Century: Age of Ashes

Have you ever seen the wonderful Dreamworks film, How to Train Your Dragon? Well, if you have, you’ll know that the movie focuses on the process of taming and befriending dragons, so that they can serve as pets, friends and allies in battle. It’s a superb film but what does that have to do with gaming you ask? Well, Century: Age of Ashes takes this idea and loses the child friendly format, aiming to offer players with a dragon battling multiplayer experience that is akin to a dogfighting simulator, but upon the back of a fire breathing dragon.

This game doesn’t have a game that offers a directly comparable experience. However, looking aside from the medieval fantasy setting. The game does have similarities to games like Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X, EVE Online and perhaps Lair, although we assume this game will outshine the latter. This is a concept we have rarely seen attempted within gaming as a whole, let alone a multiplayer format. So, we are very excited to see how this one turns out. This is our preview of Century: Age of Ashes.

Fire Breathing Fantasy

This game aims to offer an experience that gives all those enamoured by dragons and mythical tales exactly what they want. Whilst all the while offering a game that will appeal to those who enjoy casual PvP multiplayer and flying/dogfighting games. However, without a core storyline or a major franchise’s backing, this could easily turn into a rather stale, shallow and predictable affair. However, Century: Age of Ashes is self-aware enough to provide a good amount of variety of play styles to players. The player will be able to choose between a number of different classes which lend themselves to players with certain skill sets. You will also have a variety of maps and worlds to explore, meaning to get ahead, you’ll need to know your way around. Plus, the game is also crafted with team play in mind, so you’ll have to communicate and work well with teammates to win your battles.

The Stuff of Myth and Legend

Then moving onto the visual display on offer. It is immediately clear that this game is a next-gen ready title. The animations, visual effects, textures, dragon and character classes are all stunning. Plus, the maps that you will battle in are picturesque as can be. Its like soaring around in Westeros, Middle Earth or wherever you want to be atop a scaly beast. The main takeway is this, the game is beautiful and even with the fast paced gameplay going on around you, there is always a split second to admire the scenery.

The Verdict

We are really excited to see if Century: Age of Ashes can pull off this ambitious project. The visuals are a real highlight of this game and we were surprised to see how complex and cohesive the gameplay mechanics and systems were. The only things that will hold this game back is the lack of story, if there are a variety of game modes and if more classes and skills are going to be added. Although that being said, even if it is a tight multiplayer experience, there is no guarantee that fans will take to it.

Pros:

• Surprisingly deep and complex gameplay systems
• Visuals are of next-gen quality
• Varied maps and player classes to choose from

Cons:

• Gameplay could be very one-note
• The game still needs more player classes
• Niche game format might not draw enough fans in