Age of Empires
"Age of Empires", released on October 26, 1997, was the first game in the series, as well as the first major release from Ensemble Studios. It was one of the first history-based real-time strategy games made, utilizing the Genie game engine. GameSpot described it as a mix of "Civilization" and "". The game gives players a choice of 12 civilizations to develop from the Stone Age to the Iron Age. The expansion pack, "The Rise of Rome", published by Microsoft on October 31, 1998, introduced new features and four new civilizations, including the Romans. Although the two games had contained many software bugs, patches resolved many of the problems.
Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds
Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds is a real-time strategy video game set in the Star Wars universe. It was developed by "Age of Empires" developer Ensemble Studios and LucasArts. It was released in November 11, 2001. An expansion pack, "Clone Campaigns", was released in May 14, 2002, adding two new factions and campaigns. Later that year, both "Galactic Battlegrounds" and "Clone Campaigns" were released in a box set, "Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds Saga".