Age of Empires 2: Age of Kings for Windows
- ESRB Descriptor: Violence Blood
- ESRB Rating: T - (Teen)
- Publisher: Microsoft
- Genre: Strategy
- Platform: Windows
- Game Series: Age of Empires
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User ReviewRead All Reviews »
Byzantines Rule, for sure
Pros
Easy to get into, innovative and perplexing
Cons
Hard to complete
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
Buy it and play it. Across a network is where this game really shines. I just couldn't put it down.
Age Of Empires 2: The Age of Kings
Think fidelity. Think vivification. Wet Sir Walter Raleigh this is not, and yet it still defies belief in the hearts of the fish who have not yet taken to water. Without a doubt, one likes to batter, mangle and fry not just one's lunch. Yes, the orange has been squeezed and the rivets inserted. One would like to think that one's life is not in vain, yet he just can't help to bombard the kings castle. This is, the Age of Kings.
Having not played the original or other versions, this comes top, and undoubtedly kicks a$$. Spending more than a buck recommends highly on this game until there is no life in ones little fingers. Where else can you play up to 8 people over a network/online, have a total world population of 1600 little individual citizens bashing out each others skulls on such a scale? Well?
The Age of Kings is mapped on a square grid. Ideal for regularity, and it provides the opportunity for great graphical imagery, of which Microsoft provides. With over 1000 buildings and units, with each unit containing masses of graphically enhanced detail and animation outstands even the Queen Mom's 40 year old unremoved socks, and so much so that they have to leave her feet and pick up and play.
The depth of The Age of Kings is not one that can be numerically of graphically measured. One has to play, see and believe the mosterous depth and difficulty of over 1 billion different maps, settings and character specifics. For example, each civilisation had additional abilities and special units which only that civilisation has the power onto which they can commission.
There are four different commodities, Wood, Food, Gold and Stone. Trees are cut for wood, so send a villager that you created from the town centre into a forest to chop down a big old oak. Why not build a lumber camp nearby, to firstly decrease the distance onto which the villager has to travel between chopping and dropping off wood, but the more important reason is to select improvements so your villagers can chop faster and carry more wood on each trip. Such is the like with all 4 commodities, with different buildings and improvements for each of them. And then as your civilisation advances, more improvements and buildings come to be at your disposal.
Build a barracks to build your infantry, like Pikemen or Two-Handed Swordsmen, and successfully upgrade towards the 'Champion' civilisation advance or that elusive unique unit. Likewise with other buildings such as your Archery, or Dock. Build a Siege Workshop to make battering rams to knock the other opponents castle walls down.
The monastery provides monks, who have the ability to heal your battle-scarred units, or convert enemy units and buildings. The monastery itself can garrison relics that improve soldier morale and generate gold for your stockpile. Once, I had 40 relics garrisoned in 4 monasteries - I got 10 gold per second and in three hours had generated over 150,000 gold.
Go call in the scientists and build a university to study your enemies weaknesses and upgrade certain buildings. Markets provide revenue as your trade carts move between your market and your allies market. The further away the allies market, the more revenue per trip. Think - do you get more money by having markets close together (therefore more trips of 1 gold each) or far apart (fewer trips, but 100 gold each time)? You decide - it's even got a map editor.
Try and build your ideal map. Isolate opponents in the corners of the map, and provide yourself with all the commodities? Or build 8 large armies and go for the battle of Naseby? Or produce your own campaign to battle through (aliens from mars have landed on earth, but can't escape our gravitational field. They decide to conquer the world, and you've got to stop them!). Experiment with the settings - there is no 'perfect' world. Ever.
With several campaigns already built in with dialogue and scenario videos added, The Age Of Kings provided many an hour of gameplay to even the untrained eye. Try the practice campaign, again with spoken dialogue, which talks trough most of the controls. Ideal for the absolute beginner, or start on a very hard campaign for a knock out challenge.
Microsoft have pulled out all the stops to create a game worthy of saving Earth itself. Far from mud, this game provides unlimited fun for all without the need for tantrums or brisk brawls. Ideal games are created with this in mind, and don't be afraid to miss work just to push Ghengis Khan's face into the ground.
Advantages:
Massive
Entirely engrossing
You'll never leave it
Each game is totally different
For all ages, sizes and IQs
It can last, and last, and last...
Different options are varied and add spectacle
Wondrous graphics
Even better sound
Can play perfectly (1 player) on a P75 with 48MB RAM
Disadvantages:
Need CD in every computer to play
Weird.. I didn't think Microsoft made games this good...
