Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings

Microsoft and developer Ensemble Studios really went overboard to deliver a successor that improves on the original Age of Empires in just about every way possible. Age of Empires II feels like an entirely new game to this bleary-eyed scribe. I'd say Ensemble hit its mark.

There's little doubt that with Age Of Empires II, Ensemble really has set a new standard in real-time strategy gaming. It's very difficult not to sing Age Of Empires II's praises and any game which can boast such gorgeous graphics, decent AI and pathing and long-term replayability is doing well. But Age Of Empires II also offers an authentic medieval atmosphere and a stern strategic challenge. Settle yourself in for some long winter Knights.

All in all, Age of Empires II: Age of Kings stands at the top of the RTS genre. Accurate historical context and massive battles make for fabulous entertainment and the huge amount of different strategy options available will keep your brain active.

After almost two years in development, Age of Empires 2: The Age of Kings is finally out, and the verdict is in: This game is extraordinary.

Overall, AoE2 is one of the best RTS games I've ever played. I've only played one to date that was as good as it, and that one was also published by Microsoft (Rise of Nations). It's a great starter RTS game for people new to the genre, and just because it's good for them doesn't mean that it isn't good for veteran players, because it is. I've been playing it for well over a year and it's still one of my favorites.

When I some months ago Microsoft had released Age of Empires and later then his younger brother AOE-Rise of Rome, my dreams about the real good strategy came true. Third series of Microsoft`s released strategy start in dark age and finished in post-imperial age. There you can use many new kind of weapons, new map types from really small to really huge and much more variants of terrain, you choose one of the nineteen civilization, chose population limit 50 - 200, but differently from AOE I, you must chose only one way how to achieve conquest. It's because the developing more than one type of weapon or kind of weapon is expensive. For example, if you build strategy on monasteries and improve your monk`s as much as possible, then you have not left enough gold to reaserch any other different weapons {e.g. siege onager`s, bombard cannon`s...}. My impression: The best real-time strategy, how I ever played. Map editor included. Supports all multiplayer variants as before.

Age of Empires 2 is definitely a fun time for all. Or at least it's a fun time for the GW staff. I really haven't had a game get me so fired up in a while, and this one seems to be one that I couldn't go wrong with. If you were a fan of the original AoE, then you're probably going to love this sequel. Just remember that when you are building your people up from the Feudal age: Defense, Defense, Defense. Until next time, folks, please fight nice.

Yes, besides griping about the farm and the lack of single scenarios that's it for complaints. I could go back to describing more of the great features that make Age of Empires II such a compelling experience, from the ability to record games to the improved economic system but alas, I'm about out of space. In a year that has seen few RTS games released Age of Empires II stands high above the competition. In fact, it could stand high in any year. Simply put, this is a great game.

Sure, some games are fun when they first come out, but I find myself losing interest fast with most of them. Age of Kings, Age of Empires, and the Rise of Rome Expansion Pack are all timeless and they will stay through the “Ages” installed on my computer for many years. The suggested retail price is $54.95 and it is worth the full price. I am already looking forward to an expansion pack for Age of Kings. It will be hard, however, to find things that they left out and can improve or expand upon, but I hope they do. It is rare to find a sequel that is better than the original game it is based upon, especially when the original game was so good. My hat is off to Ensemble Studios and Microsoft for a job well done.

Trivial shortcomings aside, Age of Empires II: Age of Kings is a good-looking and feature-full 2D RTS that manages to provide hours and hours of solo or multiplayer gaming enjoyment. The kicker? With its extremely lean system requirements, you don’t need the latest and greatest computer in order to get in on the fun.

Usually when games come out, they either do very good, fairly well, or are the type that are known but not played. Then later on, when a sequel comes out, the sequel just plain rocks. A good example of this would be the Unreal series. This is the same case with the Age of Empires series. The first Age of Empires was somewhere out there. Then Age of Kings comes around and just rocks.

