It all starts in dark age. Ughhh... you need to wait for hours on end, for literally every possible thing you do. There is no excitement, the first 5 minutes of a game that are a soul draining dread crisping on my bone marrow. While with empire wars is direct fun! Yay! Instant stable, or archery range, already a blacksmith for some upgrades. Everything in the eco is well balanced, maps more predictable and just all around a faster game.