in the context help
button.

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Once the game begins, your enemies will be displayed, and it will
be time to start assigning your villagers tasks. Once you select
a unit/building, then it’s information will appear in the lower
left. The red X is VERY important. I can’t tell you how many times
I sent a villager marching across the far reaches of the world because
I forgot to deselect them after assigning a task (and then they
call me a tyrant when I send them back to finish the job).

  
Let’s start by building some extra housing. By selecting the build
button (looks like a hammer by itself), and then selecting the house
button (looks like a little hut right now because we are still in
the Stone Age), I then tap on the screen where I want the house
to be built.

Starting
to build…

Halfway
there…

Tada!
A new, comforatble 8-person home, ready for your family!

Or
a barracks for your army of one…(my Clubman)

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Or
even train multiple Clubmen at once (by tapping on the unit you
want to build more than one time)!

Your
villagers can be more than just builders. In order to advance in
the game you will need Gold Miners, Hunters…

&nbsp

  
Stone Miners, Woodcutters, and Gatherers. You can also change the
villagers job by tapping on a new resource type for them to collect
(as seen in the Stone Miner example below, the stone resources has
been highlighted in green).

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&nbsp
As you progress through the game (gathering resources, etc), you
will be able to advance to the next age. Each advancement, like
each unit/building that you make has a cost. This is shown if you
hold your stylus on the item you wish to create rather than tapping
on it. Example screenshots to follow:

Stone
Age to Tool Age requires 2 Stone Age building and 500 Food.

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Tool
Age to Bronze Age requires 2 Tool Age building and 800 Food.

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The
Bronze Age!

If
you don’t have enough resources to build an object, it will tell
you what you are lacking.

When
you finally do have enough resources to place an object, a shadow
of the object appears for easy placement. If that shadow object
is shaded red, then you can’t place the object at that location.

&nbsp

  
Another important part of the game is grouping. Which you can accomplish
by tap and dragging a selection box over the group of units that
you want to unite. After they are selected, then you can group /
ungroup those units using the appropriate red group arrows (as shown
in the second screenshot below). Also note that each units health
meter appears as a green bar above them.

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Battles in the PPC version of Age of Empires is really just the
same as any real-time strategy game. Select the unit that you wish
to attack with, then select the unit you wish to attack. Below are
some battle screenshots.

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You
can also see in the next screenshots that I have captured all the
Ruins and only have to hold them for a certain amount of time to
win.

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Once
you achieve victory, then the "YOU ARE VICTORIOUS!" message
appears, and then you are taken to the Achievements page for a final
review.

&nbsp

As
you can see, there’s a lot to see in this game, and I didn’t even
show half of the available tech tree such as Catapults, Ballista,
Chariots, etc (that’s for you to discover).

HELP
SUPPORT

   
Along with the in-depth in-game help file, MDM
has the manual available to download on their site and a support
section.

• Multiplayer!
• Scenario
  editor download (if you own the retail version of AoE, then
  you can create Scenarios and import them onto the card)
• Optimize
  the game so it requires less program memory
• Enhance
  the text so it’s easier to read

SYSTEM
REQUIREMENTS

   
size=2>According to MDM,
the game requires a Windows Mobile™-based Pocket PC 2002 or
higher with SD/MMC expansion slot and 10Mb of free program memory.

BUGS
AND WISHES

   
I found no fatal errors. The one minor bug I found was that if
I left the game open too long and my PPC shut itself off, then
I would have to soft reset my unit to recover. My wish list would
be:

PURCHASING

    You
can buy this card directly from MDM
(Handango). The price shown is $29.95. According to Handango’s
page, this software can’t be downloaded, they have to ship it
to you. But there is a downloadable version available (if you
wish to use your own storage media) from MDM.
Unfortunately, you don’t get any sort of discount if you don’t
want the card, so why not get the card too?

PROS

• 
  

  On
  its own MMC card!

• 
  

  Excellent
  replay value

• 
  

  Addicting
  gameplay

• Contains
  all you need in one package
• Just
  like the original

CONS

• Text
  can be difficult to read at times
• Full
  screen mode keeps user from accessing functionality in the rest
  of their unit
• Sometimes
  things are too small – tough to make out detail
• No
  multiplayer

OVERALL
IMPRESSION

  
This will be a first for me. Recommending a PPC game that costs
over $15. Why? Because it comes with it’s own 32Mb MMC card, complete
with the help files, videos, and enough space to save your game
and add in scenarios. The game itself is a very accurate representation
of the original PC game, just on a smaller screen. This does cause
some issues (ie some text is a little difficult to read, and sometimes
selecting a unit can be hard), but overall the game is fantastic.
When one game can take up to 2 hours to complete (and that was
just a 3 player game on a normal sized map), you will definately
get your money’s worth out of this title.

  
Have you played Age of Empires Gold? See something that isn’t
quite right? Tell us what you think! Click on the Discussion Link
below.