Gegenüber dem Vorgänger hat sich so viel getan, das die Aufzählung der Features wirklich nicht leicht war. Stark verbesserter Handel, komplexere und vielfältigere Wirtschaftsmöglichkeiten, umfangreiche, von Volk zu Volk verschiedene technologische Entwicklungen und nicht zuletzt ein strategisch stark verbesserter militärischer Teil machen deutlich was AOE2 sein wollte und auch ist - das bislang beste Echtzeitstrategiespiel auf dem Mac !

I was not much of a major fan of the original Age of Empires (AOE), I just dismissed it as another strategy game which looked kinda nice.

However thankfully for Ensemble Studios & Microsoft, most other gamers didn’t react like me and the game built up a massive following and when AOE2 was announced they all could not wait.

Eigentlich müßte ich die Ensemble Studios verfluchen, denn seitdem die Testversion von Age of Empires II in meinem DVD-Laufwerk rotiert, habe ich mich von meinem Privatleben verabschiedet. Genau wie beim Vorgänger sorgt das ungemein fesselnde Spielprinzip dafür, daß für mich der Bau von Belagerungsmaschinen und die Aufstellung eines Ritterheeres derzeit unbedingten Vorrang hat vor Nebensächlichkeiten wie Essen und Schlafen. Natürlich ist Microsofts neuester Titel allein schon wegen des Verzichts auf eine 3D-Grafik nicht so innovativ wie Homeworld. Doch dafür kommen SIe in den Genuß idyllischer 2D-Landschaften, herrlicher Animationen und einer fantastischen KI. Den fettesten Superlativ verdienen allerdings die unvergleichlichen Kampagnen: Kein anderer Strategietitel bietet auch nur ansatzweise ein derartig abwechslungsreiches Missionsdesign, und die Mittelalterszenarien sind die aufregendsten seit der Befreiung von Orléans im Jahre 1429.

Wie bei Teil 1 wird es auch im zweiten Teil wieder Wochen oder Monate dauern, bis man alle neuen Features des Spiels einmal ausprobiert, jedes der 13 Völker einmal gespielt und sich eine oder mehrere Taktiken zurecht gelegt hat. Zwar bieten die vier Kampagnen nur insgesamt 24 Missionen, doch wer einen Internetzugang besitzt, kann sich wieder auf viele abwechslungsreiche Multiplayersessions freuen. Wer erst einmal die Demo antesten möchte, kann auch mit dieser über das Internet spielen, und so die Telefonrechnung in ungeahnte Höhen treiben.

Age Of Empires II: The Age Of Kings is goud! Age Of Empires fans kunnen deze titel dan ook blind aanschaffen. Koning, Keizer, Admiraal, Age Of Empires II spelen ze allemaal!

Age of Empires 2: The Age of Kings expands and nearly perfects the already proven AOE formula. A few remaining AI and path-finding glitches are a bother, but overall there are very, very few things that one can fault AOE 2 for. This is easily the best RTS game to come out this year, far surpassing the original, and destined to immensely entertain eager RTS fans for a very long time.

No matter how you play it, chances are good that you'll enjoy Age of Kings if not for its careful historical detail then because its context never takes precedence over the game's playability. And if you've ever liked any other real-time strategy game in this classical style, then you'll clearly see why this one deserves so much credit, even in direct comparison to the finest examples in its category.

It would be incorrect, but not entirely unreasonable, to claim that Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings and its isometric 2D playing field seem just like every other first-generation real-time strategy game ever made. Take away the historical context depicting a millennium of military progress since the Dark Ages, and you'd have a game in which you'd stockpile resources, grow your population, and augment your technology, all to amass an army with which to defeat your enemies as quickly as possible. But even as this model has remained historically relevant for as long as history has been documented, so too is it not liable to stop being the premise for computer games anytime soon. And if Age of Kings is any indication of how such real-time strategy games will continue to improve, then we couldn't be more fortunate.

