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I still love it after all these years... if you own a computer, you NEED this game.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 13 / 15
Date: August 27, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Age of Empires 2 was the first game I ever got for my computer. It was six years ago, I was ten. It... blew my mind, it was so amazing. I did all the campaigns, it took me about a year on again off again to beat all of them, but hey, I was ten.

So then I started working on the 'random maps' in the game. The regular ones were fun, wether one-on-one, eight people in a free-for-all, or balanced teams, it was amazing. The replayability just took me aback. Deathmatches offered almost instant action, giving players hoards of rescources, allowing them to concentrate on militarisation rahter than their economy. But my favourite type of game was Regicide. Each player gets a King and a Castle at the beginning, and you're defeated once your King dies. This beacame a game of cat-and-mouse, building castles wherever I could and always moving the King, trying to protect his royal [if inept] majesty from hoards of bloodthirsty enemies all vying to deliver his crown to their own soverign. All marvelous fun.

And I haven't even begun to comment on the system itself. Each of the four ages, dark, feudal, castle, and imperial, represent disticnt points in history. For example, cavalry is not available in the Dark age, and only weak scouts in the Feudal age. The Castle age brings with it heavily armoured knights, as well as horse archers to harass enemy villagers and cripple their economies. And this is just cavalry. Archers, infantry, and siege weapons evolve dramatically as you progress, from rag-tag Militia wielding simple clubs, to the menacing Champions armed with monstrous two-handed swords, and this is just Infantry.

Also, each of the 13 civilizations has its own benefits, such as the Turks' cheaper gunpowder units or the Fraknish bonuses to knight hitpoints. In addition, each civilization gets one [some even get two] unique units, which only they can produce. The Byzantines, for example, can produce Cataphracts, superb armourer cavalry specialising in defeating infantry, or the Japanese samurai, a katana-wielding warrior adept at striking down enemy unique units with reckless abandon.

Also, the origional game came with four campaigns, which, contrary to the views expressed by some of the other reviewers, offer a unique and interesting insight into history. Included is the William Wallace campaign, which teaches players how to play the game against the backdrop of the Scottish resistance against the meraudings of the tryannical English King, Edward Longshanks. The other four campaigns follow heroes, as well, these are Joan of Arc, Saladin, Barbarossa, and Ghengis Khan. Each of these campaigns offers unique challenges, such as defeating the great crusader armies whilst trying to reclaim your lands, resisting the English invasion of France, colsolodating the might of the Holy Roman Empire and going on a crusade of your own, or slaughtering hordes of enemies, wether they are Chinese, Persian, Russian, Hungarian, or German.

So, all in all, the Age of Kings is an amazing game.

Alright, I'm getting ahead of myself, I need to talk about the expansion. As if the Age of Kings wasn't enough, in 2002 the Conquerors Expansion pack came out. I got it within a week of its release. Wow. I thought one couldn't improve on the level of perfection seen in AoK. But they did. With the introduction of five new civilisations, the highly advanced Spanish, the raiding Huns, who don't need houses, the Koreans, who excel in defense, and the Aztecs and Mayans, who can produce no cavalry, nor gunpowder units, but make up for it with superb infantry, monks, and archers.

In addition to these new civilizations, each civilization gets its own unique technology, which usually strengthens their particular bonuses. Also, new campaigns are introduced, El Cid is a mix of the Spanish and the Saracens and centers on the Reconquista, Atilla the Hun, which involves sacking Roman settlements and plundering major cites, Montezuma, which entails defeating fellow natives, then combating the invading Spanish and their local Tlaxcalan lapdogs, and the Battles of the Conquerors, which are a series of unrelated battles at different periods in history and involving different factions, each a major turning point in history.

In addition to this, again, the 'random map' games have been extended. In King of the Hill, players fight to control a wonder in the center of the map longer than everyone else. Defend the Wonder is a difficult game type even on the easiest difficulty setting, as one player attempts to defend his or her wonder while all the others are allied togehter with the sole purpose of destroying the Wonder. Wonder Race is the third new kind of 'random map' game, in which there is no combat allowed, all players are allied, and the first one to build a Wonder wins the game. This will likley present a particular challenge to die-hard soldiers, who may be unable to easily manage an economy well enough to construct a Wonder before the other players. All these 'random map' games can, of course, be taken on the internet, though i find myself more of a 'single player', personally.

