Conquest of Paradise

Just one year later, The Conquerors , the first add-on to the main game The Age of Kings , was released, bringing four new campaigns and game modes as well as a few quality-of-life improvements and five new civilizations. As the name and cover reveal, some of these were located in Mesoamerica (Aztecs and Mayans) and had their own campaign, while the other three (Spanish, Huns and Koreans) came from the other side of the world ... or the same, depending on how far you go.

The score

However, the soundtrack - this time without David Rippy - promises more of the same, picking up where the main game left off: Namely with the main theme. However, The Conquerors is a variation, as can be seen from the name Quest for JamStephen Rippy4 instead of Quest for ButterStephen Rippy5. Here, the heroic main motif is replaced after its triumphant opening and interrupted by a flute intermezzo reminiscent of vast steppes and native American scenery. A perfect transition from the Eurocentric soundscape of the main movement to early colonial America.

Other entries in the Age of Empires -series

Soundtrack

Age of Empires (1997)

Soundtrack

Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings (1999)

Game

Age of Empires IV (2021)

The guitar is used to reinforce this effect. For, as we all know, the guitar represents Spain, Spain represents colonies including conquistadors ... Bam! Montezuma ... or something. This addition once again results in almost meditative tracks that remind us to relax with a mixture of Mediterranean and medieval. Starting with the almost angelic introduction of the vocals in Pork PartsStephen Rippy5, the shallow guitar riffs in The Monkey BookStephen Rippy5 or the drawn-out flute notes in VoodoodoodooStephen Rippy5 and finally culminating in Seamus & ChamoisKevin McMullan5, which oscillates somewhere between calming and awakening.

By contrast, tracks such as Tide Me Over, Warm ‚em UpsKevin McMullan3 and Shookies in the BankKevin McMullan5 are similar in style to games such as Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom or SimCity, even if the latter track is more reminiscent of Age of Empires 1 geht. Orientalisch wird es dann bei The Bovinian DerivativeKevin McMullan4, while Case in Point: PasteStephen Rippy5 and Basura! Basura!Stephen Rippy4 drift into the Asian.

Something new is with Neep Ninny-Bod [Mix 2]Stephen Rippy5 a classic fighting-song entering the ring. It combines bagpipes, percussion and flutes to create a cacophony, whose tempo incites unrest, almost hecticness to the leisurely hustle and bustle - but maybe that's just me. The lowlight, meanwhile, is again the credit theme Droppin‘ tha TrouKevin McMullan, Stephen Rippy2, which swings completely out of line with its jazz/funk style. No Me Gusta.