Can get slow at times
In the Map Editor, it can quit for no apparent reason
Not enough options to select/deselect to win a game
Deserves what it gets - 98%
IanJC
Think fidelity. Think vivification. Wet Sir Walter Raleigh this is not, and yet it still defies belief in the hearts of the fish who have not yet taken to water. Without a doubt, one likes to batter, mangle and fry not just one's lunch. Yes, the orange has been squeezed and the rivets inserted. One would like to think that one's life is not in vain, yet he just can't help to bombard the kings castle. This is, the Age of Kings.
Having not played the original or other versions, this comes top, and undoubtedly kicks a$$. Spending more than a buck recommends highly on this game until there is no life in ones little fingers. Where else can you play up to 8 people over a network/online, have a total world population of 1600 little individual citizens bashing out each others skulls on such a scale? Well?
The Age of Kings is mapped on a square grid. Ideal for regularity, and it provides the opportunity for great graphical imagery, of which Microsoft provides. With over 1000 buildings and units, with each unit containing masses of graphically enhanced detail and animation outstands even the Queen Mom's 40 year old unremoved socks, and so much so that they have to leave her feet and pick up and play.
The depth of The Age of Kings is not one that can be numerically of graphically measured. One has to play, see and believe the mosterous depth and difficulty of over 1 billion different maps, settings and character specifics. For example, each civilisation had additional abilities and special units which only that civilisation has the power onto which they can commission.
There are four different commodities, Wood, Food, Gold and Stone. Trees are cut for wood, so send a villager that you created from the town centre into a forest to chop down a big old oak. Why not build a lumber camp nearby, to firstly decrease the distance onto which the villager has to travel between chopping and dropping off wood, but the more important reason is to select improvements so your villagers can chop faster and carry more wood on each trip. Such is the like with all 4 commodities, with different buildings and improvements for each of them. And then as your civilisation advances, more improvements and buildings come to be at your disposal.
Build a barracks to build your infantry, like Pikemen or Two-Handed Swordsmen, and successfully upgrade towards the 'Champion' civilisation advance or that elusive unique unit. Likewise with other buildings such as your Archery, or Dock. Build a Siege Workshop to make battering rams to knock the other opponents castle walls down.
The monastery provides monks, who have the ability to heal your battle-scarred units, or convert enemy units and buildings. The monastery itself can garrison relics that improve soldier morale and generate gold for your stockpile. Once, I had 40 relics garrisoned in 4 monasteries - I got 10 gold per second and in three hours had generated over 150,000 gold.
Go call in the scientists and build a university to study your enemies weaknesses and upgrade certain buildings. Markets provide revenue as your trade carts move between your market and your allies market. The further away the allies market, the more revenue per trip. Think - do you get more money by having markets close together (therefore more trips of 1 gold each) or far apart (fewer trips, but 100 gold each time)? You decide - it's even got a map editor.
Try and build your ideal map. Isolate opponents in the corners of the map, and provide yourself with all the commodities? Or build 8 large armies and go for the battle of Naseby? Or produce your own campaign to battle through (aliens from mars have landed on earth, but can't escape our gravitational field. They decide to conquer the world, and you've got to stop them!). Experiment with the settings - there is no 'perfect' world. Ever.
With several campaigns already built in with dialogue and scenario videos added, The Age Of Kings provided many an hour of gameplay to even the untrained eye. Try the practice campaign, again with spoken dialogue, which talks trough most of the controls. Ideal for the absolute beginner, or start on a very hard campaign for a knock out challenge.
Microsoft have pulled out all the stops to create a game worthy of saving Earth itself. Far from mud, this game provides unlimited fun for all without the need for tantrums or brisk brawls. Ideal games are created with this in mind, and don't be afraid to miss work just to push Ghengis Khan's face into the ground.
Advantages:
Massive
Entirely engrossing
You'll never leave it
Each game is totally different
For all ages, sizes and IQs
It can last, and last, and last...
Different options are varied and add spectacle
Wondrous graphics
Even better sound
Can play perfectly (1 player) on a P75 with 48MB RAM
Disadvantages:
Need CD in every computer to play
Weird.. I didn't think Microsoft made games this good...
Can get slow at times
In the Map Editor, it can quit for no apparent reason
Not enough options to select/deselect to win a game
Deserves what it gets - 98%
IanJC
