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I wish I hadn't bought this game...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: April 13, 2000
Author: Amazon User

This is by far the most addicting piece of software I ever laidmy hands on. Learning the game is fun and once you start playing itwith others you'll be hooked for good.

I should have looked here first

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: November 09, 1999
Author: Amazon User

Ag of Empires 2 is a geat game, but I should have looked for it on Amazon.com first. I wound up paying $10 more. This game is a must for everyone.

and i thought AOE was good!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: January 16, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I have played starcraft, total anihilation, dune 2000 and they were okay but this one is the best game I have seen. Now the computer will actually do sensible things. If you are one for the RTS, turn based or thinking games you MUST get this game. All those little thing that aoe gamers like myself really missed are here. The learning campaign is a great way to get to know the game. The new style of scenarios work well. There is one or two things that din't quite make it (like roads) but the Ensemble guys need something for Age of Empires 3 :)

Overrated RTS

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: October 01, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I bought this about a year after it came out, mainy through the glowing praise it seeemd to get from games magazines.( PC Gamer even went as far as naming it the 4th greatest game of all time in 2000) And I have to admit at first, it's easy to like. Interface is easy and clear, gameplay is fairly easy to learn, and graphically it's quite engaging in it's "little computer people on model railway scenery" style.

After a few weeks play though it's shortcomings as a "strategy" game became clear. The way to victory is all too similar to other uninspired RTS games- build up a larger army than your opponents as quickly as possible, upgrade them as much as you can, and when you're army is large enough and strong enough just unleash them towards the opponent of your choice. It's all pretty formulaic.

One major thing I don't like about this game is that the landscape has too little effect on tactics. Woods and rivers are generally impassible, but it's all pretty simplistic stuff. Build your village among the trees, and wall off the gaps. Doesn't take a genius to figure that out. I would have liked to have seen movement bonuses for road movement, benefits and penalties for differing terrain heights, defensive bonuses for "entrenching" in woods, or rocky terrain etc.

But the main thing that made me stop playing AOE2 is simply that games essentially become a race to see who can get to the Imperial Age first. I went so far as to buy a strategy guide by the games creators,and they were saying things "try to reach Cadtle Age within 20 minutes" I'm not interested in that kind of thing. I want to be able to outwit my opponents through sound strategy and tactics, not simply beat him because I managed to click my mouse more efficiently and gathered resources faster

A dull imitation

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 5 / 12
Date: June 09, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I bought Age of Empires II because of the glowing reviews in PC Games magazine, and right here on Amazon. I was tremendously excited; I loved the Warcraft series, and so this seemed like a perfect game for me. Sadly, I was wrong.

The game so closely resembles Warcraft, it ought to pay licensing fees to it. This is not necessarily a bad thing, especially since the graphics are markedly better. They are breathtaking, in fact; I spent the first few minutes of game playing just marveling at them. I also was impressed with the tutorial mission, which teaches you the basics of game play. It did an excellent job of showing the ropes to impatient people like me who hate to read manuals (although I did, later, and was impressed by its comprehensiveness).

Then the problems began. I played the first real campaign, Joan of Arc, and was hopelessly board. The first two missions in the campaign were mind-numbingly dull: I was supposed to "escort" the French Tart all over creation. Get her from one place to another without getting her killed and you win. Fail and you lose. There appeared to be only one usable path, so strategy didn't enter into it. The only way to win was to play each scenario once, die, and learn where the ambushes are placed (they were always in the same locations). I gave up when the third mission appeared to be more of the same. I couldn't understand why the tutorial had gone through all that time and effort to teach you skills like building and foraging only to give a campaign that required none of those skills.

Despairing of the campaign, I attempted a "random map" scenario, in which the computer generates a map and turns you lose on some computer opponents. That is when the huge problems in the game play became evident.

In warcraft, your peasants (or peons, if you were an Orc) could do three things: build, cut trees, or mine gold. In Age of Empires, your peasants can do the following: build, cut trees, mine gold, hunt animals, herd and slaughter sheep, hew stone, build walls, farm crops. Sound fun? Not when you have to micromanage the entire affair. In Wafcraft, you could usually set your peons to work and forget about them. In Age of Empires, you are constantly running out of sheep, and having farms go fallow. I was so busy trying to occupy myself with peasant affairs that I didn't have time to muster and march m army. "But it's more realistic," you may say. I disagree; you're a TYRANT, for crying out loud! You don't tell peasants where to farm; you demand your tribute and leave them alone! I also started getting lost in the building options; there were simply too many buildings.

