Age of Empires 2, "The Age of Kings", is my favorite real time strategy game. It isn't as fast as Command & Conquer (or Red Alert 2), but it definitely has more strategy, better play balance, and a smoother interface.

You have 13 races to choose from, and each race is very different. Not like other games, where each opponent merely has a different unique troop, or where they have completely different troops that only somewhat match their counterpart. Age of Empires 2 has a very large technology tree, and each race has strengths and weakness that translates to what they can or cannot have from this tree. Vikings are known for the sea worthiness, so they get to max out all of their ship technologies, but don't get all of the defensive units and buildings. The British excel at archery, but cannot build the better siege weapons or naval units. Choosing which race to use should be completely based upon your style of play.

The research tree is logical, and there are lots of different ways to work your way through it. Some people don't like the fact that you have to select the appropriate building to start the next project to research. You also have to select the appropriate building first in order to create a unit. Many like the Command & Conquer method better where all troops and buildings being constructed can be started from one place. This wouldn't work well in AOE 2 because you can build 10 barracks and have 10 soldiers being created at the same time.

The computer interface is virtually perfect! It is powerful, yet almost hidden so that you seldom need to hunt for what you want to do. Whenever you build something, find something, someone is attacked, or you've just researched something new, a distinct sound is made. Just press the spacebar to jump to that event. When you have selected a troop, a mere right click on something will do the most appropriate task, whether it is starting to mine gold, replant a farm, or attack an enemy.

The computer also manages large armies very well. You actually have formations in this game. No matter what combination of soldiers you use, the computer will put them into a logical pattern that is optimized for both offense and defense, and still be mobile. The formation only travels at the speed of the slowest unit so coordinating a mass attack is far easier then with the Command & Conquer games.

The game has a 3-dimensional looking, but only 2-dimensional, angled playing field. This actually works very well. And, if someone or something is behind a structure, you can easily see it, and still select it. Each race has a distinct look with every unit and building. A lot of attention was especially put into the appearance of each race's Wonder.

Age of Kings has perfect play balance. No one type of troop or strategy can forever dominate the battlefield. No particular style of play guarantees a win every time either. If someone is very defensive, there are siege weapons (trebuchets) that have a longer range than anything behind the walls forcing the opponent to come out and fight. If your opponent is overly aggressive, you can easily focus your attention on defensive units to slow him down. The game works well on land as well as water, and managing both at once is difficult, but very effective.

Age of Kings also makes sure that no one starts with a large advantage over his opponents, even on a random map. The resources are always laid out logically around your starting position making it very easy to find wood and food early on. Gold and Stone are always nearby, but in limited quantities, so some opponents may wish to send out lightly defended men as a gamble to secure mines. Late in the game Gold will be the most challenging item to find, but there are many ways to get it. Other than just mining for it, you can sell surplus of other items, trade with friendly races, and secure holy relics. Stone is always the rarest item, but unless you insist on hiding behind large stone walls, and building numerous castles, you won't need it as much.

Unlike most of the other real time strategy games, AOE 2 has a fog of war that looks and works perfectly. A smart player can sneak up on a human opponent by coming around his flanks or his back. Computer opponents are seldom that easy to approach.

The first Age of Empires was good, but this one is a vast improvement. More races, more units, better play balance and better A.I., are just some of the major upgrades. One of my bigger complaints with the first one has now been fixed. You can now walk over farms so it is easy to build them all around your town center and mills.

If I were to have to list complaints to the game, the first would be that the single player game is just too hard! I mean the game is hard in general, just due to the scope, but the computer is so good, that I have to pause frequently just to select various troops and assign them different tasks. The computer can clearly operate his men at a level of detail that no human player could ever do. I also feel that the endgame lasts too long. When it is clear that you are going to win, it takes forever to clear out the enemy. And whereas the game is hard to win by conquest, it is really hard to lose if you want to win by constructing a Wonder of the World and have a strong defensive position. The computer really only seems to build Wonders well after he has enough troops to storm your base, and even then, he builds them very slowly, giving you a lot of time to first build your own. Many times the game feels too long. Each game can easily take me five hours if I play at the normal difficulty against three opponents.

This is a true real time strategy game where you don't feel rushed playing. The single player game is good, but very difficult. The multiplayer game is excellent. People can win in many different ways, unlike most of the other RTS games, where there is a nearly unbeatable trick like tank rushing.