Наверное, в очередной раз придется повторить, что в Age of Kings великолепная графика. Великолепие заключается не только в необычном уровне детализации, но и в количестве объектов, и в высочайшем качестве анимации мелких персонажей. Конечно, для игры графика не самое главное, но в данном случае мы, похоже, имеем дело с очень приятным исключением из правил.

Overall, though, Age II pretty much covers everything you could want in a real-time strategy game. It's attractive, epic in scope and so endlessly varied that you'll still be dabbling in it two years from now. As the genre starts to embrace 3D, Age Of Empires II is sure to be looked back upon as the last in a dying breed. Without doubt, it is the best and to miss it would be a crime for which you should be hung, drawn and quartered.

Huge, detailed, and fun, Age of Empires II: Age of Kings offers a lot of game bang for the buck. Any fan of real-time strategy games would do well to pick a copy up, and those looking to get into the genre can start with either this game or the one before it. And with expansion packs available for both, chances are good that you'll have to play a long time before you exhaust either title.

The graphics in Age of Kings really are beautiful. Some of the buildings look so grand you'll even feel guilty about burning them to the ground! The attention to detail is stunning, with each civilisation portrayed with painstaking accuracy. The breathtaking artwork really adds to the epic quality of the game. And, despite being such a complex game, the controls are very user-friendly and well explained. Most of the time it only takes a couple of mouse clicks to achieve the desired result and sub-screens are easy to get to. Overall, it runs like a dream.

This is a pretty clean game. There is violence when there is war, but you don't see blood. There are taunts in the game but they are all clean. As for religion, this is the middle ages, the dominant faith is Catholicism, so you build fancy churches and have monks. The churches may vary depending on the civilization you choose. The game is easy to play, it has a nice interface. There are some patches for it. Graphics are nice, they don't use 3D acceleration. The music was nice and the Game play is fun. I can only computer in the easy modes. (But I am getting better) Multiplayer is fun, and you can now save multiplayer games. This is a definite buy!

Age of Kings är kanske inte särskilt originellt, men det är mycket välgjort. Det återanvänder det som fungerade i föregångaren och introducerar nya funktioner, precis som uppföljare ska göra. Kampanjerna är lite väl lika de i det första spelet, men eftersom spelet kan slumpa fram nya utmaningar gör det inte så mycket. Vidare går det att skapa nya scenarier i den medföljande editorn. Spelare som letar efter ett spel att lägga ner mycket tid på kommer inte att bli besvikna. Tack vare att Ensemble har skapat ett stort teknologiträd och gjort så att de olika civilisationerna skiljer sig åt, finns det all anledning att spela spelet om och om igen. Det lär nog dyka upp en expansion nästa år, men jag hoppas verkligen att Ensemble studios tänker utveckla en uppföljare till.

Dit spel is echt zeer goed, een aanrader. Soms krijg je wel een beetje een déjà vu gevoel maar kan je daarmee leven (en dat kan je zeker, geloof me), dan mag je dit spel zeker niet in de rekken laten liggen!!

Keine Frage: Age of Empires wird ein Hit. Schon auf den ersten Blick schreit alles an diesem Spiel: "Kauf mich!". Die Optik übertrifft selbst den gelungenen Vorgänger, hinzu kommen zahlreiche Verbesserungen im Detail. Insgesamt bietet AoE 2 mehr Möglichkeiten als die Konkurrenz, und die Bedienung dieser Funktionsvielfalt wurde meiner Meinung nach prima gelöst. Der Festungsbau funktioniert hervorragend, die Kampagnen sind höchst abwechslungsreich und das historische Szenario finde ich äußerst ansprechend. Klar, die KI ist nicht perfekt, aber darüber schaue ich gern hinweg. Auch wenn bei AoE 2 die großen Innovationen ausblieben, ist es eine runde Sache.

