Author: scharfschutze
Type: PC Game
Released: 1999
Designer: Ensemble Studios
Publisher: Microsoft Games
Genre: Real-time strategy
The well-designed but rough-on-the-edges Age of Empires introduced gamers to a new style of gaming: that of commanding the course of history. It was only a matter of time before the lads at Ensemble Studios came up with a sequel to Age of Empires. After a quick detour with the expansion pack to Age of Empires, The Rise of Rome, the boys at Ensemble got their crap together and came up with a whole new game that ironed out some of its predecessor's faults while retaining the enjoyable playing style that made the first one such a hit.
For starters, the newer game is entitled The Age of Kings for a reason. While the first game took place in the Stone Age through to the Iron Age, the new game begins in Europe's Dark Age. As usual, the player takes the helm of one of thirteen civilizations vying for dominance in the cultural vacuum left by the fall of Rome. These range from the Britons (extraordinary archers), the Celts (experts at ambush) and the Chinese (innovators and inventors), all the way to the Saracens (expert desert warriors) and the Vikings (seamen par excellence). As with the original game, all these civilizations have their pluses and minuses. For example, only the Saracens and Turks have access to camel-mounted warriors (expert cavalry killers); on the other hand, the nomadic Goths do not get access to anything better than crude palisade walls.
The tech tree has been expanded and enhanced, with each technology providing even more benefit for the possessor. There are more than fifty individual technologies now available to each civilization, and some civilizations cannot research certain technologies, reflecting their cultural aspects. In general, the entire tech tree is a little more involved than in the first game. The most common method of displaying different cultures is through cutting off the unit techtree. As mentioned earlier, only the Arabic nations get access to Camels, while only a very small number of European civilizations have access to the Arbalest, the most powerful archer in the game. But economic technologies are also cut off for certain nations; the nomadic Goths do not get access to the higher-up farming technologies (for example), and the seafaring Vikings have access to pretty much every ship upgrade in the game. These economic technologies are even more indirect in their benefits than the original, allowing for a more comprehensive gaming experience. You may not think highly of an upgrade allowing your villagers to carry more wood, but when you're pulling in 30 lumber per villager compared to your opponent's 10, the difference starts to show, believe me.
The Age Advance tree has also changed to reflect the different time frame of Age of Empires II. The first age is the Dark Age, and you only have access to one military unit: the Militia. After bumming around there for a bit, you can advance to the Feudal Age, where the first true professional armies start to appear and where cavalry and archers make their presence known. Once you've had your fill of that age, you can advance to the Castle Age, where the ultimate defensive fortification, the Castle, is first available for construction and you get access to some pretty hefty siege equipment: Mangonels, Scorpions (a sort of ballista) and Battering Rams. At the end of the game, you (hopefully) have reached the Imperial Age, filled with all the new weapons of war: Hand Cannoneers, Siege Onagers, Siege Rams, and Galleons. As in the original game, all your buildings change their appearance throughout the ages, and all buildings feature a certain architectural style based on which civilization you're playing as.
The building tree has also been enhanced. Although the original buildings are all there, there are also a few new ones. Walls now come in two different types: Palisade Walls, which are simple lines of sticks stuck in the ground and won't hold a determined enemy for more than two seconds; and Walls, which are big stone structures and can be upgraded to Fortified Walls as the game progresses. The tower tech tree is also improved, with Watch Towers giving way to Guard Towers and then Keeps; in the Imperial Age, you can also build Bombard Towers (think Cannon Towers from WarCraft II). Farms have been modified to make them a little easier to use. At sea, your fishing ships can now also create Fish Traps, which have the same effect as regular farms, except at sea.
The unit tree is just as advanced as the original. As mentioned earlier, the first military unit available is the club-wielding Militia; this can be successively upgraded to Men-at-Arms, Long Swordsmen, Two-Handed Swordsmen and finally Champions. In the Feudal Age, the anti-cavalry Spearman becomes available, upgradeable to Pikemen as the game progresses. Cavalry consist of Light, Heavy, and Ranged cavalry options, while the classic Archer is complemented by the spear-throwing Skirmisher. At sea, the options run from Galleys through War Galleys all the way to Galleons, complemented by Fire Ships, Demolition Rafts and (in the Imperial Age) Cannon Galleons
Graphically, the game has certainly improved, with lush forests, marshlands, and hilly regions all making their appearances in the game. The amount of animals available for hunting hasn't changed, but the designers added sheep: these animals can be claimed by your civilization and herded back to your base for food usage. It's always fun to run a single cavalryman into an enemy sheep herd, kill the shepherd, and run out again… with the enemy's sheep! Trust me, it's worth doing.
The graphics in Age of Empires II are solidly done 2-D graphics, with a good deal of variation in unit appearance, animation, and so forth. The one problem I found with graphics is that they still appear quite grainy, and some colours stand out more than others.
Effects: 9/10The effects in this game are vast and myriad, and in this category the designers spared no expense. You can hear the sound of the surf, see the nets being thrown into the river by fishermen, even watch an enemy army disappear under a cloud of arrows and javelins. The sounds of combat also have considerable variation, ranging from the thud of clubs to the clash of steel. To top it all off, the unit speech varies depending on which civilization you are playing. Quite a well-done category.
Gameplay: 8.5/10The designers added to the simplistic commands of the original in several ways. For starters, you can now define combat stances (Aggressive, Defensive, etc.) and formations for your military units, and all units can be garrisoned inside certain buildings (Town Centres, Towers, and Castles) to provide those structures additional attacking power if under attack. The command structure is still based on the one-click approach, but it's more in-depth than the original..
Replayability: 9/10As in the original, the single-player campaigns in this game are huge, and the multi-player is much better than the original, with several game types available (including the extremely fun Regicide game). As well, Ensemble included an updated map editor for creating your own maps and campaigns.
Overall: 9/10Age of Empires II, like its predecessor, doesn't cover new ground for the RTS genre, but it is still a fantastically addictive game that stands on its own merits. It's a solid bet for anybody who enjoys a good bout of RTS gaming or even just the clash of medieval armies. And for anybody who enjoys a slower, more drawn out game, this game can be either quick or slow depending on how you play it.