What is Age of Empires? Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings is a real-time strategy computer game set in the Middle Ages. It was released in 1999, and is the second main title of the Age of Empires series developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft. Due to its commercial success, an expansion pack was released; Age of Empires II: The Conquerors, followed by a Gold Edition, which bundled together the two games along with a bonus map and game matches recorded by Microsoft strategy experts.
Age of Empires II: The Conquerors Expansion (sometimes abbreviated to AoC or AoK: TC) is the expansion pack to the 1999 real-time strategy game Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings. The Conquerors is the fourth installment in the Age of Empires series by Microsoft Game Studios and Ensemble Studios. It features five new civilizations (the Aztecs, Mayans, Spanish, Koreans, and Huns), four new campaigns, eleven new units, twenty-six new technologies, new gameplay modes, new maps and different minor tweaks to the gameplay.
In 2013, Age of Empires II HD was announced and given a release date of 9 April 2013 on the Steam digital distribution platform for Windows operating systems only. The HD Edition includes both the original game and the expansion The Conquerors, as well as updated graphics for high-resolution displays. It also supports user-generated content through the Steam Workshop and multiplayer games provided through the Steam servers.
*shamelessly stolen from Wikipedia/Age of Empires Wiki
Gameplay
In Age of Empires, players start off in the Dark Age, and can advance through 4 different ages: the Dark Age, Feudal Age, Castle Age, and Imperial Age. Players must gather resources, build structures, research upgrades and train military units to advance and compete against the other empires in the game. There are 3 different ways to win a game: Conquest, Relics, and Wonder victories. Conquest is achieved by eliminating all other civilizations on the map, by leaving them with no buildings or units left, or having them resign. Relic victories are when you have all 5 relics that spawn on a map in your possession for a certain amount of time. Wonder victories are similar, except you must advance to the Imperial Age and build a wonder costing 1000 of each resource. If a player destroys your wonder before the countdown expires, you must rebuild it and start over. The 4 resources in the game are food, wood, gold, and stone. Each has it's own use and is more important/abundant in certain stages of the game, requiring players to maintain a proper balance for their strategy or personal use. Players can choose to play against the AI, or against other people online in one big free for all, or a team game.
Civilizations
There are a total of 18 civilizations between AoK and AoC. Each civilization has it's own unique unit (sometimes 2) and a varying tech tree depending on the civilization's historical background. The text is small for convenience, I didn't want to stretch out this post forever with normal sized text and spaces.
AztecsThe Aztecs are one of two Mesoamerican Civilizations. As such they lack any access to Cavalry technology, including all stable units and cavalry archers. They possess some of the strongest infantry coupled by indisputably the best Monks in the game. Every Monastery technology is available to them and each one grants an additonal 5 HP, allowing the normally fragile monk to be more durable. They are one of only two civilisations (the other being Mayans) that starts a standard game with an Eagle Warrior, not Scout Cavalry.
BritonsThe Britons main advantages are in their ranged units as they arguably have the finest foot archers. Their many innate advantages allow their archers to be built faster and have a further range than most and their unique unit, the Longbowman, is the only foot archer that can outrange a castle. They also have access to all infantry technologies which can provide protection for their archers against enemy units that get too close. However they have weaker cavalry and siege weapons as they are missing several upgrades for both units.
ByzantinesThe Byzantines are the only civilization to have access to all standard technologies available, except for the Blast Furnace. This makes them unpredictable to play against in multiplayer. Their bonuses grant them advantages for Camels, Spearmen/Pikemen/Halberdiers, and a team bonus for Monks. In addition, their unique unit is a heavy cavalry unit which deals bonus damage towards infantry. Thus, Byzantines are likely to go for cavalry and anti-cavalry, but, again, their access to the full tech tree make them unpredictable to play as and against.
CeltsThe Celts possess the fastest infantry in the game, allowing their Pikemen to be a much greater threat towards Knights and allows their other infantry to stage fast raids on settlements. They also possess full heavy cavalry tech (except for camels) although they do not have any unique bonuses for them. The Celts' unique unit is the Woad Raider, the fastest infantry in the game which excels at killing other infantry.
