AGE OF EMPIRES II CONQUERORS 2.0 CD/DVD
Five new civilizations, new wonders, new unique units, new multiplayer options, and gameplay tweaks make
The Conquerors more than your typical expansion pack. It's almost a full sequel. If you liked
Age of Empires 2, you'll love
The Conquerors.
Players can defend Spain as El Cid, rage across Europe as Attila the Hun, or fight to preserve an ancient way of life as Montezuma in new campaigns that extend the single-player experience. Plenty of toys are available to each civilization, including new technologies such as Chinese rocketry and British yeomen. But none of the new technologies or units unbalance the game. In fact, many of the units from AoE2 have been altered in response to gamer feedback so no one unit or civilization has an overwhelming advantage.
Those who hated micromanaging their towns in Age of Empires 2 will appreciate the adjustments made to villager artificial intelligence. You can order several villagers to work a group of farm plots, and they'll automatically divvy up the labor. You no longer have to manually assign one peon to each individual plot. The same applies to mines: tell a villager to build a mine, and he'll automatically start hauling ore once construction is complete.
If you weren't all that impressed with AoE2, this expansion pack won't change your mind. But if you're one of the millions who enjoyed the original game, you'll find that all the new goodies in The Conquerors will breathe more hours of fun into an old favorite. --Paul Sanguinetti
Pros:
- Adds plenty of new units, technology, and wonders
- Tweaks core AoE2 gameplay
- Features maps of France, Britain, Spain, and... Texas
- New King of the Hill and peaceful Wonder multiplayer games
- Jungle and snow terrain add variety
Cons: - Armies of civilizations still very similar
Supplementing the 13 civilizations available in
Age of Empires II, this add-on pack focuses on the armies and military thinking of a handful of history's greatest tacticians, including Attila the Hun, El Cid, and Montezuma. The new civilizations each have unique attributes, buildings, and technologies, such as Chinese Rocketry and Persian Mahouts. You'll put hussar cavalry, kamikaze siege units, and halberdier infantry into battle in four all-new campaigns. Play up to eight other conquerors via modem, Internet, or LAN.
1 Great game
I think that this expansion pack for Age of Kings was a great expansion. I only feel that this doesn't keep your attention enough, despite what other reviews said. When I first played the trial version for Age of Kings, I was hooked. The music was great, the graphics were beautiful, and the gameplay was realistic. When I got the full version, I still liked it, despite the music in the game sounded like screeching metal compare to the trial version's. When I got The Conquerers expansion, the music was better, but still not as good as the trials. Anyhow, I bet you are fed up with me talking about the game's music.Here are cons(this should be quick) and the pros.(I hope you have some time on your hands.)
Cons:The music isn't as good as the trial's,but better than AOK.(don't kill me)
No new buildings,except wonders for new civs.
Many new units,but no new types of units. I wish they would have spies or something. This might not seem like such a big flaw, but I like variety.
Pros:Farm replanting is extremely useful.
The new units are strong and quick.
The Eagle Warrior proves that infantry can be as fast as calvary.
Petards.I don't use them very often, but they can be useful.
Unique technologies. The Aztec technology makes the Eagle Warrior a strong,quick attacker,thus making it indestructable almost.
Villagers are smarter. I counted on this many times when I first got this game.
New civs.These are the bread & butter of this expansion pack. This is what makes it sell. I like the Aztecs' unique tech and the Koreans' unique units.
New map types,including real world maps such as England and Byzantium.England is my favorite because of that isolated cliff area at the top of the screen.
New campaigns.These are fun to play around with to test AOK skills and to learn about the Middle Ages.
New cheat codes.(Please don't kill me)I like testing with Furious the Monkey Boy.
Other stuff I haven't mentioned.
Overall,this is a great expansion to a great game.Makes a great gift.
2 im still playing
I've been playing for about 4 years now ,and still love it. Custom scenario is the best ,castle blood,world risk,and grave blood are all excellent games(note there are plenty of other games to play like deathmatch,random map,and bla bla bla).Age of Empires 2 is still the best game on the shelf.Age of Empires 3 is coming soon yeaaaaaaaa!
3 Sheer Brilliance
As the title says, sheer brilliance. I got the conquerors with Age of Kings in a gold edition. The Aztecs, Mayans & Spanish are nothing to brag about but the Koreans are brilliant. I don't think much about the war wagon but the turtle ship is amazing. The new farming scheme is very good. One downpoint about the game is when you set it to all techs the civilization you are can get the eagle warrior which isn't too realistic. This shoved aside, the game is fantastic.
4 Essential
The original Age of Kings was a great game. Perhaps it was a bit too favorable to two of the civs (ahem Teutons and Franks), but the campaigns were still a blast. The Conquerors isn't so much an expansion pack as a complete overhaul of the game. The civs have been radically balanced (especially with the patch, available on Ensemble's website), 5 (!) new civs have been added, and a ridculous amount of new random maps are now available. I also suspect that the enemy AI has been greatly honed, but I can't really prove it-- all I know is that they're still pretty darned tough on Moderate (for Random Maps-- Campaigns no longer have the same five level difficulty system).
If you already have Age of Kings, this is definitely worth the investment. Now that both have been bundled with the original Age of Empires, however, you might want to shell out the money for the deluxe pack (AoE is a much simpler game, but still worthwhile). Every night I hope that AoE III will be as good as The Conquerers, what I consider to be the peak of the AoE universe.
5 More of the same...
If you are interested in additional structured missions, like those in the standard verion of AOE 2, then this is a great game for you. I didn't find it incredibly worthwhile to play these additional missions.
6 In 3 years this is still the best multiplayer game
This is not just a dumb who can press the buttons fast enough game. It's not all eye/hand coordination. You have to plan. You have to care about resources. You have to consider the culture you choose. I play this on a LAN at home with my 2 teenage daughters. They like the game a lot. I like it. It really requires intelligence. I've bought all sorts of other games over the last few years and we try them but they don't measure up. None of us liked the mythology version of this game. I like a game that makes you think about more than just attack and defend. This is just such a game. Also, everyone plays at the same time. We can't play turn-based games. I'm amazed that no other game has attracted our attention. In Oct 2004 this is still the only game we play.
7 In case my first review didn't print.
Age of Kings is required for the Conquerors expansion, but it's ironic that Conqs is practically required for The Kings, as well. It makes the game that much easier and fun to play. Villagers are smarter so you can focus more on the battle. For example, after they build a lumber camp, they immediately start chopping wood. If you use a group of them to build a building, lumber/mining camp, wall, or farms, they automatically spread out evenly for such tasks. I should point out that one of the game's supreme advantages is its simplicity. Being a single-screen game makes for easy installation, among other things. Plus, there's no mass confusing arsenal of weapons to over-indulge in, etc. As for disadvantages, the standard level single-player game is too easy, yet moderate is too hard for newbies. Anyway, enjoy!
8 One of my all time favorites!
Age of Empires 2: The Conquerors is definitely one of my favorite games. It is a simple starategy game, easily picked up by beginners, but able to challenge the most talented gamers.
This game is much better than the first AOE game, and is a great addition to the second. Five additional civilizations, new technologies, and new units are at your fingertips, and the game play is also improved. Don't let the out-dated graphics stop you from playing this game. It is truly a masterpiece.
If you have played any of these similar games, you should feel right at home with AOE2: Empire Earth, Age of Mythology, Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds.
9 The best "Age of" games EVER.
As simple as that.
I've been playing this game for ages. Ever since the beginning of the first age of empires and the rise of Rome, I've been following this game.
