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Long read: The beauty and drama of video games and their clouds

"It's a little bit hard to work out without knowing the altitude of that dragon..."

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Collect An Empire

Rome wasn't built in a day, but now with the "Age of Empires Collector's Edition" your computer game collection can be

The "Age of Empires" series has proven to be something of a renaissance for Microsoft's oft-maligned games division, which was previously best known for producing uncountable editions of their "Flight Simulator" and golf games. It was therefore something of a surprise when Microsoft published "Age of Empires", a real-time strategy game which mixed elements from Civilization and Command & Conquer to come up with a classic historical strategy game. Now you can own the entire series with the imminent arrival of "Age of Empires : The Collector's Edition". Not only does this include every Age of Empires title ever released, but you also get a soundtrack CD featuring music from the games and a pack of Age of Empires trading cards. Ooh.

Anyway, if you don't have £55 to hand to buy this special collector's edition, you still have a chance to get hold of one, because Bill and the boys are running a competition to give five copies away to lucky punters in the UK, USA and Canada. All you have to do is visit the official websites for the four games - Age of Empires, Rise Of Rome, Age of Empires II and The Conquerors - and keep an eye open for a "sweepstakes" logo. If you find it, click on it and keep your fingers crossed. For more information, check the Collector's Edition website...