And so the wheel of time turns, and civilizations come to pass. (If not tedious fantasy series.) Here we have an example in Age of War 2, a hybrid defense/strategy game that takes place in real time and sees you trying to keep the walls of your fortress secure while at the same time crushing your opponent on the other side of the field. There's no story, but maybe developer Louissi is trying to make a statement; that no provocation is ever needed, for man is a great and warlike beast, forever snuffling in the mud and gore for the next challenger, never content with peace. Or, more likely, the message is simply "Calling down lightning strikes on your enemies is rad."
The game is not terribly complex; you spawn units by clicking on their portraits at the top of the screen and they march towards the enemy base in a straight line, while your opponent is doing the same. When your forces meet, they duke it out; fallen enemies grant gold and experience points, which you need to buy more turrets and troops and upgrade your abilities. Each time you upgrade, you advance forward in time, and your fortress and troops evolve accordingly. You can bet your sweet centaurs the enemy is going to upgrade, and if they manage to do so before you, you can find yourself quickly outclassed. Apparently, in a historical game of Rock-Paper-Scissors, "satyr" trumps "ancient avatar of Anubis called forth from beneath the shifting sands". Who knew?
The whole thing is considerably more polished than its link-dumped predecessor, though the core gameplay remains the same. While it's definitely neat to watch the way your troops evolve as you advance through the ages, your enemy's base health increases as you both upgrade, so it's actually better to take 'em out sooner, if you can. It still probably isn't the sort of thing you'll find yourself coming back to again and again, but while it lasts, the end result is a fun, fast game that proves a point I've been trying to make for years; there is no problem that cannot be solved by a judicious application of carnivorous dinosaurs.
I loved this first game. yeah it isn't complex, but it is mindless fun. I keep coming back to it.
Only problem with the first one was you couldn't turn off the sound. Hope they fixed that this time.
Too easy ;)
Favorite tactic is definitely a line of 10 cannons. Anti-tank in general seems to be somewhat overpowered, as they are more durable than support (which is the anti-anti-tank) and usually a pretty good match for infantry. Add in long-range with cannons and they become insane.
What does this game do that takes so much CPU?
AMD Sempron(tm) Processor 3800+
I love this game. Watching cyborgs destroy mages to this awesome music is wow. Now to beat medium medium difficulty.
They made medium mode WAY too hard.
This game is a lot better than the first one. Thank you for bringing it to my attention!
Dang. The first time I played, I got whupped at Modern Age when the enemy was at Futuristic. The second time I whupped the enemy when I was at Modern Age and the enemy was still at Medieval. "But I wanted to get to Futuristic", she whined. I guess I shouldn't have played "Easy" again.
Double dang.
the first one was really fun and although this one is a little better it isn't much of an improvement... still fun too play although it feels like I replay the old one.
Easy mode: very easy (succeeded first try)
Medium mode: still kinda easy (succeeded first try)
Hard mode: I could get to the futuristic age at my second try. I pushed the opponent back... made money... had the best towers... I just was better. But... everytime I got a god's wrath to the opponents base, he just kept remaking units... even with 5 ranged units behind the god's wrath, I just couldn't hit the base. After 40 minutes I did get it to 9861/10000... but I gave up after that. I don't even want to play insane mode... as hard mode is already uncompletable.
Still a fun game though :) 4/5
My guess on insane mode: Enemy is already in futuristic, has all the upgrades, max money, and max experience.
One of the improvements is that your troops cost almost the same through every age.
Also, if you exit to the main menu while playing, you lose your sound. :(
I thought that this game was very beatable at all levels (even insane).
The simple trick is to use support troops and upgrade them as quickly as possible.
But, you need to avoid getting caught in any of those firestorms - so save extra cash for times when your troops get knocked out.
Anyway, I was able to amass a lot of XP while firing a bunch of support guys. Basically, they are cheap and when bunched up with range upgrades they can do a lot of damage.
Upgrade your technology only when the CPU is making quick work of your troops.
Also, using the firestorm when the CPU has a lot of troops on the ground is also a great idea.
@Lerxt
did you actually beat hard mode?
@Julian - not only did I beat hard mode but also Insane on the MaxGames site.
I remember that the original version was tougher in that the best strategy was to strengthen your defence, but this time around, all out offence (using cheap grunts) works the best.