It's given me, my family & friends endless hours of entertainment. I've also played other "age of...." games, but none seem to pair up with this one.
It's basically all the same idea. You start with low resources and a few villagers, and have to build from there & fight your opponent. You can follow the campaigns or play multiplayer against each other, or teamed up against the computer. You can also play deathmatch if you prefer.
You get to pick a civilization, and each one has its own unique characteristic and feature. From the Huns to the Greeks, Spanish, Aztecs, Britons...and a whole bunch more!
The game has already been out for a while, and still is better in my opinion than the newer "age of..." games. I've tried newer ones but cannot pair up with this one.
My recommendations: If you like to play, if you like adventure, strategy, then give this game a try if you haven't already. You'll enjoy every minute of it and won't get bored of playing.
10 Way better than Age of Kings
I recently got this game last week and It is awesome! Along with playing as the original civilizations in the AOK, you can be the Spanish, Koreans, Aztecs, Mayans and Huns. You can also do way cooler campaigns that test your skill. They are:
Attila the Hun: Take control of the ravaging Huns in their invasion of Europe
Montezuma: Build and defend the city of Tenoctilian from neighboring tribes and invading Spainards
El Cid: The Spanish empire is crumbling and only El Cid can pull them back together.
Battles of the Conquers: Relieve famous battles such as Hastings and Agincourt
This time, the villagers are smarter than before. They build castles and walls quicker and fight (if neccesary) way better. Buy this game! It rules!
11 A great followup expansion
This game just adds more of what we like in the age of empires series. My only gripe here is its additional civilizations are all somewhat similar in my opinion. However, if you liked age of empires 2, you can go wrong.
12 Age of Empires 2 the Conquers
This is a great game that will hold u fast in front of your computer for hours upon hours. There are very few games like this one in the fact that it is very exciting to play and you control every action. The one promblem i have with this game is that the AI is not extrodinary, this is because it does not try to find the glitches in your strategies. This leads to a low replayability. Though with its custom scenario creaters and open play games you never really can get to that point where you have to replay. Also you can play this game on the internet and this just adds to the excitment. I would recomend this game to anyone who enjoys startegies games, especially ages 10-15
13 A Classic
When I first got AoK for Christmas a few years back and started playing it, I was confused since it was my first real time strategy game. However, there's really not that much of a learning curve to this game, and I quickly began enjoying myself more and more. The graphics in the game are astounding and I still think that they are better than most games on the market today. Sound is great and it blends right into your experience. Managing an empire comes so easily with the well-designed interface, you won't even notice it. If you like RTS games or are just looking for a game to suck your time away :) look no further. I can't tell you how much fun I've had over the years building up armies and going into battle. Battles can last less than an hour or can go on endlessly. One time I played a game vs the computer on Hardest, 3v3, on Team Islands. It took over 6 hours! Actually, I made sure it lasted longer than it should, but still... The naval battles are excellent--players have huge navies with all types of ships, just like what sea battles were like hundreds of years ago. As for recreating history, AoK/Conq excels there as well. You'll feel as if you were in that time period. If you are someone who doesn't think that this game would be for you (1% of the population), I would suggest Age of Mythology (also by Ensemble Studios; I play it about the same as this game) or Rise of Nations (which I've started playing; it seems more complex but just as fun). AoK/Conq is one of those classic games that will last and I highly recommend it to everyone.
14 Not an improvement :-(
I truly enjoyed the original version -- I did NOT enjoy this one. Basically, it's the same game as the original, repainted in a different color. You get more of the same stuff, except it includes adaptations to other cultures. Other than this, swordsmen still do what swordsmen did before, likewise with archers, catapults, priests, etc. The farmers are just as annoying to manage as they used to be. There are some **minor** cute additions, but for the most part, IT'S THE SAME OLD STUFF. Worse: I used to be able to play at different levels with the original game -- I cannot with this one. I get clobbered in short order regardless of what I try to do. Strategic hints? None to be found... Forget diplomacy -- that didn't work either. No idea at this point how to play at at "Moderate" (read: Impossible) level. The "Standard" level is (as expected) not much of challenge and becomes boring pretty fast. Sure, there's gotta be some strategic silver bullet to play at Moderate level, but at this point I'm frustrated enough and thoroughly underwhelmed with AoE #2 + Conquerors to bother figuring it out. It's straight to eBay as far as I am concerned. BH.
15 Makes a Good Game Even Better
Let's get this out of the way first: Age of Empires 2 was an excellent game that didn't need much in the way of an expansion pak. However, the Conquerors adds new features and races and cleans up the interface. It also polishes up the few blemishes on the original game (like the constant need to reseed farms manually). Overall, this was not a dramatic overhaul to AOE2, but then again it didn't need to be. Given the price this is a smart purchase if you own AOE2, just don't expect a whole new game.
16 I'm back to playing until 3 AM again....
I've logged hundreds of hours playing every campaign and every conceivable custom scenario of Age of Empires, the Rise of Rome, and Age of Kings. Yet, I almost didn't buy this final expansion. That would have been a mistake. This add-on is definately worth the money for the dedicated AOE gamer.
First of all, you get three new six campaign scenarios (Attilla the Hun, El Cid, and Montezuma.) The sixth campaign of Attilla (the invasion of the Italian penninsula, is the one of the toughest to beat I've ever seen.) The real fun, however, are the separate great battles that you can fight as single stand alone sessions: Tours (732), Hastings (1066), Manzikert (1071), Lepanto (1571), etc.
The other great thing about this expansion are the great new units that you get. The Spanish finally have mounted musketeers and priests- it is amusing to use them in custom scenarios against the formerly "invincible" units like the Teutonic Knights and the Turks. Plus you get to fight New World campaigns against the Aztecs and Mayans. You can also finally shelter your men inside the seige rams- which makes much more sense than having them wail away on a stone wall in the open....
I know that it is advertised that the villagers are "smarter" than in the past. While they do repair breaches in the walls faster, they unfortunately seem to still chop through defensesive screens if you don't keep an eye on them.
I've already stayed up to three in the morning, twice, playing this game, so I'd say that it will probably hold your interest for awhile.
17 Best CPU Game Ever
I have been playing AoE for as long as i can remember and I still lover it. Everyone should own it. AoE is a must buy!
18 awesome
To the person who gave this game 3 stars-you are so wrong! You think it's boring because you don't fight. The game is a lot more fun if you actually fight to win. But if you don't get any relics, you lose in about 300 game years. Building a wonder is also boring because you don't get to fight. War is what the game is all about! Even playing the demo version was awesome! Besides new cultures and stuff, there's even new animals! Jaguars are one of them. If you don't have Age of Conquerors, buy it! (that is if you do have Age of Kings.) If you don't have AOE II The Age of Kings and you want The Age of Conquerors, you have to buy both. Anyways, BUY THIS GAME!!!
19 Not too much to add, but still worth it!
This expansion is just that. The features it adds (new cultures and techs) will seem random to the new or infrequent player. However, if you let yourself learn AOEII, then Conquerors is worth all the money.
Graphics: 4/5 No upgrade here
Gameplay: 5/5 The Techs and Cultures it adds keep the game going
Controls: 4/5 No upgrade here
Tech Tree: 5/5 Niche add-ons help
Story: 4/5 A simple Microsoft campaign, but it's the thought that counts.
Overall: 4/5 Not too much to add, but every gain helps.
20 AWSOME
this game is the greatest! i have been playing it for about 4 years and dont think i dont have a life. it is realistic and a lot of fun. if u dont like it for some odd reason, go milk your cat.
