Why Ensemble Studios Died? Age of Empires Reborn as Social Game
Ensemble debacle comes full circle.
Age of Empires is coming back... as a social gaming experience. Following the booting of original developer Ensemble Studios, Microsoft has announced a "new era" for the popular strategy series, by letting players participate in a persistent online world.
The funny thing is that Age of Empires Online is being developed by Robot Entertainment - a studio founded by Ensemble co-founder Tony Goodman. So it seems the whole thing has come full circle, making the closure of the original AoE developer seem entirely unnecessary.
Ensemble's last project before its closure was Halo Wars, but it was revealed that the studio was also working on a Halo MMO to compete with World of Warcraft.
For what it's worth, Age of Empires Online sports an entirely different visual style to the traditional realistic nature of the original series - blocky, cartoony Greek characters adorn the Beta signup page, joining the social gaming aesthetic of Farmville and many others.
Saddening stuff, for sure, but perhaps the bullet points contained in this press release may quell your fears. You start your journey of conquest by establishing a Greek civilisation, and turning it from a village into an empire. Quests can be enjoyed alone or with friends, and there are "epic tales, quirky characters, adventure, history and strategy" to discover too. You can also connect to Games for Windows Live and enjoy online multiplayer action that way.
No word on when the game will be out of Beta, but if you ever get curious head straight to the official website and check it out.
The funny thing is that Age of Empires Online is being developed by Robot Entertainment - a studio founded by Ensemble co-founder Tony Goodman. So it seems the whole thing has come full circle, making the closure of the original AoE developer seem entirely unnecessary.
Ensemble's last project before its closure was Halo Wars, but it was revealed that the studio was also working on a Halo MMO to compete with World of Warcraft.
For what it's worth, Age of Empires Online sports an entirely different visual style to the traditional realistic nature of the original series - blocky, cartoony Greek characters adorn the Beta signup page, joining the social gaming aesthetic of Farmville and many others.
Saddening stuff, for sure, but perhaps the bullet points contained in this press release may quell your fears. You start your journey of conquest by establishing a Greek civilisation, and turning it from a village into an empire. Quests can be enjoyed alone or with friends, and there are "epic tales, quirky characters, adventure, history and strategy" to discover too. You can also connect to Games for Windows Live and enjoy online multiplayer action that way.
No word on when the game will be out of Beta, but if you ever get curious head straight to the official website and check it out.
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Comments
leopardie 19 Aug 2010 00:36
1/1
It is a strategy game but with cartoonish style, basically social game is playable on social networking platform like facebook and myspace, but this game like MMO Games, not social games. I do believe this game's new release is based on some browser games like evony , three kingdoms online and many more.