Age of Empires 2 : The Age of Kings is amazing! (Age of Empires 2 (PC))

Member Name: AmzInGlassHouses

Product:	Age of Empires 2 (PC)
Date:	12/02/08 (1288 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: loads of civilisations, enhanced gameplay

Disadvantages: if you're not into strategy its not for you

Basic information and the aim of the game

Age of empires 2: the age of kings, the sequel to the award-winning Age of Empires, was released in 1999 by the Microsoft Corporation. It is a strategic game of combat and empire building, with many different ages ranging from the fall of Rome right through till the Middle Ages. You control one of 13 civilisations, one of the most powerful civilisations at the time, in order to build the most powerful empire. You're the boss as you decide whether you're going to conquer the world through military might, seize power by means of intrigue and regicide, or rule with diplomacy and commerce. There are many paths to power but only one civilisation will remain standing at the end.


New features

* 13 new civilisations, each with their own unique unit and team bonus
* new units - including Kings, Heroes, female villagers, knights, cannons and exploding demolition ships
* new buildings - including improved castles and gates that automatically open for you and your allies
* new technologies you are able to research - including Conscription, which increases the speed military units are created, and Town Watch, which increases the line of sight your buildings have
* new formations - more expert and precise control of how your army moves and engages in combat
* new multimedia campaigns - unique music and more than 300 pieces of original art to really enhance and improve your game experience as you follow a soldier through battles with many of history's great legends including William Wallace, Joan of Arc and Genghis Khan
* new ways to trade - trade with other players over land and sea by buying or selling resources at the market
* learning campaign - master the basics as this tutorial shows you how to help William Wallace defeat the British
* new regicide game - defend your king to win the game
* 8 new map types - including Arabia, Black forest, Rivers and Random where the computer picks a surprise map for you
* garrisoning - where you can station your units inside buildings for healing and protection against surprise attacks
* new combat features - order military units to patrol, guard or follow and you also choose their combat stance
* record and replay games - re watch your games after they've been played
* find idle villagers - automatically locate villagers not assigned to a task using the 'Idle villager' button
* new online tech tree - see what is available to your civilisation and which units and technologies you've researched while in the game
* improved multiplayer features - save and then restore multiplayer games, lock the game speed for all players, lock the game teams so players cant change alliance during the game, and signal your allies
* gather points - new units automatically gather at a location or garrison inside a building
* improved game interface - units behind buildings and trees are now visible, the chat interface has been expanded and help is now integrated into the game
* new mini-map modes - now has 'Normal', 'Combat' and 'Economic' modes which you can switch to depending on what's happening in the game at the time
* user profiles - customise options and hotkeys and they will be automatically saved from game to game
* online encyclopaedia - extensive histories of all 13 civilisations, background information on the Middle Ages, armies, weapons and warfare for the more inquisitive amongst you :)

The game menu

Campaigns

Join Joan of Arc, Genghis Khan, Saladin or Frederick Barbarossa in a series of historically based scenarios. You must win each game before you can progress to the next one in the campaign.

To play a campaign click Single Player on the main menu and click Campaigns, then click the name of the campaign you want to play.

If you are learning to play the game, you may want to start with the William Wallace learning campaign. Just click 'Learn to Play' on the main menu.

Random maps

In a random map game, you play a different game every time because the map is never the same (hence the random part to the name)! You can use the standard game settings or customise them yourself, including the number of players and their civilisations, map type and size, population limit, amount of resources you start with, starting age and victory condition.

To play a single-player random map game click Single Player on the main menu, click random map and then choose the game settings. For help choosing these settings, hold your mouse cursor over any item on the screen to display information in the lower right hand corner.

Regicide games

In a regicide game, your King must be the last to survive. If your King is killed, you are eliminated from the game. All players start the game with a King, a Town Center, a Castle and several villagers. Your King has low HP and no attack so keep him carefully protected as you cannot create a new King, and a King is only available in a regicide game.

To play a single-player regicide game, click Single Player on the main menu, click regicide and then choose the game settings.

Death Match games

In a death match, all players start the game with huge stockpiles of wood, food, gold and stone...and then fight to the death.
To play a single-player death match game, click Single Player on the main menu, click Death Match and then choose the game settings.

Custom scenarios and campaigns

A custom scenario or campaign is a game or series of related games that you or your friends have created.
To play a custom scenario or campaign, click Single Player on the main menu and then click Custom Scenario or Campaign.

My favourite game

My favourite game on Age of Empires is probably CBA, because I personally find this the easiest game to play. You don't have to think about all your villagers and what they're doing, because the main point of CBA is to kill the men, and destroy the buildings to get the razings. And when I play normal games I tend to forget about my villagers so they just stand around doing nothing, and if I build a barracks or an archery range I set it to make 15, which is the maximum you can make at any one time, and then again I forget about it so once they've been made I don't make any more.

So the advantage of a Castle Blood Automatic game is that the men re-spawn automatically and you actually have to work for your razings. What you can find is if you start with villagers, some of the more experienced players can build ridiculous amounts of defences, and then they are practically impossible.
This makes CBA a much fairer game in my opinion so the less experienced players have more of a chance.

And finally, my personal opinion

In my opinion, Age of Empires 2: The Age Of Kings is a great game if you like strategy games. It truly is addictive once you start playing it because there are so many different kinds of games and scenarios there's always going to be at least one you love. So if you're thinking of buying this game, you've made a wise choice! :)

I also think that if you have the Internet, you should definitely try to play Age of Empires over it, as this is the main way to discover new custom scenarios.

The best program to download in order to play Age of Empires over the internet is probably Gamespy Arcade. The official GameSpy site can be found by typing it into Google, and then you can download the program GameSpy Arcade which enables you to play Age Of Empires, as well as many other games, online over the internet against human opponents.

I think the best custom scenario to try is probably CBA. It can also be called Castle Blood or Castle Blood Automatic.
The main difference between this and the normal game is the fact that uunits are spawned automatically, until it reaches a certain limit which is whatever the population limit is on the game. Then once you send your units to battle and they start to die, new units are automatically respawned in their place.

By explaining briefly about each game, and the whole game in general, I hope I have helped answer any questions you might have had about Age of Empires. But if you do have any more questions, please don't hesitate to ask, and I'll be more than happy to answer your questions to the best of my ability.
Thanks again for reading =]

Summary: definitely worth playing as once you start you won't be able to stop!