21 The best Sires of Real Time Strategy Games
The Age of Empires, Age of Kings, Age of Mythology series is definitely the best ever sires of real time strategy games. In all versions of the game you are allowed to control both the armies and economies of your nation. You can build buildings, creature soldiers or peasants, even priests. Your peasants you command to do the different menial tasks such as farming, mining, and building castles. While your armies roam the land either defending your peasants, sieging enemy castles, or raiding their peasants. Priest have the power to convert both peasants and soldiers. If you like being king of the world, this is for you. Finally, I just want to differentiate between the games. Age of Empires is the oldest of the games and should run on any computer, but I wouldn't recommend the game without either the Rise of Rome Expansion Pack or just buying the Age of Empires Gold Edition. These two correct many problems with the original Age of Empires. Next game up the latter for medium computers is Age of Kings (that's what I'm still playing.) It can run on just about any computer with sixty four megs of ram and a two hundred megahertz processor. I use it on a five hundred megahertz and a one point four gigahertz. Next game up is the Age of Mythology. This introduces a whole new realm of playing to the sires. This one you civilization chooses different gods to worship and is given power from them. Unfortunately you only get two really spectacular god powers each game and you can only use them once, but then it keeps the game to more strategy and less luck and wildcards. (It is fun to get the wildcards when you have them though!) This game should have a processor of I would say at least a six hundred and a graphics card at least thirty two megabytes; and lastly this is not the game for everybody. I still use Age of Kings/Conquerors not because of my computer, but because I don't like all the crazy stuff in Mythology; I think it distracts from the medieval battle tactics. Really choosing between Mythology and Age of Kings is just a matter of personal opinion. I'd say download both demos and try them both; or if you have the money to blow, buy them both. Either way I think you'll love both of them. Well that's all for me. This is just a general over view don't take my words as gold check out the specs and requirements yourself. I just wanted to help point you in the right direction.
22 Another Success
I played Age of Empires I for about 1 year and i decided why not get Age of Empires The Age of Kings and the Conqueres. I never played just Age Of Kings so i wasnt burt out of the game. First i beat all the historical campains. It tokk about 1 month. I started playing on the internet and that was fun for about 2 month. Then I discovered the map maker. I learned how to make triggers and i put abunch of maps in a campain. This took about 2 months. For about 1 year and 5 months i played the Age of Empire games. These are good in graphics and game play. I would recommend this to anyone.
23 Better then Perfect
I had played AOE 2:The Age of Kings, and thought it was perfect.
although it lacked a few things, it was amazing. So, i had to buy this. I expected the same as what I got from AOE 2. I was wrong. It was a whole lot better than the last game. Whatever areas that were not good in AOE 2 were greatly enhanced.
1. No more holiday vacations: Villagers cannot be lazy after they build lets say... A Mining camp. In AOE2, once the villager builds the mining camp, they do nothing. Nowadays, they go straight to mining.
2. Newbies rock: The new civilliztions in this game are amazing. The Spanish aren't the coolest, but they were important in history and should of been in AOE2. The Koreans have really cool special troops. The Huns are great for anyone with an offensive stratagy. The Mayans and the Aztecs are dominat in the archer catagory. Overall, the new groups rock.
3. Reality: In AOE2, the campagins were fun, but i'd easily rather play a death match. Not in the expanison. The campaigns, for some reason, are alot better than the AOE2 campaingns. Once i start i can't stop.
So, overall, anyone who is into almost any type of game(with a few exceptions), this is the gasme for u.
24 Worth Your Money
Conquerors is a great addition to te Age of Epires Series. It includes five new civilizations, and three new campaings, plus a lot of other new units and upgrades. I'm only sorry that they came out with one expansion. Campaings now include scout reports, that tell you the color, and general location of every other civilization on the map. The new civilizations are loads of fun, especaly the Spainish. Each civilzation now has its own unique technology.
This game is totaly worht the money. Buy it.
25 What's so new???
I have played Ages of Empire II: The Age of Kings, over and over again. I was getting kind of bored with it so I thought the expansion would be great. What's so new??? Not much that I could see. I'm the non-conquerer type who likes to get the relics or the wonder so I found nothing new. Definately nothing worth paying for the expansion. Maybe if you are a battle kind of player it might be different.
26 Excellent strategy game!
this game is amazing, it never gets boring, and is really fun. The new units are great, the new campains are great, but most of all, the action is great!
27 Makes The Best Strategy Game Ever Even Better
Age of Empires II is by far the greatest strategy game I have ever played. The Conquerors just makes it even better. It has many updated features, and includes new civilizations such as the Mayans, Aztecs, Huns, Koreans, and Spanish. It also includes many new units and buildings to go along with them. The only possible con is that the armies of all the civilizations are still very similar, but this is practically unnoticeable with the rest of the game being so perfect. This is one of the best series of games ever made. Once you start playing this game, you just can't stop.
28 The Expansion Pack made Age of Empires UNCONQUERABLE
We were rather neutral at first about getting the Expansion Pack (The Conquerers) for our beloved Age of Empires. We networked our home office, and believe me, you can get through a lot of bad winter weather and no television if you are keen to play military strategy games. We just loved Empires, in my opinion, the best real-time strategy computer game there is.
But we were blown away by the Conquerers Expansion Pack. When we had installed it, we realized that this was NOW the most perfect RTS game, ever. The addition of five new civiliations, better maps, new technologies, improved AI and some really necessary upgrades made this pure playing pleasure.
Here's what I loved that was added to Age of Empires:
1. The new civilizations (civs to afficionados.)
a.The Koreans have war wagons (shoot arrows) and armored turtle boats. Their towers are inferior to none, making them as strong as the Teutons in some respects.
b. The Huns need no houses, and are the Mongols on mega-steroids. They are fast and vicious. The Tarkans (elite unit) are highly destructive to buildings.
c. The Spanish have Conquistadors, mounted hand cannoneers, there are Missionaries on muleback. They can build like no one else, and the villagers are strong defenders.
d. The Mayans and Aztec: New World, so no cavalry, but fast and have archers that rival the Chinese Chu-ko-Nu.
2. Each civ now gets one, or in some cases, two "unique technologies" such as the ability to build unique (elite) units in barracks as well as the castle (The Goths.)
3. The "scratch-your-rear and smoke a cigarette" villager syndrome has been, at least, partially cured. Villagers who've finished building an ore mine now go to work (duh!) mining instead of having to be ordered to do so. They still seem to take cigarette breaks now and then, but the AI does work to send a house builder who is done building a hut, on to cut down a nearby tree.
4. The farms now replant. Clicking on the field icon takes wood and stacks up the replanted fields. No more annoying rustle of exhausted fields demanding to be replanted while you are in the heat of battle. (That is, if you have cut sufficient wood.)
5. The new maps include a salt swamp (New World feature) with interesting marshes and sometimes hard-to-traverse areas. There is a Scandinavian map, sort of a variant on a Mongolian map, a bit of water and fish, but limited food. There is snow, and footprints appear in the snow, a delightful graphic touch. Turkeys were added in addition to sheep, for New World food supply.
Some civilizations were "rebalanced" to weaken a too-strong feature or pump up a weakness. In some respects, I think they overshot the mark. The Turks and Franks, in my opinion, were dumbed down too much. The turkeys on the New World maps are often plentiful, but the gobbling gets on my nerves after two minutes.
All in all, we think this game is about as perfect as computer games get and we've had hours of yelling, screaming, sulking, revenge, disbelief, followed by reconcilation and rematches. In short, just the thing to bolster your marriage.