Age of Kings is one of the deepest real time strategy games to date. It has a timeless quality which will provide hours of enjoyment to any fan of the genre, despite its somewhat dated aesthetics

Age of Empires II is clearly one of the greatest real-time strategy games ever to grace the Mac OS. With rich, tactical gameplay, historically accurate and entertaining single-player campaigns, intense multiplayer action, lush graphics and dozens of combat units & buildings, Age of Empires II: Gold Edition has something for everyone.

It’s not a significant improvement as far as gameplay and graphics, but it does help further the claim of AOE as a solid gaming title and a quality multiplayer game. The originality may be gone, but the idea lives on.

It's not a significant improvement as far as gameplay and graphics, but it does help further the claim of AOE as a solid gaming title and a quality multiplayer game. The originality may be gone, but the idea lives on.

Age of Kings (AOK) est une histoire, un mythe. Dans le genre RTS, rares sont les titres qui ont perduré autant de temps que celui-ci. Perdurer, un concept qui prend son sens par rapport à une communauté de joueurs. Un jeu qui perdure, c’est un jeu qui draine des milliers de joueurs pendant de longues années. AOK et Starcraft sont deux jeux qui ont marqué toute une génération de joueurs pendant quatre à cinq ans. Une éternité pour un jeu vidéo. Aujourd’hui, AOK est devenu un mythe. Moins joué, vieilli, il n’en reste pas moins une absolue référence. Pour Ensemble Studios c’est le volet de la maturité. De leur idée originale Age of Empires(AOE), AOK tire cette ambiance si particulière, ce cadre historique prononcé et ce gameplay si efficace. En route pour le Moyen Age…

Age of Empires premier du nom avait conquis des millions de fans de par le monde en donnant un aspect plus "historique" que ce qu'avait offert jusqu'à présent les STR comme Starcraft ou les Command & Conquer tout en alliant une qualité graphique époustouflante. Age of Empires 2 est donc censé remettre une nouvelle fois les pendules à l'heure. Test.

Podsumowując, należy powiedzieć, że gra Age of Empires II powinna znaleźć się w zbiorach każdego liczącego się stratega. W końcu walka o władzę to jest to co wszyscy lubimy najbardziej!

A rule in movies states that a sequel mostly sucks. As you know this rule doesn't apply on the gaming industry. Unluckily for the movie-industry technology has nothing to do with a great movie. Luckily for us, it has everything to do with great games, provided it has something called great gameplay.

Suffice to say that I’ve been an AOE (Age of Empires) addict since its inception about three years ago. First, I played the single player random map games, and then moved on to the campaigns. Next, I went on IRC and scavenged for challengers, and that’s when I was really thrashed. After a couple of months, I advanced to the Zone (www.zone.com) and got more thrashing. I learnt and still could barely advance in the required 15 minutes that many mentors have told me to do so. I played the game every day for three years without ever joining a Clan because most of them consisted of boys half my age, shouting obscenities at me each time I bungled. Oh well, so much for team play.

Dennoch ist AOK ein bezaubernder Abstecher in die Geschichte und bannt RTS-Fans mit ausgeklügeltem und immer wieder von neuem faszinierenden Spielprinzip, sowie einem fesselnden Kampagnen-Modus vor das Fernsehgerät. Unbedingt empfehlenswert für alle, die bisher noch nicht mit dem 'Age of Kings'-Virus infiziert wurden. Wer jedoch einen PC besitzt und an diesem gerne spielt, der ist mit der günstig erwerbbaren PC-Version wohl besser bedient.

В итоге мы имеем вполне закономерное и качественное продолжение Age of Empires, part one. Настолько банальное заключение, что даже непонятно, зачем и писался данный обзор. Так что простите меня те, кто дочитал его до конца — ничего экстраординарного я вам не сообщил. Как и ожидалось, more of the same.