There are two final important features that contribute to AoE II. First of all is the History section, which gives a breif history of each of the factions, and also talks about midieval warfare, feudalism, and, of course, the Papacy. The second important other feature is the Scenario Editor. Using the Scenario Editor, one is able to design their own maps, pick sides, and create from scratch their own scenario, complete with scripted events, known as 'triggers'. This may seem a little esoteric, or at least hard to get the hang of at first, but it's a great activity for more experienced players who may be looking for more beyond the normal gameplay.

So, all in all, a terrific strategy game, one of the best, if not the best, ever. I've played Age of Mythology, Rise of Nations, Empire Earth, and Total War games, and as awesome as they may be, they just can't stack up, in the end, to AoE II and the Conquerors.

This game rocks

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: December 04, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game rocks. My whole family is addicted to it even my anti-violence mom. The gameplay is great with 18 civilazations u can play as each one with its own unique abilitys and strengths. the graphics aren't stupendous but aren't bad either. i have played the game for hours upon hours and it is still fun. As you play u find new strategies and new approaches to the computer. also the computer puts up a good fight if u have The conquerors installed. unlike the Age of Kings where the computer makes tons of villagers and almost no army. but overall it is a great game that is definetly worth the cash.

This is a fun game!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 13
Date: December 02, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I confess to not being a hardcore gamer, so I'm undoubtedly out of date wrt what is the 'best' game out there, but I really like this one! Talk about fun. I've spent hours on this game, trying various strategies, researching various technologies, etc. I'm not even close to being bored with it, or being burned out on playing it. Hints: Try getting to the point where you can successfully build a wonder! Definitely use Trebuchets. Try 'plowing' through the woods with a siege weapon. Build a prison camp to confine your opponent! (I was able to build multiple wonders this way)

The Best Strategy Game Of All Time And One Of The Best Games Ever Made

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 13
Date: July 12, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Age Of Empires 2 is a masterpiece. Regardless of any complaints anyone has made about this game, there is no arguing. This one of the most fun, addictive, and satisfying games ever made.

You can play it for months. I played it for over a year, then came back and played it for another year. It's probably the most addictive game I've ever played. Not Mario, not Zelda, not the great Doom, not Quake or Half-life or Warcraft or even Grand Theft Auto has ever had me as hooked as this game. Microsoft and Ensemble Studios hit the nail on the head with AOE 2.

The sequel to Age Of Empires keeps everything that made the first one great, throws away almost everything that made it bad, and throws an amazing, revamped user interface that gives the player god-like power if used expertly.

The different civilizations are fantastic. The advantages and disadvantages of each one make the game interesting and balanced, although some civilizations are better (overall) than others. I mean, really, who doesn't love (and equally hate) the Longbowmen? The War Elephants? The Woad Raiders? The Throwing Axemen?

The units are the best part of the game. Except for the paladin and scorpion wipeout trick, the unit balance is superb. The naval battles are amazing, with fireships, ballista ships, and even ships that launch cannonballs.

There are more buildings, tons more upgrades, and a brand-new unit I like to call the x-factor: the trebuchet. This is one of the units that makes AOE 2 a true delight. As built up as a city can become, it can be destroyed in minutes with enough trebuchets.

The multiplayer aspect of this game is what solidifies AOE 2's standing as one of the best games ever made. It is surreal. I've had 12-hour multiplayer sessions many times. You just don't want to stop. It's so fun!!! It's madness!

As far as challenge goes, you'll get all you want. Just try beating the entire game on the hardest difficulty and see the headache you get. And if you get through with that, buy the expansion pack and eat your heart out.

Buy this game! Play it until you're sick of it! That probably won't happen, but even if it does, when you come back from your break you'll be twice as hooked.

Ha!!! The memories I have of this game! Man, this is the best!

AOE - A Weekend Get-a-way for the Family

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: November 17, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Our family has been playing AOE since it first came out. For us, that is saying something. There has never been a game that kept our span of interest over the course of years. AOE also has the appeal for all ages. Our children that are 10 & 11 up to our parents all play. On weekends we connect via Internet to play multi-player with family members only. AOE combined with Voice Share is an awesome way for our family to stay connected.

Please Buy This Game it's the BEST!...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: December 10, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Dear AMAZON this is the best game in the world !Each civilization has their own uniqe unit,technology,and special abilities choose 1 of 18 civilizations including the Aztecs,Mayans,Spanish,Persians,Saracens,Mongols and many more.The villagers are smart gathering resources to grow your flouroshing empire.You can also arrange your units any way you want.Their are hundreds of units inclding Jaguar Warriors,Calvry Archers,Camels,Paladins,Crossbowmen,just to name a few of the wonderful units in the game.Good artillery weapons such as trebuchets,Onagers,and huge SIEGE Rams.Trully the best stradegy game EVER!thank you Amazon!