29 Another installment in a near-perfect series
Superb. Buy it and let it monopolize all of your free time! The smart farmers (they replant the farms after they tap out) are worth the price of the expansion all by themselves, everything else is just ladle after ladle of gaming gravy..
30 Just as good as AOE 2
If you didn't have to have a full copy of AOE 2 to play this expansion set, it could still stand on its own. This expansion is excellent--the designers tweaked many annoying features (like farm rebuilding--now it can be automatic) from the first two games. The graphics are even slightly improved--no mean feat. The sound is lush and amusing, the new civilizations and units are impressive, and new single player landscapes and missions are intriguing. There are so many new options in this game that I doubt I'll ever play AOE 2 by itself again! Plus, no technical difficulties whatsoever!
31 Dynasty!!
I got AOK and loved. I just got this game and it is simply awesome! It improves AOK and the campaigns are simply cool. Overall this game is a must buy. Get it NOW! Run don't walk.
32 A Step up from Age of Empires I
When playing Age of Empires II, I've found that the game contains many improvements from Age of Empires I, especially when it comes to game play.
The improvements on game play would be the ability to select multiple units at once while in Age of Empires I, players had to live with selecting one unit at a time. Selection of combat positions would be another game play improvement. For example, one has the ability to select all of their infantry and archers, and line them up in different formations.
Other improvements would be new map types, buildings, and new historical facts documentation on each civilization in the game.
The graphics, however brilliant, do not match up well with Age of Empires I, which is why I am giving the game four stars instead of five.
33 An excellent game
This game is a great buy. I started off buying Age of Empires 2: Age of Kings, and then bought the expansion pack. You have a variety of different types of people to choose from, for example, the Britons, Persians, etc. You get to build a community and plan your next move, how and when you attack the enemy! It is set in the medieval time period and it is a very addicting game. You just can't go wrong.
34 Awesome game, and expantion!
Ok, I bought Age of Empires just because I was board with my other sim type games. It hooked me, I play it all the time I love this game the interface is simple to use, great tutorial teaches you everything you need to know to play quickly!
This expantion is great it adds new items to the game and features. You can queue up activities like seeding a farm. Peasents just don't stand there after they finish a task such as mining or chopping wood they keep going. by removing some of the micro-managing you had to do with the orginal release you can destroy your opponet faster! I've cut almost 20 min. Off a standard game.
35 the best game ever.
This game is amazing. My friends say it's great. I mean five new
civilizations. New buildings, new technology. This game is
the bomb. Most expansions aren't too good, but this one is great.
I would recommend it.
36 good game
this is one of my favorite games ever made by far. i loved the original and loved this one even more. if you liked cossacks or the original you will definitely like this one
37 good
this is a great addition to an already great game... you get 4 new really good civs... worth the money
38 the age of empires 2
Age of Empires the Conqueres is not only a great game, but it combines history with game play. it's a combo of history and battling and you can choose your civilization and scenerio. It's away to really get back at those people who get on your nerves while improving on your battling skills in the game also. It's a game to look into!!!!
39 Best Strategy Game Yet!
Age of Empires II: The Conquerors is a massive improvement on AOEII.
To start with it features 5 new civs (Spanish, Huns, Koreans, Aztecs & Mayans), each with a unique unit (or 2) and a unique tech.
It also features new game types: Wonder Race & King of the Hill and I think there is another one which I do not usually use.
On top of that there are several new units (Helberdiers, Hussars and several others), new techs and adjusted stats for some units from AOEII.
It also features several new campaigns (Montezuma, Attila the Hun, El Cid and Battles of the Conquerors which features many individual Historic Battles such as Agincourt, Lepanto, Kyoto, Manzinkert and many others).
There are no changes in the gameplay from the original.
Obviously (as with all games) there are some draw backs. Some of you may have found that the game occasionally closes itself down for no apparent reason and I'm sorry to say that that glitch has not been fixed so it is best to save frequently (especially when using the scenario editor as the glitch mainly occurs whilst the editor is in use).
Speaking of the scenario editor I must mention some great new triggers that are now available.
It is now possible to change unit names and stats, although when changing the names of every unit of one type on the map the name changing trigger does get rather tedious as you will find yourself having to rename each unit individually, luckily though with stat changes you are able to rename all units of one type or indeed just all units!
All in all this game is the best strategy game I have ever played (better than Star Craft: Brood War, Red Alert II, the original AOE and AOEII and the list goes on and on and on... well you get the point!).
40 BUY THIS GREAT GAME NOW!
This game is one of the best games I've ever played. Me and my friends play it for hours and hours over the Internet. We just cant get enough! Its a great expansion for a great game! Buy now...Aloha!
41 Age of Empires Conquerors Edition is Superb!
Ensemble Studios and Microsoft came up with a winner with Age of Kings. They augmented this game with this, "Age of Conquerors", an add-on game to complete this great gaming series. They came up with a winner here with this one, with new features, four new civilizations, unique "technologies" to each civilization, etc. All of the "Age of..." games are real time strategy games, and all are very much critically acclaimed and award winning. I also have to admit, playing these games is a heck of a lot of fun, although they can be very time consuming, especially in my case. And, playing a game like "Age of Conquerors" never seems to get old, because there are literally thousands upon thousands of different combinations of scenarios, map types, civilizations, etc. to build and play upon, and to vary in game play. "Age of Conquerors" is played like the other "Age" games. One chooses a particular civilization to be, which means one can choose now from a whole list, from Japanese to The Franks, The Britons to Byzantines, The Mongols to the Aztecs, and the Huns to Teutons. Game play starts in the "Dark Age", and one can continue to advance to the "Feudal Age", the "Castle Age" and finally the "Imperial Age". The new features are great, such as the number pad controls. As a player on a team, for example, I like to play 4 against four on the A/I, that is myself and three computer players against 4 computer players, on hardest, random map, with about 75 units limited to each civilization. This is about all my computer can handle, in terms of the graphics. I can now command my teammates to "give me food", by pressing the number 3, or "attack an enemy now", by hitting number 31. This increased economic benefit can help a human player catch up to the fast A/I computer player, and help to offset that advantage it has. The new civilizations add a global attitude to the game, and it is fun to pit the Aztecs against the invading Spanish. I also like the new game play types, like Wonder Race or King of the Hill. The smart villagers are lots of fun too, as you can send a guy to build a lumber yard, and he builds it and starts chopping wood, in the last game he just built the lumber camp and stayed idle until made to do something else. The automatic farm replenishment is a great time saver in the game too, you just add wood to the grain mill, and when a farm is exhausted, the farmer automatically replenishes it, as opposed to in Age of Kings, when the farm was exhausted, the farmer just stood there doing nothing. And, since economic resources are the keys to success in this game, these features are great. I also love the music, and sound effects to this game. I also love the graphics of the game, they are simply superb.
All in all, "Age of Conquerors" is a fantastic game! It is completely addictive, tons of fun, and hours of amusement. It is challenging, fun, and quite devastating. It is also the "granddaddy of real time games" at present. Until Civilization III comes around, or "Age of Mythology", Ensembles next game, it will be the definitive real time strategy game. If you want a dynamically multifeatured real time strategy game to play with great graphics and cool music and sound, get this one!
42 A GREAT GAME !
This is one of the best games I've played so far. I started playing Age of Empires and ended up playing the whole sequel. I love games dealing with History. The best part about this game are the campaigns based on the life of various historical heroes & events. Age of Kings has equally interesting campaigns and so does Rise of Rome.