I'd like to join xdrngy and Lerxt in claiming to have beat the game on insane. Since I do have to provide proof, it will make it seem like I'm a pro-gamer.
Unless there is a trick to beating insane earlier on in the game, I don't think it is possible to beat the game in futuristic mode on insane. I just launched 5 super warriors with a ton of lasers, and the enemy's base's turrets just mowed me down.
Please provide a video or tips if you can guys.
OK Here is how to beat Insane Mode at the Egyptian age...
Cave man age...First thing is to upgrade Support Damage, Support Range and Income level. Do not build any turrets!!! Send out two support units. ONLY TWO!!! They will get killed. But when the second one gets killed they will use a special. Wait until the enemy is at your base and then make 10 support units (cave man stone throwers) As long as the enemy is at your base keep 10 support units. If you push back the enemy then let your units get killed until they are back at your base then make 10 again. Keep them at your base!!! Make sure you upgrade your support damage as you have the money. YOU NEED TO HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO OUTFIT 10 UNITS AT ALL TIMES!!! With the support damage make sure that you do not upgrade past 2/3. When you get to 2/3 start upgrading your support range and make sure that you go to 3/3. Again if you try to upgrade to fast you WILL run out of money and get beaten! When you enter the Spartan age within a short time they will use a special so you may not want to put out 10 units until they do. Again make sure that you keep the enemy at your base if you push them back let them advance back to your base and when they get there make 10 support units. In the Spartan age when you get to about 3000xp push the enemy back as far as you can and keep an eye on your xp. When you get to around 7000xp let your units dwindle but keep the enemy pushed back. ASAP upgrade to the Egyptian age and push out as many support units as you can!!! Keep pushing them out and within about a minute they will destroy the enemy base. Total run time on insane should not take you more then 4 min to beat if you set it to 2x's speed for the whole game.
Just wanted to let people know how to beat the game on insane difficulty during the futuristic age in case anyone wishes to try this game again. While it took me a large number of hours during an insane mode game to figure it out, the solution ended up being relatively easy.
The issue on insane mode during the futuristic era is with the computer's cannons + a near limitless supply of troops to draw your fire away from his castle. What happens is that you will see his units "bunch up" near his castle while your units are being decimated by his four turrets while they shoot at the computer's swarm of minions.
It's important at this point to have a few basic things in order. First, you want to make sure to have maximized the gold earned upgrade. You will also want to have all armor and support technologies maxed. While it would seem that you would require the super minions that cost 10k each, they are actually a waste on insane mode, skip them.
You've probably also noticed at this point that you can spend all of your experience on your spell now (since there are no more age upgrades anymore). A combination of spells, support, and armor makes beating the computer on insane a little easier.
After beating the enemy to his turrets you will notice that he will start to stack minions right near his base. Back off at this point because you are fighting an infinite battle (I tested this for about 3 hours or more and it will never end). Because there is a maximum population count, eventually all 10 of the computer's units will be on the screen marching towards your base (since you have no units on the field at this point). This is great because there is no longer a "stack" at the computer's base.
Now, build three armor and 7 support. Make sure the armor are in front of the support. As soon as your stack is amassed in front of your base (wait until the enemy units are close), use the spell. This will kill off or nearly kill off all ten of the computer's units (and replenish the gold you spent on the units you just bought due to the gold upgrades). Your group of 10 will start marching towards the base.
When you arrive, your group will easily kill newly created units and then take "pot-shots" at the base since it takes a second or so for the computer to create a new unit. However, you cannot spam support at this point as the computer units + the turrets will kill your support before they can damage the base. Instead, spam support only until your spell is able to be reused and time its use for when a unit pops out of the base. If you're lucky, you'll kill it and your support will inflict more damage on the base. After you've used the spell again, let the remaining support die off and wait until the enemy once again approaches your base.
Now just repeat these steps a few times and you will have completed the game on insane difficulty.
@ Jigguest - You clearly aren't on the insane difficulty level, because the spell does kill off any units.
I didn't have the patience to beat insane mode, but I did get to their base on multiple occasions and take points off their overall health. I also wasn't loosing any life, so I think this strategy could work.
The way I did it was to focus on turrets and spend only enough on troops to protect my base.
This amassed money until I could create a huge assault with the really expensive guys and a bunch of support. In order to get to the base you have to have a lot of money and you have to be able to replace the most expensive units at last three times. The problem is that it takes forever this way and I lost interest.
how do I upgrade?
Update