Age of Empires: Definitive Edition (Mac)

Age of Empires: Definitive Edition on Mac

Age of Empires (also known as AoE) is a strategy game released back in 1997 where players take on the role of developers of ancient civilizations. They guide their societies through four ages (the Stone Age, the Tool Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age) and unlock better and more powerful technologies with each age’s completion.

A remastered version of the game, called Age of Empires: Definitive Edition, was published on February 20, 2018 for all fans of the old classic. It has updated gameplay, graphics with a new 4K resolution, battles with up to 8 players in multiplayer, remastered sound, better narration, and a few other features that make the game better.

If you own a Mac and are interested in giving this game a try, you may do so by using Windows emulation software like Parallels or Boot Camp Assistant (for Intel Macs only) and play Age of Empires: Definitive Edition as if you were using a Windows PC. You can find out how to install these programs and run Age of Empires: Definitive Edition on an Intel Mac or an Apple Silicon M1 or M2 model in the following lines.

Age of Empires: Definitive Edition does not have official support for macOS, thus you cannot play it directly on your Mac. But before we get into more details about the workarounds, let’s see whether this game is worth our time with this quick review.

Gameplay

The game features 12 different civilizations, and players can choose to play as one of them. Each civilization has its own traits, unique technologies, and civilian and military units, which the player develops and upgrades.

The experience of expanding your towns and conquering other civilizations is mostly the same as in the original game. Players are tasked with managing a large number of different units and expanding their territory. However, in Age of Empires: Definitive Edition, things have been made a bit easier to play thanks to the addition of some useful features, such as the idle worker button and the ability to queue up units, which have been included in later installments.

Throughout the game, the player must collect resources that can be used for the development of their civilians, armies, structures, and technologies. However, as the game progresses, no new resources become available, so it is important that those already in play are well preserved and used.

The goals in the game are straightforward yet varied, and the maps are created in such a way that players have to make sacrifices and choose to focus on one of the few available economic sectors. For example, in coastal or island terrain, wood is the most rare and valuable resource. More timber implies more ships, which in turn means more fishing and exploration but also more wars as rival civilizations fight for the remaining forest resources.

Through research, players can get military upgrades in the form of better weapons and armor, economic advancements, such as increased efficiency in resource gathering, and infrastructure upgrades, like improved transportation systems, stronger fortifications, and more resilient buildings.

Technology is a crucial part of the game’s strategy. More cutting-edge technologies become accessible to the player after the groundwork is laid in the field of basic research. As a civilization develops over time, the cost of technological advancements rises, making it harder to pool resources for research. Therefore, it is crucial to distribute the local labor evenly throughout the different resources to ensure progress.

Game modes

There are several single-player campaigns to go through in the game, each with their own specific goals for the player to accomplish. Every campaign has sets of situations that are based on the history of ancient civilizations, and players play through them in a linear manner.

In addition to the history-driven campaigns, there is also a “random map” mode where a new map is generated for each new game.

With the remastered version of Age of Empires, you can enter a battle with up to seven other players online or through a local area network.

Scenario Editor

The Scenario Editor is an interesting in-game tool, included in the Definitive Edition, that offers players the possibility to make their own game scenarios and even whole campaigns (series of scenarios). This tool is simple and easy to use. With it, players can decide where and how to position their units on any surface. There is also an option within the builder to increase the health of each unit, as well as an option to resize maps and apply additional terrain designs.

Visuals and sound

You may not realize how much of an improvement the Definitive Edition’s visuals are until you compare them to the game’s original presentation. It’s not just an HD remaster, but a complete redo with brand-new artwork and animation that faithfully recreates the feel of the old classic game. The designers have not failed to impress with sights from the ancient world, which look just beautiful.

In terms of audio, Age of Empires: Definitive Edition sounds clearer but still recognizably the same, with improved sound effects and better brief dialogues.

Conclusion

Age of Empires: Definitive Edition gives players a modern gameplay experience of an old classic, combining over 40 hours of revised campaign content with updated visuals and gameplay elements. So, if you grew up with this title, don’t miss out on the chance to play it again and relive the experience.

Can you play Age of Empires: Definitive Edition on Mac?

Age of Empires: Definitive Edition can be played on Macs despite not being officially supported for them. You can play Age of Empires: Definitive Edition on a Mac through Windows emulation with specialized software like Parallels or Boot Camp Assistant.

How to download Age of Empires: Definitive Edition on Mac

You’ll need a Windows virtual machine (using software like Parallels) or a dedicated Windows partition (created with Boot Camp Assistant) on your Mac in order to install and play Age of Empires: Definitive Edition. The game can be downloaded and played on a Mac as soon as a Windows OS is set up and running using one of the methods described above.

How to Age of Empires: Definitive Edition on Mac

You can play Age of Empires: Definitive Edition on Mac via installing a Windows operating system on your Mac with specialized software like Parallels or Boot Camp Assistant.

First, however, you will need to get the game.

Next, you need to choose a method to play:

How to play Age of Empires: Definitive Edition on Mac M1

To run Age of Empires: Definitive Edition on a Mac M1, you’ll need to install a Windows-based Virtual Machine using a tool like Parallels. Keep in mind that the game cannot be played with Boot Camp Assistant on a Mac M1 due to incompatibility with Apple Silicon chips.

Play Age of Empires: Definitive Edition on Mac with Parallels

You can play Age of Empires: Definitive Edition on Mac (M1 and Intel models) by installing Windows on your Mac with Parallels. Read our detailed guide.

Age of Empires: Definitive Edition on Mac with Boot Camp Assistant

You can play Age of Empires: Definitive Edition on Mac (Intel models only) by installing Windows on your Mac with Boot Camp Assistant. Read our detailed guide.