Another good thing about this game is that it has great replay value. The campaigns are very interesting but a little hard to play whereas random maps and scenarios are loads of fun and allow easy game play due to the numerous options available like choosing your own civilization, your opponents civilization etc. You let the villagers do some resource gathering, which aids in building up a powerful army. Exploring the map is pretty interesting and fun. The game play is loads of fun trying to manage the town's resources while you build up an army to crush your opponent's forces.
This game is a great buy. I'm completely satisfied with it.
43 AOE
If you enjoyed the first ages of empires 2 then this is a great game.
44 Age of Empires, Age of Kings: Conquerors
This is one of the best, if not THE best, strategy game for PC(or any platform/machine for that matter). You have a big selection of civilizations to chose from, and maps to play on. Not to mention plenty of campaings to play, from the mildy easy ones, to the frustatingly chalenging ones. And now on this expansion pack you have more. More units, more maps, more techs, more campaings and more civilizations. You can evan play on maps that are moddeled after real places on the world such as Japan, or central america. Villagers are smarter than the in Age of empires:Age of kings. They will automaticly go to nearby resources after building a mill, town center, mining camp or lumber camp. There are five new civilizations; huns, aztecs myans koreans and spanish. Each are unique and have there own unique unit wich no other civilzation has. The huns don't need houses. The spaniards have a missionary(as whell as the other unique unit), wich moves faster than the monk(But it can't pick up relics). The Koreans have two unique units; the turtle ship and the war cart/wagon. The aztecs don't have cavalry. However the aztecs have the powerfull jaguar warrior and the myans have the feathered archer(Not feathered but I can't think of the word right now). You can talk to your allies(and enemies, though they enemies don't uassually respond), and give them orders. There are several different victory options. Standered:You must defeat your enamies, capture all the relics or build a wonder. Wonder race:you cannot create military units, instead you gotta focuse on economy so you can gather enough resources to be the first to create a wonder. Conquest:Defeat you enamys. King of the hill:Control the wonder/monument in the center of the map for a certain amount of time. Regicide:protect your king from you enamys and kill theres. Death Match:you start with huge stock piles and then build up your military before battling to the death.
This game is just great. I highly(Very Very Very Very Highly) reccomend it. This is deffinately not a waste of money.
Note:You need Age of Empires II:Age of Kings to play this game.
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45 TWO WORDS: WOW!
The only thing i can say is that this is the coolest game ever!!! If you like strategy, BUY THIS GAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am saving up my money and getting other AOE games too! Also, action=FUN!!!
46 Great
I have played the trial version from microsoft and i love it. Now i am waiting for full version, i just bought from the Amazon. This will be great, i recommend for people who like to play strategy game. Especially empire game like this, you will love it from audio and video just amazing!!
47 Simply The Best for how long?
This game is the best up coming age of empire game yet.This game has inspired me to look back on our past.Midevil times this game covers the real thing.I never get board of it thinking of new stadigey to win.I sugest Korea to asalt on anything.perfect team eforts with war wagons or killer radio flyers as i like to call them.Now will this be the best empire game you ask? mabee for some people but i know i would like to try 3.I think that if the maker keep thinking about it and looking back on the past that they will suckseed in selling games.They will also capture the eye of the person playing the game.I recomend this game to people or age of empires 2:Gold edition.I hope you enjoyed my review.sincerely Brandon Laure
48 Great!!!
This is an awsome addition the Age of Empires 2!!! I recommend getting it! It has great new races and along with new buildings and soldiers. A must-have!
49 Awesome!!
What can I say about this game. Its awesome. The new civilizations are great along with the new options. This was my last AOE game I bought and its the best of the 4. Be sure to buy it!
50 The Best of the Best!!!
The best game I have ever played for the PC or any other system is Age of Empires 2 conquerors expansion. I have always thought that sequels were Never better than the originals, but I was wrong this game has it all!!!! I looooove this game! I love being the spanish especially since they can research many more of the technologies than any other civization. The graphics are simply amazing! I hate all those new graphics for games like Shogon: total war. This game is so easy to control and is a lot of fun. There is so much to do and your always in a battle. You'll never buy a better game than AOE2CE, but remember you HAVE TO BUY AGE OF EMPIRES 11 IN ORDER TO PLAY THE EXPANSION!!!!!! BUY THIS GAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'd give this game 50 stars if I were allowed to!! It's the best game I ever invested money into! I bought it about 1 year ago and still play it no stop!!!!! Also I'm 13 and not 12 I just couldn't write a reviewbecause I forgot my password! It makes the perfect gift for anyone with Age of Empires2 The Age of Kings, but for people without Age of 2 that is also a greaT game. Make sure you have Age of Empires 2 first though because the game won't download with out the first Age of empires 2!!!!!
51 Great Game?
Heck yes it is a great game. I could play it for hours and hours and want to play it more it makes it seem so real and gives you a taste of what it was like back then. I think it is a totally cool game and i give it 500 stars.
52 Great Game?
Heck yes it is a great game. I could play it for hours and hours and want to play it more it makes it seem so real and gives you a taste of what it was like back then. I think it is a totally cool game and i give it 500 stars.
53 A great real time simulation
This is by far the best game ever... If you like the Civilization saga you're going a love this simulation.
54 MAKES A GREAT GAME EVEN BETTER
AoE 2. It alone was an addictive game, combining the addictive gameplay from Starcraft and sending down the timeline in reverse, all the way back to the times of the Vikiings, and Mongols, and now the Aztecs and Spanish among others. This expansion adds the new civs, and makes a solution for going back and correcting the problem with going back and recropping the farms. I remember, about a month ago, a group of us stayed up until 7 in the morning playing this game. It may be a little over priced with all the little changes, but overall if you're really serious about this series, buy it, but if you don't think you'll be playing it in a couple of months, stick with just Aoe 2, don't spend oyur extra cash on a few minor changes, buy CS or something.
55 SIMPLY THE BEST
I LOVE THIS GAME!The Aztecs and Mayans are welcome additions as far as I,a native American ,am concerned(just try to beat the Elite Jaguar warriors,only French paladins have half a chance) and the Spanish were definitely necessary,while the Koreans(hint:the Turks and Saracens are perfect counters to the Koreans)and Huns add flavor(especially if you like being the Japanese).Almost all the minor bugs in AoEII are fixed and the new campaigns aren't bad.The individual unit AI is far better than any other game I've played.Multi-player games are terrific!The graphics are beautiful!The Beta patch is one of the few industry patches that is NOT necessary,but it is fun and very easy to download.Once you've played it non-stop for about a year and you are finally starting to become a little bored,you can simply get the scenario builder and then the sky is the limit!I have a LOT of time(I'm a disabled vet) and a fair amount of disposable income,but for those of you that don't -PLEASE- do yourself a favor and try this fantastic game,you will not regret it.If I could never buy another game in my life,I could get by with this one;5 stars just doesn't say enough!
56 SIMPLY THE BEST
I LOVE THIS GAME!The Aztecs and Mayans are welcome additions as far as I,a native American ,am concerned(just try to beat the Elite Jaguar warriors,only French paladins have half a chance) and the Spanish were definitely necessary,while the Koreans(hint:the Turks and Saracens are perfect counters to the Koreans)and Huns add flavor(especially if you like being the Japanese).Almost all the minor bugs in AoEII are fixed and the new campaigns aren't bad.The individual unit AI is far better than any other game I've played.Multi-player games are terrific!The graphics are beautiful!The Beta patch is one of the few industry patches that is NOT necessary,but it is fun and very easy to download.Once you've played it non-stop for about a year and you are finally starting to become a little bored,you can simply get the scenario builder and then the sky is the limit!I have a LOT of time(I'm a disabled vet) and a fair amount of disposable income,but for those of you that don't -PLEASE- do yourself a favor and try this fantastic game,you will not regret it.If I could never buy another game in my life,I could get by with this one;5 stars just doesn't say enough!
