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.
Age of Empires II
AllGame's Michael L. House enjoyed the use of sound bites in civilizations' native languages, which he said was "very influential in developing an era-enhancing atmosphere". Eurogamer said this feature "gives [villagers] a personality, rather than the standard 'Acknowledged' grunt of military RTS games", also stating that the use of female villagers provided a good variety. Game Revolution's review explained that by being set in a more recent epoch of human history, "The Age of Kings" was able to "add character to an otherwise impersonal style of gameplay". "Computer and Video Games" approved of "The Age of Kings" use of shorter, more focused campaigns, compared to its predecessor, while Game Revolution noted that even in slower sections of the campaign, the historical narrative helped maintain player interest. GameSpot said that with the screen full of units, "you can begin to imagine how their historical equivalents once prospered", while GameSpy said "The Age of Kings" presents "realism rarely seen in the RTS genre". IGN staff argued that while the strengths and weaknesses attributed to different civilizations made the game more realistic, the fact that they were still mostly the same prevented "The Age of Kings" from "delivering the same battlefield impact of "StarCraft" or """.