Automated farms are great

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: July 09, 2004
Author: Amazon User

1. Farmers start a new farm once the old one is done, you can queue. any one who ever played AOE-I knows how great that is :).
2. The addition of Gates makes for nice Castle building
3. Villagers automatically start a new task when they finish a work type building (granary, storage, town center)
4. UNIT FORMATIONS!!! my personal favorite only second to the Farm queue. It adds a whole new dimension to battle tactics. huge improvement from AOE-I
5. Advanced unit commands. Follow, Protect, Patrol, they just make this game so much nicer.
6. the ability to toggle around to your inactive (we'll call it that) villagers. "where's my whip"

All this improvements have the feel of AOE developers playing their own game and saying "gee wouldn't it be nice if we had this" they realy polished this game. It belongs in anyone's greatest games list. Easy!

This is a really great game.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: August 30, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This is a really good game. I had mastered the Star Wars equivalent, Galactic Battlegrouds, and was a little skeptical about the great replay value others had given this game. However, my misgivings were baseless. I have been extremely pleased with this game. Something about it gives it TREMENDOUS replay value. 5 stars. As far as the expantion pack goes, I've never played the original Age of Empires II. However, the features that come from the expantion really make the game. If you've ever played a real time strategy game before, make sure to get the gold edition.

This game is ruining my life

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 15
Date: September 03, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This game is ruining my life. It took me 3 weeks to find the time to install the game, but once I did I have averaging 5-6 hours of sleep per night. I've never smoked crack, but this must be the gaming equivelant. I am contimplating taking some vacation time from work so I can devote the necessary time to perfect some of my empire building strategies.

The game started out with a nifty learing scenario to get you started. It was quite thorough and I was up and running in about 20 minutes. From there, you get experience and figure out how to dominate (cooepration doesn't seem to work as well) other players and take over the world.

After describing this game to my brother, he insisted I need therapy. While I may indeed need therapy--that doesn't take away from this awesome game.

Been playing for 7 years and will play it 20 years from now

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 11
Date: May 16, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This is one of the best games available on the stands - no amount of adulation would suffice when trying to put in words, my admiration for this game. My friend introduced me to AOE I in 1998 (a demo version), and I had been waiting to get out of college to buy the full version.

I have played extensively, all the single player options in the game, we would all rush back from work, to play the game - it was thrill - we even had a grading among ourselves...

'Getting hooked' to this game is easier than anything else in the planet. My friend was with me when I made my soldier move according to the instructions in the tutorial, and such similar stuff, but after that, I wanted to handle the empire on my own... it has never stopped since then.

No two scenarios are similar - each needs different priorities, units - strategy, I mean, and game play is dictated as much by our will, as it is by the resources in the game. The freedom we have in choosing our moves, adjusting our priorities, dictating how an enemy creates an army (yes, by the force of our army, we CAN force our enemy to create certain kinds of forces - anyone would know that if I create a huge force of paladins, they should be creating an equal or more amounts of halberdiers - you know what I mean) - the variety and the freedom, is commendable.

I am saving all the games, so I can play them with my children. There was a period in time when there was not a day which passed without me playing a game or two.

The map editor is one of the best things the creators of this game can give us - our dream scenarios can be created using the editor - whats more fun ?

Each civilization has its own peculiarities and advantages/disadvantages - the Vikings have special naval capabilities, the teutons have their knights (man ! Im impressed by their strength), the huskarls (goths), with their impenetrable armor, and so on... and what is more pleasure than unpacking 5 or 6 trebuchets and hurling stones over the enemy's area - the sound of trebuchets hurling stones, itself is a treat to hear.

To quote Mr. Hernandez, 'Newer games have come out since, but they just don't have the same appeal as AoE2 does' - wow, it is a true statement, and the game stands by every word. I have played so many other games in this genre, but they all seem so boring and I always keep thinking they have been inspired by AoE - it has THAT good a design !

Whats more, each civilization speaks a different language - the game has been so well designed !

I don't even want to talk about Age of Mythology here - it is nowhere near comparison to AoE.

Here's why I like AOE :
1. The freedom to create at our own will
2. The variety of scenarios/civilisations/armies/buildings/geography - the list is just mind-boggling.
3. Ease with which we can learn the game
4. Units - there is a huge list of units we can create, both to attack, or in response to enemy's units (halberdiers in response to cavalry) This makes the game more interesting,

Buy it - I never regretted that I bought it in the first place. You can come back to it after a long time and still find it interesting...

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