57 Great Game, only couple draw backs
I would have to say AOC is one of the best games out there. Im online playing almost 24/7. This game offers strategy, great graphics and much more.
I only found a couple things wrong with this game. One the max population is 200. That doesnt seem very realist to me. It would be much more fun if it was higher. Another thing i found wrong is villagers are very weak, almost too weak. There is only 1 time to upgrade villys strengh, unlike any other unit. For example, if there are 15 villys and 1 knight, the knight will kill them all. In real life if that many people teamed up on a knight, he would die. But that is only miner.
In conclusion, this game is a great game, if you dont have it GET IT! there is nothing majorly wrong with this game.
58 What a marvelous expansion to an already great game...
Age of Empires 2: The Age of Kings, is probably one of the greatest real time strategy games that I've ever played (Although the original Age of Empires is a game that I still play to this very day.) The sharp graphics, the intricate gameplay, and the insanely fun multiplayer battles, just added to the fun. I didn't think there was much to improve but boy, was I ever wrong.
Age of Empires 2: The Conquerors Expansion totally proved me wrong. They were able to correct some problems that existed with the AI and even tweaked the AI in order to make gameplay all the more better. For example, when your villager builds a mine or lumbermill, he will immediately begin to mine resources (stone or gold) or chop down trees. This just keep you from having to move that mouse again, which is very important, especially if you're planning on an early rush. Another new great aspect was added, and that is the farming queue. This thing is absolutely awesome in gameplay. This allows you to queue (or store up) farms in your mill so that when a farm is depleted, that villager will immediately begin to plant the seeds for a new one. This becomes immensely handy while playing in multiplayer games, when time is absolutely crucial to victory.
The things that I always look for in an expansion are the new civilizations and units. In Age of Empires 2: The Conquerors (which will be referred to as AOK:TC from henceforth) five new civilizations were added (that would include new Unique Units, which I'll get to in a moment), new techonologies and the added "Unique Technologies" were added, and five new units were added to the game as well.
I'm going to first address the new civilizations one by one:
The Huns - This infamous nomadic tribe of vandals now rears its ugly head in the age of empires world. They are more of a raiding civilization (like the Mongols or Celts) then anything else. Their unique unit is a raiding calvalry unit called the Tarkan. Their unique technology is called "Atheism" it adds 100 years to Wonder/Relic victories. It also cuts the price of the Spies technology in half.
The Spanish - The Spanish are an interesting civilization, and one of the more "expensive" ones in the game. By this I mean that many of their units and technologies are extremely expensive (especially their unique unit...) Their unique unit is called the Conquistador, and is mounted gunman. Their unique technology is called "Supremacy" and it enhances the strength of their villagers. (One more unique thing about the Spanish is that in addition to the regular "European" priest, the Spanish also have a "Missionary Priest." That is, a friar riding a donkey. Much faster then a normal priest, but this priest cannot pick up relics.)
The Mayans - The Mayans are one of the two new American civilizations. These two have an entirely new architectural set which adds a whole new element to gameplay. Their unique unit is called the Plumed Archer. It's basically the American equivalent of the Longbowman. Their unique unit is called "El Dorado" and it increases the hit points of the Eagle Warrior (a new unit, only available to the American civilizations as their replacement for cavalry.)
The Aztecs - Yet another new American civilization, the Aztecs are a largely infantry based civilization that becomes a very fierce opponent. Their unique unit is called the "Jaguar Warrior" and it is basically an extremely tough anti-infantry, infantry unit. Their unique technology is called "Garland Wars" and it gives their infantry unit +4 attack.
The Koreans - The Koreans are the last of the new set of civilizations, and are quite the naval based civilization. They are the only civilization among all five of the new set that have two unique units. They are the Korean Turtle Boat, and the Korean War Wagon. The Turtle Boat is a very expensive, very slow, but very powerful naval unit (duh.) while the War Wagon is a rather powerful land siege unit. Their unique technology is called "Shinkichon" and it gives their onager units +2 range.
The new technologies and units make the game much more interesting as well. One of the biggest things that bothered me about the Rise of Rome expansion was that the new units and technologies really didn't add a whole lot to gameplay. While AOK:TC can be frustrating at first because the strategies have changed so vastly due to the new units and AI tweaks, it is still more fulfilling and exciting then was the Rise of Rome expansion. The five new units are:
1. Halberdiers 2. Hussars 3. Petards 4. Eagle Warriors 5. Meso-American Priest
The first two units (the Halberdier and Hussar) are upgrades to already existing units (the Pikemen and Light Cavalry.) The last three are entirely new units. The Petard (like the Trebuchet) is available to all civilizations. This unit is basically a walking bomb. The Eagle Warrior and Meso-American Priest are unique to the Aztecs and Mayans (the two new American civilizations) and basically function the same way as their "European" counterparts (the Scout/Light Cavalry, and the priest unit.)
If you already own the Age of Empires 2: The Age of Kings game and you don't own this, I have one question for you: What have you been thinking? Get this expansion already! For those who do not have Age of Empires 2: The Age of Kings, I highly recommend it. It is one of the greatest real time strategy games of all time. This expansion only makes it better, and should be almost mandatory for all Age of Empires 2 owners. 5 Stars
59 The best game of the year!!!!!!
This game rocks!!!! It is one of the best games (out of about 29) I have ever played! The snow is makes it practicly impossable to see your men. plus it is soooooo lame!!!!!! you leave foot prints so the enemy can see you!!! (they really should have left it out!) But the new amazon/jungle rocks. you can fight of jaguars instead of wolfs and their are plenty of trees so you can hide easally. it has 3 new campains el cid,attila the hun, and aztecs.another set of new (cool) stuff to do is the new standard game modes including defend the wonder wonder race and king of the hill. It has 5 new civilasations including aztec, huns,koreans,mayans and spanish. If you see a bad review, ignore it! I think it is a great add on to age of the kings
60 Good gameplay upgrades
Worth the upgrade just for the improved functionality. Scenarios are a great history lesson as well.
61 5 stars not enough!!
It's fun, it's addictive, it's well worth every single penny. Also, which game series was able to teach so much about our planet's recent civilization's warfare history and make it stick to your brain? (If you have played AOE-The Rise of Rome, all the formations and weapons used in the Gladiator movie's opening sequence will be very familiar to you). This game is the culminating benchmark for all RTS games. Ensemble Studios clearly knows their craft. This game executes so well and transparently, you come to expect that level of overall gameplay from other games. Don't believe me? 6,000+ online players worldwide on the Zone playing each other at any time can't be that deluded!
62 What a great Expansion
Wow. This is one of the greatest strategy games that I have played, and I like it's expansion a lot. It adds a few more of those complex civs, the aztecs, the mayans, the spanish, and the koreans. There are many different capaigns, including the battles of the conquerors, a string of scenarios that are related to real battles. The triggers in these scenarios are superb. The scenario building is also very easy, contributing to a great overall game play. I got this game and I love it still. I like the multiplayering strategies that are intrigued by all the bonus changes. The Teutons, once an unbeatable defensive tribe with +5 range, are not as powerful, as the +5 is only a sight line. These changes have made a more complex and even game. To play the game, you must have the original Age of Kings (Age of Empires II) on your computer, which is also a great game. Since I played AOK The Conquerors, I realized that I cannot live without the special features that were not in the original AOK or AOE. Some of these are: 1. When a vilager builds a storage drop off point, it will automatically go to the nearest resource of that kind and start working 2. Siege units will not attack if a friendly unit is in the line of fire. There are many more of these great advantages, plus a unique technology for every civ. A great way to waste time (if it would be called wasteful) is to play this game.