ChineseThe Chinese civilization is one of the East Asian civilizations in Age of Empires II, along with the Japanese, Mongols, and in The Conquerors Expansion, the Koreans. Their bonuses are economic, Chinese teams on Random Maps start with six villagers, instead of the usual three, which enables quicker Resource collection. They also have cheaper technologies- every technology's cost is decreased by 10% in the Feudal Age, 15% in the Castle Age and 20% in the Imperial Age. Chinese Demolition Ships also have 50% extra hitpoints. The Chinese unique unit is the Chu Ko Nu, which is a Crossbowman that fires three arrows in succession, but at a shorter range in comparison to normal Archers.
FranksThe Franks are a Western European civilization and inhabit modern day France which was previously known as Gaul. They are primarily a defensive civilization, but can also be an effective offensive civilization as well. Frankish Knights have a 20% gain in hit points, making their heavy cavalry one of (if not the) best in the game. The Franks can also build cheaper castles. French farms also automatically upgrade the amount of Food each farm produces, saving resources for more important technologies. Their Throwing Axemen are powerful against other infantry, though without other units support, are vulnerable to heavily armored units.
GothsThe Goths' advantages predominantly focus on Infantry. Gothic infantry are cheaper than that of other civilizations. Their unique unit is the Huskarl, which is usually created from the Castle; however in The Conquerors expansion pack, they can research their Unique Technology Anarchy, which allows Huskarls to be created from the Barracks. In the Imperial Age, they can research another unique technology called Perfusion, which allows all Barracks units to be created 50% faster. With both of these technologies, Huskarls can be created very quickly.
HunsThe Huns are noted for their strong cavalry. Their Tarkans are excellent for sacking bases and both their cavalry and cavalry archers have access to all standard technologies available. One of their greatest advantages is that they do not need to build houses to sustain population. This is especially important in the early game where players must increase their Villager count and military quickly; the time and Villagers saved from collecting Wood in the early game that would otherwise be used to build houses is a crucial advantage for the Huns.
JapaneseThe Japanese are an East Asian civilization that appears in Age of Empires II. Their unique unit is the Samurai, a strong and fast-attacking infantry which is very effective against other enemy unique units. They have a very strong naval presence in the game, with +50% Galley line of sight and double hitpoints for Fishing Ships, with their work rate improved every Age. They are an infantry based civilization, with their infantry possessing the fastest attack speed in the game. Their infantry's attack rate is sequentially raised every Age. However their cavalry is somewhat weaker. Like all East Asian civilizations they are unable to research the Paladin upgrade and they also can not research the Hussar upgrade.
KoreansThey are one of the five new civilizations featured in the Conquerors expansion. The Koreans have a unique cavalry archer unit called the War Wagon which is a heavily armored ranged archery unit. The Koreans also have a Turtle Ship which is a heavily armored, short-range artillery ship that is effective against Fire Ships and Demolition Ships. Their Watch Tower are automatically upgraded to Guard Tower in the Castle Age and Keeps in the Imperial Age.
MayansLike the Aztecs, Mayans have no access whatsoever to any form of Cavalry units or gunpowder. Unlike the Aztecs, however, the Mayans have very mediocre Monks and Infantry . However, they make up for this by having very cheap archers and durable Eagle Warriors.Their Eagle Warriors can withstand more attacks due to the Mayan's unique technology, El Dorado, which give all Eagle Warriors +40 hitpoints. Their unique unit, the Plumed Archer, are tough to kill for their cost-allowing them to soak up damage while friendly archers take care of other threats.
MongolsThe Mongols' greatest advantages lie in their cavalry archers and their siege weaponry. They also have complete access to all regular infantry technology and all siege weapons except for Bombard Cannons can be upgraded to their maximum level. This means that Mongol games often include at least some (if not hordes) of Cavalry Archers and Mangudai along with siege rams filled with champions. With their Drills upgrade, a small group of Mongol siege rams can perform hit-and-run on isolated bases and resource collecting operations. Mangonels and Scorpions become unusually deadly as well. Overall, the Mongols excel at mobility and quick devastation. However their defense is somewhat weaker, as their Watch Towers can only be upgraded once and they lack Bombard Towers.
PersiansThe Persians are a Cavalry oriented civilization. They have full cavalry tech and their team bonus allows them to do bonus damage to archers. Their unique unit is the War Elephant, a powerful but slow cavalry unit. It deals massive damage to all units and has a huge amount of Hit Points. This coupled with their powerful cavalry gives them powerful offensive capabilities. However their defense and infantry are somewhat weaker. They cannot build Fortified Walls and their towers are mediocre. In addition they are unable to research the Two Handed Swordsmen and Champion upgrades for their infantry units.