The first few times I played, I kept getting overrun by the computer's armies. I simply didn't prepare properly because I was too busy building mines and monasteries. The third time, I managed to get my army gathered, and marched them into enemy territory, prepared for glory. I was thrilled with the anticipation of a bloody victory. I was happy with the formation options, that let you choose your marching formation. I chose the square, which put my weaker units in the middle, for protection.

Too bad it didn't work. Enemy soldiers would simply charge through my front lines, directly to the weaker units, and slaughter them before my army had a chance to respond. Are you really going to tell me that an army regiment has such slow reaction time that they can't close ranks when an enemy soldier charges in? It was another frustrating element to the game, and made me ultimate shut off my computer in annoyance.

There are some wonderful reviews of this game. Maybe I am missing something. I must be missing an awful lot, though, because the primary emotions I felt with this game were boredom and annoyance. Get Warcraft II instead. Or do your laundry. Either way, I think you'd have more fun than playing Age of Empires II.

Nothing Special

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 7 / 21
Date: January 09, 2000
Author: Amazon User

For a long time AOE (the original) was my favorite game. I would play it for hours on end and all my friends would have intense multiplayer games. I couldn't wait for the sequal to come out. When it finally did, I bought it as soon as I could.

I was impressed by the graphics, which were better than the original's. However, besides from the better graphics, it seemed like the same game.

There are no cool units in the game. The buildings and units are basically the exact same as those in AOE, (only with the buildings larger and the units smaller). Another problem is that the civilazations are not balanced. Whenever I play multiplayer games with my friends (which is rare, because nobody likes this game) everybody wants to be one of the two civilizations with cannons because no other civilization can compete with them.

I can't pinpoint exactly what I don't like about the game, but there definatly is something. For months I could play AOE for hours each day. I was bored of this game after a week.

The Age of Empires Returns

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 6
Date: April 28, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I stumbled upon this game about a year or two ago and I strongly recommend it even if you have never experienced a strategy type of game.

You are the unseen ruler of one of 13 uinque ancient civilizations. Your objective is to either strive to conquer with a strong military, find and bank three religious relics, or build a wonder to increase the prestige of your civilization. Each time you play you can pick which civ. you want to be, what civ. your enemies and allies are, what objective you are to meet, the difficulty level, the location of your game, how many resources you start out with, and what age ( Dark, Feudal, Feudal, Castle, Umperial) your civ will begin in. Oh, and don't forget about your population limit!

But don't think accomplishing this is so easy. Everything has a price to pay in this game and without a large team of villagers to boost the economy, your civilization will not last for long. Even so, a strong, loyal miltary is also needed to defend and protect you at all times. And don't forget, each time you play, more suprises await you.

Hold your breath there's more! Along with a general "Random Map" mode comes a few very exciting campaigns where you become Jonah of Arc, Barbarossa, Genghis Khan, William Wallace and more.

Oh, boy...more! Although I never have gotten into creating and editing my own scenarios and custom campaigns, that doesnt mean you won't. Taht's right, along with everything else comes a unique feature which allows you to edit pre-made scenarios or cr eate your own.

And...if this is your first time with a strategy game a strongly advise you to play the tutorial which (gasp) comes along with the game as well. Keep in mind though that each civilization has it's own pros and cons and each civ. comes with its own unique military unit.

And if all of this just isn't enough for you....THAN BUY THE EXPANSION PACK!

Random map problem

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 6
Date: February 03, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Good, good, good, but not perfect. My maximum complaint is that, in random map, the computer always surrenders after about 5 - 10 minutes. Otherwise, it was wonderful.

Are you people crazy?

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 6
Date: January 13, 2000
Author: Amazon User

AoE II = the best game ever. So many high points, very very few low points. In a few months it will be a E-Game meaning you can win money for playing it.

An absorbing game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: February 11, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Age of Empires: Age of Kings, is definately one of the better realtime stratagy games on the market at this time. The graphics are very good, giving the game a fun edge to it that will keep you hooked as you play. There are many modes that you can play, either start your own war, trading with your allies, and battling your enemies. Or protecting your king and defeating all of the other fiefdoms before they destroy you. But you can also play as Joan of Arc, or Barbarossa, playing missions and liberating France. This game is fun, but it does have a few drawbacks. Alliances with people are hard to keep. The gameplay is a little difficult, making you keep an eye on 15 places at once. Also, as your town progresses, you can make your town better by moving forward in "ages". There arent nearly enough of these, more would make the game more inviting and fun to play. Also there is not nearly enough different types of weapons (ie. soldiers, calvary..etc) But, this game is definately engaging, and could easily pass a few hours of boredom

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