63 EXELLENT STUFF! Who knew history could be so fun! Great RTS
This is really a review for both AOE2(or AOK) and AOE2: The conquerors. The original game in the series(and it's expansion) were great. But, AOK and TE surpass it! Both combined have 9 campains(including the Willium Wallace learning campain and the special "Battles of the Conquerors" campain.) Each with 6-7 tough missions. Enough? Well there's awesome VS. CPU and multiplayer games too.(Each wih many maps and modes.) And finally a scenario maker and a electronic history books. It's a great game, 'nuff said!
64 A great game for multiplayer and single player qualities
First of all, I have to say that this is the only game that has kept me playing for more than a year. This is a great game for people of all ages, and multiplayer fans will love the new add-ons and civilizations available. First of all, there are new single player campaigns, as well as one including many of the major battles of medieval Europe and Asia. The multiplayer is great and the graphics and playability are unchanged. New units such as the trebuchet are now available, and indian civilizations such as the Aztecs and Mayans are now available also.
65 Very good game!
I have played this game with up to 4 other friends, now thats a game. The game is like Sim City, only your going to war. You have to manage your villages plus your army. This expansion pack offers new Civilizations and new enhancements to the game. There are to many reasons to buy this pack for your game, I couldnt list them all here. Its a few bucks so go ahead and get it.
66 Actually 4 and a 1/2 Stars
I recently played the demo of this and liked it so much i bought Age of Empires 2 and the Expansion. The new civilizations and new stuff make the game even better than it was. After playing this for a week or two i went back to playing Starcraft and found it a little boring compared to this. The most addictive part of this game is building up over the different time periods. I only have two very small problems with this game, that if they were improved would make this the greatest game. Problem #1 the AI opponent in random games gives up way too easy and resigns way too quick from a battle. After spending an hour or two building up you don't want the climax up the fight to end in a resign in five minutes. It's like a great movie with a horrible ending. I want to completely demolish every little building of the enemy's till nothing of thiers exists on the map at all. This is still a great game can't wait to see what the next Age of Empires brings. The only other minor thing keeping me from giving it five stars is the different civilizations are still way too much alike, i wish they were just a bit more unique, more unique weapons, armies, buildings, etc..would be great. This game is completely addicting, and the expansion just greatly improves on that. Matter of fact once you've played the expansion there's really no going back to playing without it.
67 Damn great game, too addictive!
Ok, every aspect of this game is perfect, especially The Conquerors which just made it even better!
For those of you who like fast paced games, this is for you. It is in real time, meaning you have to handle about 20 things at the same time. For those of you who like slower games, this might be a little too fast for you, I'll say stick with turn-based games AFTER YOU HAVE TRYED A DEMO OF THIS GAME.
Like I said, every aspects of this game is great, even to the smallest things, like Music!! When you are playing the game, you don't even heard the music, but one time I just stoped and listened to it (after I tried stopping 253 times, literally! but if you want to, just look though the file and there is the mp3 of the whole soundtrack (I BURNED IT ONTO A CD!! And my friends loved it! Of course I didn't tell them it was from a computer game!!!)
Just be warned, this game screwed up my life (almost, I had to go into theropy) and it is highly addictive! But that is what makes my favorite game of all time (until Age of Mythology comes out (3rd installment in the series)). It will probally screw up your life, but I NEVER REGRET GETTING THE GAME, NEVER!!!
Just my 2 cents, :-)
68 This game rocks
This expansion is just what the game needed. If you don't have this game yet, run don't walk to your nearest store and get it, you won't be disappointed.
69 This game is the BOMB!
This game is absolutely THE best RTS game around. Buy it. Play it. Then come to the Microsoft Zone online (it's free) and play against thousands of real people 24/7. It rocks.
70 Great Expansion to a Great Game
This expansion is much better in my opinion to AOK (Age of Kings) than Rise of Rome was to AOE (Age of Empires). Conquerors adds a few civilizations and technologies which add to the overall balance of the game very well. Also, the new campaigns are by far the most inventive in the Age series. One of the new things that i like the most and involved in the multiplayer mode. New real world maps have been added, so if you want you can fight over Cuba or Florida in the central american map. Also, some new random maps have been added. Overall, this expansion will definately have you and your friends playing a lot. This will definately be a good hold over until Age of Mythology is released.
71 BUY THIS GAME!!
This is not the best game for those of you who don't read instruction manuals(my friend who hates every game he can't but i won because i read the insctructions -and- play better yhan him**). A extremly good game!! It should have at least 6 stars! The map editor is great! Make your own Campaigns and Scenarios! For any one who has played AOK or AOE, They have fixed the resign bug! Buy this, Buy this, BUY THIS!!
72 Great Game!
Overall, a great game. AOK is one of the games involving the most stratagy ever. AOK touches on most of the aspects of all Real Time Stratagy games, such as resource management (4 different types of resources) and possesses elaborate battle-related units and formation, giving you a comforting amount of freedom in terms of ordering your units around. However, there are a few flaws that take a little away from the game, but not enough not to buy it. The first isn't exactly a flaw, just something to take note of. There are like 20 different teams, each very similar, but different as well. Everyone can get the same type of units, just some teams can't get these units, and so on, so the differences and uniquenesses of the different teams doesn't vary that much. Also, each team has only one special unit that absolutely no one else can get. Also, you had better have a good memory because you have to memorize every little thing about every little unit if you want to do well. (And there are a lot of units.) For instance, almost every fighting unit has some sort of bonus or another against other units. So, for example, Skirmishers have a bonus against other archers, Samari have a bonus against other special units, etc. It's an easy game to play, but a hard game to play well. I can now fully enjoy it because I have memorized everything, such as each unit's hit points, attack, and most important, range. Without learning this fast you have to spend hours comparing ranges of yours guys to their guys to see if you can out-range them, and if you can't, if you have a strong enough guy to beat up the guy you're trying to out-range, and if your guy has any bonuses against the type of guy you're going against, and if that will sway the battle, and then if there's multiple different types of guys you have and multiple types of guys they have, and if there's any of yours or their buildings near by.... You can get a feel for the amount of almost "Work" this game is to play well. Many people are content to sit back and gather resources and build one unit an hour and say they like it because it's easy and then wonder why they aren't doing well. Well. Second, buildings burn if they get to a certain health level regardless of what unit you're using. So if you're attacking someone's farm with a guy with a sword, when the farm's health gets down enough it will start burning. Also, the fire doesn't do anything, it's just for show. In other games like Starcraft when buildings started to burn they would slowly loose health, but in AOK fire doesn't do anyting. Also, I've heard from an unreliable source that the graphics from Age of Empires : The Rise of Rome were far superior to that of Age of Kings. I do admit, the graphics are rather lacking when it comes to if you want better graphics, or if you want to be able to see your units. With the resolution set on 640 by 480 one building takes up the whole screen, and still the graphics aren't that good. You change it to 800 by 600 but then the graphics are even worse. Graphics in games like Red Alert 2 or The Moon Project are 10 and 50 times better (respectivly) than AOK, and they are both stratagy games, although there isn't much stratagy in Red Alert 2. I keep convincing myself this game is worse and worse. I think I really should have rated it a 3 star.