Jusqu'à aujourd'hui, la référence en matière de jeu de stratégie en temps réel était Starcraft. Jadis, Age of Empire avait tiré son épingle du jeu par ses graphismes et son atmosphère qui lui et si particulière. Désormais, Age of Empires 2 risque de détrôner le titre du grand Blizzard sur Mac. L'équipe de développement d'Ensemble Studio s'est dévoué corps et âme pour mener à bien son projet en 1999 pour réaliser son soft. Destineer a décidé de l’adapter pour mac.

Ta gra po prostu przerasta wszystko, co było do tej pory, swoja genialnością, a jej główne plusy i atuty to: przecudownie wspaniała grafika, nieliniowość akcji, ciekawe zadania, wielka ilość budynków i jednostek, możliwość ukrywania jednostek w garnizonie, historyczne postacie, doskonała encyklopedia i wiele innych.

Strategy lovers and fans of the first game will want to add this to the collection. Casual gamers who didn’t find the first Age of Empires appealing might want to give it a pass; after all, there’s not enough new here to really make it unique unto itself.

Tranquillement, Microsoft et Ensemble Studios continuent sur la route du succès avec Age of King. En ayant conservé tous les points forts de la saga, la suite du populaire jeu de stratégie temps réel ne décoit d'aucune manière. Beaucoup de bonnes idées ont été intégrées sur une base architecturale semblable, mais les fans n'en souhaitaient certainement pas plus. Après l'Antiquité, le Moyen-Age permettra encore plus de batailles rangées, là où la 3D n'avait pas encore besoin d'être intégrée. Assurément une référence à découvrir sans hésiter !

Konamis Age of Empires 2 versetzt mich in diese Zeiten zurück. Grafik und Sound sind aber nur befriedigend und trüben den Spielspaß. Auf der anderen ist das Spielkonzept genial und das Gameplay letztendlich gut umgesetzt, so dass die Motivation sehr hoch ist. Ob das ein Grund sein kann, mehr als 100 DM auf den Tisch zu legen, muss jeder selbst entscheiden. Das Spiel enthält alle Pflichtbestandteile, die es als PC-Umsetzung mitbringen muss. Auf eine mögliche Kür, zum Ausgleich der geringeren Auflösung und der schlechten Steuerung, wurde jedoch komplett verzichtet. Somit kann ich Age of Empires 2 nur ausgesprochenen Strategiefans ans Herz legen, und auch nur denen, die keine Möglichkeit haben, die PC-Version zu spielen. Schade!

Les premiers instants de jeu sont décevants à cause de la réalisation graphique et de la jouabilité, toutes deux très moyennes. Une fois ce stade dépassé, on retrouve avec bonheur toute la richesse du titre, même si, je le répète, cette version ne vaut pas la version originale sortie sur PC il y a deux ans.

AoE2's very addictive n not surprising as it's almost identical to the impressive PC original. It may not look like an action-packed game on the surface, but when the fighting starts you'll be as tense as the shock absorbers on Victorious BIG's car (may he rest in peace). And, as complex as it looks n and gets at times n you never feel overawed or out of control.

Jag älskade spelet till PC för något år sedan. Synd bara att det nu hamnat på ett så osmickrande format. Då ser jag hellre att resurserna läggs på att göra konsolspecifika strategispel som bättre utnyttjar det rätta mediets potential.

Au final, Age of Empires II : The Age of Kings sur PlayStation 2 possède les atouts de l'original mais les défauts d'une adaptation justement trop fidèle. Aussi riche et complexe que le jeu PC, il souffre des limitations en 2D de son hôte et doit donc se contenter d'une résolution miteuse, avec à la clé une fenêtre d'affichage extrêmement réduite et des graphismes grossiers, qui pénalisent vraiment le gameplay... Les amateurs de stratégie pure et dure, sans PC et peu regardant sur la qualité graphique (ça doit exister), peuvent tout de même se laisser tenter mais l'achat d'une souris est très fortement conseillé.