SaracensThe Saracens are a civilization with strong Camel units. The Saracen Cavalry Archer also receives a +3 attack bonus against buildings. Their team bonus gives foot archers a +1 attack boost against buildings. The Saracen cavalry is slightly inferior to other civilizations as they lack the Cavalier/Paladin upgrade but all other cavalry technologies and units are available. Their Unique Unit is the Mameluke, a camel unit that throws scimitars from a distance. Mamelukes are strong against other mounted units, and once upgraded to Elite Mameluke, they are one of the best counters to cavalry in the game. Their Unique Technology is Zealotry which provides their camels and Mamelukes with +30 hit points, making them even more dominant against cavalry.
SpanishThe Spanish are a versatile and technologically advanced civilization. They have two unique units: the Conquistador (a mounted hand cannoneer) and the missionary (mounted Spanish monk). The Spanish navy is the most versatile in the game, as they have access to all naval units and technologies. In addition their Cannon Galleons benefit from the Ballistics technology, allowing their projectiles to travel faster and are more accurate. The Spanish land forces feature a standard mix of infantry and cavalry units with all such units available, except for eagle warriors and Camels. The Spanish unique technology supremacy drastically increases the combat skill of their villagers, giving Spanish players the opportunity to use villagers to perform combat duties. Spanish siege weapons are somewhat lacking, missing both the siege onager and heavy scorpion. In addition they are the only civilization to be missing the crossbowman upgrade.
TeutonsThe Teutons main strengths are defense and economy. Their defensive structures and Town Centers both have bonuses. Town Centers have an additional +2 for their Attack, and a +5 for their Line of Sight. Towers can garrison twice the number of units than other civilizations and all tower technologies are available. With this bonus, Teutonic Keeps with full garrison of Archers can deal twice the amount of damage compared to an ordinary Keep with full garrison. In addition, a Teutonic Bombard Tower with ten garrisoned Hand Cannoneers only can fire up to two cannons simultaneously, dealing up to a whopping 240 damage. They also receive Murder Holes for free thus eliminating the minimum range of towers and Castle. This provides their Towers an earlier defense against Battering Rams. Their Monk are able to heal at twice the distance of other civilizations’ monks. Their Farms are 33% cheaper. Their units resist conversion due to their Team Bonus.
TurksThe Turks are a gunpowder oriented civilization and are primarily an offensive civilization. Many of their unique bonuses and technology benefits their gunpowder units. Turkish Hand Cannoneers are stronger than those of other civilizations and they obtain Chemistry for free. Artillery, their unique technology, increases range for all cannon units. This gives Turkish Elite Cannon Galleons the longest range of any unit in the game and also allows Bombard Towers to hit targets from further away.
VikingsThe Vikings are primarily an infantry and naval civilization. Their infantry units receive a 10% Hit Point bonus in the Feudal Age, which increases to a 15% Hit Point bonus in the Castle Age and then to a 20% Hit Point bonus in the Imperial Age. They have two unique units, the first being the Berserker, called the Berserk in the game. The Berserk is a warrior equipped with an axe, produced at a castle that regenerates its health over time. Their health regeneration rate can be boosted with the technology Berserkergang. Their second unique unit is the Longboat which is a warship which shoots many arrows at a time. All Viking ships cost 20% fewer resources, and their team bonus allows docks to be built for 25% less wood. The Vikings can produce all ships except for the Fire Ship and Fast Fire Ship. They lack most gunpowder units, and cannot produce any camel units. Overall, their cavalry units are weak, but they can produce strong archery units such as the Arbalest. They have weak tower defenses and can only upgrade Watch Towers to Guard Towers. They are missing a number of upgrades at the Monastery making their Monks weaker than most civilizations.
Steam Functions
Age of Empires II: HD Edition is a remastered version of the original game, made more compatible and reliable to be run on modern computers. Steam servers now provide better multiplayer servers, as well as a Steam workshop page for people to upload mods and custom maps. All modifications and maps for the original AoE 2 are compatible with the new and improved version. The game can be purchased for $19.99 on Steam; it's a bit of a tall price for such an old game, but definitely worth the investment.
