Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings

... As long as you don't cheat

I got a demo version of AGE OF EMPIRES: THE AGE OF KINGS with a computer magazine and was so impressed with this that I purchased the full game . I certainly recommend this game for strategy fans in general and real time strategy addicts in particular

As with so many of these games you start of with villagers chopping down trees , collecting gold and tilling the fields in order to build up the economy , technology and military might but you've also got the choice of choosing different races , terrain , landscapes etc which unlike several other strategy games are in fact different . Not only that you can also choose several missions like embarking on a crusade against the mighty Saladin or unifying the Germanic lands .

I have to confess that not long after starting the game I surfed the net for cheats which spoiled much of the challenge . I awarded myself unlimited amounts of food , stone , gold and wood . I also managed to find a cheat which meant I could arm myself with cars that fired machine guns which while being fun in an anachronistic way ( The game is set round about the 12th century and never progresses beyond this time frame ) of machine gunning massive amounts of enemy means the game instantly stops being much of a challenge . Having said that I still sat in front of my computer for countless days wreaking carnage on my enemies knowing that there would be no chance of me losing a game which speaks well of its playability

It's a LOT like the first game, which was great. But I would have preferred if we had been given more technologies to research. All the discovery seems to be over a bit too quick before each game boils down to the standard 'smash the enemy to pieces' part. In this respect it game become quite repetitive, especially when you consider how long it takes to get a good game going. The only alternative is to try out different civilisations. And only then it's just the architecture that's different.

I do like this game a lot but I just wish for a bit more diversity and more surprises in the next one (as in Age of Empires 3, not Age of Mythology). I've not played the expansion pack extensively yet but if it gives you more to work with and is definitely worth getting too.

I have chosen to start this on a sour note, just as what I am reviewing does. After the clever and well-done opening cut-scene of the immediate predecessor to this opened that exactly as it should be, and setting the tone right, the intro of this is rather underwhelming. It's a lot of the same footage, some lengthened, in a very obvious manner, that leaves it moving too slow, and run downright choppy, a little has been added, to elaborate on what goes on, and it's not particularly pretty or all that well-done. It tries to look stylish, a bit, neglecting the fact that that does not fit with the material, indeed, with the rest of the product. Accuracy and realism are key, like with all prior entries. The wrap-around is taken out, awkwardly. The whole thing is just plain obvious, and it feels like it was thrown together without a lot of effort, and goes on for overly long, all in stark contrast to that of AOK. If you go on to play the single-player of this, and go in numerical order, you are shortly thereafter introduced to the Tarkan, which is unique to the Huns, a horse-borne man who carries something I could not tell what was at first. Then I realized it: It's a lit torch. This is a cool concept, and makes sense, but it doesn't actually look or work all that great(and when you have to try hard to be able to tell what it is...). They didn't take the consequence and make it able to actually set buildings(what they damage the most) ablaze, a la Populous: The Beginning, or at least do a strongly defined flame-effect and damage model, like C&C, and it comes off odd(meanwhile, it is a good investment). Why do I start on these seemingly small, in the big picture, complaints? Simply because they were the first impressions, they may very well be for others, and I hope to deter anyone from jumping ship from this initial disappointment. You see, beyond those, this actually has a bunch to offer... and some of it is golden. There are touch-ups since the "parent" to this. Attempts are made to smooth game-play and such out, if not all are successful. Workers immediately begin gathering resources when they've completed a place to deposit them, automatically, and that cuts down on hand-holding. Not to mention the Reseed Queue, that lets you set Farms to automatically rebuild, so long as you've got a Mill, and the Wood upfront. The Tech Tree is now always available, a button right there at the top of the screen. Advancing through the Ages now gets a status bar, also up there, so you don't have to consult your Town Center. There are strategic opportunities that did not exist before in these. You can Garrison inside Rams, though that can be annoying as it can't be turned off, and it's relatively limited. The objectives now change during missions, and this is more open. Color is used to make it faster to distinguish and keep track of opponents(when they message or attack you). There is clumsiness here and there, and the level design isn't always fantastic. There are new areas, and snow is put in, for example. There are ten real-world maps, and many new types. King of the Hill, Defend the Wonder, Last Man Standing, etc. are included. There are five civilizations brought in, including Spanish(Conquistadors and Missionaries!) Vikings(Longboats and Berserkers!), Japanese(Samurai!) and Korean(Turtle Ships!). You can also now build Petards, that appeared very briefly in AOE2. The story-telling is improved upon since that, and is mighty compelling and in-depth, better than that of any release earlier in the series. It's very detailed and clearly an area they spent time on doing well. The ridiculous accents are gone from the briefings(there are ones for units), and the voice acting is of higher quality, almost invariably, than earlier. The AI is changed, not always a positive here. There are now only three difficulty settings(and there definitely was not paid equal attention to them), and it picks up where Kings left off. However, the campaigns do seem to start somewhat soft. The population limit goes up in them. The fourth one is not a continual arc, like all apart from it. Instead, it is a compilation of grand battles, eight in total. You aren't limited to going through them chronologically. This makes for several of the best ones, as far as being interesting goes, although when the tailoring backfires, they can get a certain kind of bad, ugly, nasty, and worse. This expansion pack gets extra upgrades and research. The Scouts feature gives you info about your enemies and/or the surroundings, is there from the beginning, and like objectives and hints, can be viewed any time. The history remains the focus, and there's more of it than in the others. This may cost it fighting. I personally enjoyed it. The Aztecs are quite different from the others. I couldn't say if it evens out, unfortunately, as much as they did change for them, it still seems like they have technology they shouldn't. There is heavy-handed criticism of their religion, values and spiritual ideas. You can select men and horses that are inside something(like a boat, a tower, a Castle), now, and while I understand the argument against this, I'd say there's nothing negative to it. The authenticity is still far up on the checklist of important stuff, and it shows, in a marvelous way. OK, so El Cid's time is further back than gunpowder, at least in use in rifles, and spread beyond China, and outside of fireworks and maybe bombs... nevertheless, it makes for fun cavalry. The MP gets renewed vigor, not that it was lacking any. All in all, I'd surely call this a worthy purchase, if you dig Age of Empires, and like the second game of the franchise(while this isn't flawless). I recommend this to any fan of RTS(especially these). 7/10

Ive played this game since it was released, I loved the details and in a way, it was educative. The campaigns were amazing

Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings is a real-time strategy game developed by Ensemble Studios and released in 1999. Set in the Middle Ages, it allows players to choose from various civilizations, each with unique units, technologies, and strengths, such as the Franks, Mongols, and Byzantines. Gameplay involves gathering resources, building towns, creating military units, and engaging in combat against opponents while advancing through different ages to unlock new technologies and units. The game features both single-player campaigns, which follow historical figures and events, and multiplayer modes for competitive play.

9/10 from me.