The resurgence ofAge of Empiresover the past several years has filled a gap in the real-time strategy genre absent sinceAge of Empires Onlinetook the franchise in a different direction ten years ago. Now thatAge of Empiresis back, not only with multiple Definitive Edition re-releases and a sequel, it’s starting to get a little weird. Take for example a recently found mod forAge of Empires 2that recreates the entirety of the originalDoomas a tactical shooter.
The mod is namedAge of Doomand it was first released on September 1. As promised, it delivers an experience based on the originalDoom, only as anAge of Empires 2campaign. Instead of building a town and growing a civilization through the ages, players will take control of the Doomguy protagonist and fight through hordes as Hell invades all over again. Naturally, theDoomcampaign is experienced entirely through the isometric perspective.
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When the description of theAge of Empire 2mod describes it as a shooter, it’s not joking. Much like theoriginalDoom, players will have to dodge projectiles fired by a diverse army of demon enemies. The Doomguy will walk into a room, only for demons to spawn from every direction. Custom-made Imps, Pinkies, Cacodemons and more fill the mod’s corridors, all authentic to their original designs inDoom. It’s shocking how much effort had to go into recreating theDoomexperience.
That said, the limitations of an isometricDoomcampaign are obvious. The result is thatAge of Doom’s story is unique to itself, drawing inspiration from the originalDoomas well asDoom 3. Four total episodes are included in the mod, taking players across Mars and its two satellites, Phobos and Deimos. There’s also a fifth episode planned that will take players into Hell itself. Unfortunately, it’s as yet unfinished, so fans should expect an update later on.
For those interested in checking out theAge of Doommod, it’s available to download for free. Creator HELLKNIGHT61 says thatAge of Doomis compatible with “allAge of Empiresgames,” includingDefinitive Editions, due to an included compatibility patch. Exactly how accurate that is isn’t clear, but it’s worth putting to the test.
This just goes to show that the ingenuity ofAge of Empiresmodders continues to have no bounds. A customDoomcampaign for theAge of Empires 2engineisn’t something anyone expected to happen, butAge of Doomhappened nonetheless. Hopefully, HELLKNIGHT61 is able to continue expanding the mod in exciting new directions.
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