73 History was never so much fun!!!
This game has it all. There are so many different cvilizations to play and experiment as, you can keep playing over and over and never have the same game twice. And if you have a modem or a parallel cable, you can play against other humans for an even cooler gaming experience. If you're into battle on a large scale and strategy games, you need Age of Empires 2 with the Conquerors expansion pack.
74 UNBELIEVABLE!
I seriously thought computer games just couldnt get any better than the original AOK, but it did!! You can choose from five new civilizations(Aztecs, Mayans, Spanish, Koreans, And Huns). The other feautures are new maps, smarter villagers, and improved controls . The new maps help add more variety(you can play a black forest map in a jungle forest), the smarter villagers add alot of conveniance(if you build a lumber camp or a mining camp they automatically start mining or chopping), and you dont need to keep making farms because you can create them at the mill. The new game types are fun, but you CAN NOT play them in rated rooms, you can only play RM or DM in rated rooms. Something I think I should mention is the Korean Civ has a very strong advantage against other civs so they have been banned from competitive play. Also, the buidling structures of the Aztecs and the Mayans are just beautiful and unlike any other civs buildings. In short the new civs and better controls make this a GREAT expansion to a GREAT game, GET IT!!!!
75 Great Expansion to a great game
I firat heard of the age of empire series when i visited my cousins. He had a laptop and a couple games on it. One of them was age of empires. It hooked me right off i thought cammand and conquer was the best RTS of them all but i was wrong. The ability to create your own civilization from the stone age to the time of the romans. Then i heard there was going to be sequel and i knew i had to get it. I was immediatly got hooked to AOK (Age of Kings). It was superior in every way to the original but it had some minor flaws such as no farm queing which complicated the economics during battles because you have to always replant farms manuelly. Not to mention some imbalances between the civilizations, Teutons were practically unstoppable. These are somewhat small complaints, and the game is extremely fun to play both on and offline, but better online against other players. Now that the Expansion pack is here the gameplay is even better since it improves on the game rather than give us more maps. One of the best improvements is the sorly missed farm queing i refered to before, now you add extra farms so it can automatically set up another right off, this saves valuable time when in battle. Another improvement is the unit AI especially the villagers once they build a resource structure they automatically start the job rather than stand around waiting for orders. All these improvements plus five new civs to choose from, the koreans are probably the strongest in my opinion, the other are spanish, aztec,mayans and the huns. overall a great expansion to an already great game. CAN'T WAIT TO SEE WHAT EMIRE EARTH LOOKS AND PLAYS LIKE!
76 BUY IT NOW!
This is an icredible expansion for an incredible game! There are no real flaws because it's all based on Age of Empires 2, which is allready a great game. There are 5 new civilazations, and they are all different. Every civ. now has a unique technology, and more. The thing the expansion adds the most, is balance. And this is a good thing too! Ever noticed that most people are always Byzantines, Tutons, or Persians with a few eceptions? Not any more! It's been all balanced out. Just the other day I was playing a 4 on 4 game online. What's so amazing? Out of eight people, there were 7 different civs. being played. That's a big change. 2 of the new civs., the Aztecs and the Mayans, are very different from every one else. They have no cavalry, but better infantry and archers.
If you didn't like it in the first place, you won't like this one, ohterwise, BUY IT
77 A great Expansion
This is one of the best expansions, in my opinion, out there. As a hardcore Age of Empires 2 gamer, i could not wait for this game to arrive. When it did, i was very impressed. The little new things about seem trivial, but when i went back to play with some friends who dont have the Conquerors, only AoE2, i was having convulsions in not being able to automatically reseed farms, or have my villagers go striaght to the resource after building a mining camp or something. The new civilizations are very, very well balanced, though i would say the Koreans are a little to balanced :) Most new players go straight for the power house civilizations, like the Persians or Koreans but you find that skill and a not as powerful civ, like the britons, can take them down. I have heard some say that this game is mostly who gets the fastest mouse clicking will win. I agree that you need to move fast especially in Deathmatch, but as u play, it just comes along anyway. In summation, this is a great Expansion pack, and i cant wait to see what Ensemble comes out with next
78 Gimme a sword!
I really like this game. It's so nice to slaughter a couple of towns after a hard day in the office. Or pick a civ that you have a psychological feud with and utterly erase them from the face of earth. The armies are well. The aztec and mayan buildings are quite well made. The campaigns are hard to accomplish and the battles of the conquerors are quite difficult to beat.
Pick a copy and relax!
79 A must-have upgrade
If you have AoE2 you should buy this upgrade. It fixes all the little annoyances, like having to constantly rebuild your farms. It makes the game much more fun. There are new units, civs, and campaigns, so now the game dosen't get boring after awhile. It makes a good game into a great one. This is definitely a great buy for any AoE2 player.
80 Great expansion pack, I cannot wait for the next
Age of Kings broke new grounds that Star Craft had blazed, and it then set new limits for the ceiling. This expansion pack (which I will refer to as "AOKex" from now on) simply adds to the marvelous design.
Let's get the gripes out of the way first: The armies are still too similar. Mayans did not have Two Handed Swordsmen, and it just looks silly to see them running next to eagle warriors, fighting on the same side. There are only 3 new campaigns when I expected at least 5, but there are single game campaigns that let you taste a flavor of many historical battles (such as the Battle of Hastings with William the Conqueor in 1066).
Now for the good points: Villagers. They are finally intelligent. When they are done building a mill, they harvest food. When they are finished building a lumber camp, they chop down trees. You don't have to wait for them to be done and then tell them what to do. They do it automatically.
The new technology and unit upgrades are wonderful. The thumb ring is a welcome addition (something I was wondering as to its non-inclusion in the original) and makes your archers more accurate and quicker with their bows. The Harbrinder is an upgrade for the Pike man, and a group of these guys will absolutely make mince-meat out of entire legions of calvary. I had 12 of them in a group attacking a group of 20 or so calvary units. I lost three Harbrinders and killed all the enemy units. The light calvary has another upgrade now, the Hussar. While it still is weak vs. military units, this final upgrade will wreck havoc on villagers chopping wood or monks behind the enemy lines.
Other technologies are a welcome addition and make the game outstanding. The new civilizations are beautifully balanced and integrated into the game. If you're like me, you'll love the new world empires and, despite their lack of calvary units, their ability to overwhelm an enemy with sheer weight of numbers.
I recommend buying this without reservation. If you liked AOK, you have no excuse for now owning this expansion pack.
81 It's the best!
This game is the best game I have ever played in my life!
82 The best game ever just got a little better...
First I have to say it is a bit pricey for an expansion pack. For that price I could have bought a full priced stand alone game from another developer. For that money I would also have expected a few more new things (i.e. more new civilizations, technologies etc.).
However we have to get it. The game play is simply too addictive. Given you are experienced in the AOE universe there are a few interesting improvements. Things are more sensible in the new edition. Villagers gather and build more sensibly. A lot of items and units have now new functions that are quite logical, like infantry that can garrison inside a ram, and add to its power that way, or ships being able to move in the same formations as other troops. Also the differences between the civilizations have been altered a bit here and there to more detailed portray the uniqueness originally intended in a civilization. That is an improvement that make thinking up different strategies for the different civilizations really beneficial and fun. Also you have a few new was of playing the game and a few extra technologies here and there.
Then you have 5 new civilizations: The Koreans with interesting technology for their time; the Huns exemplifying the ravaging horde on the run; the Spanish ready for conquests of military and church; The bloodthirsty Aztecs with powerful infantry; and the Mayans with great and fast archers.
Along with that comes 3 new campaigns + a few extra scenarios with different civilizations. For that prize I think that was a little meager.
Over all you have a great improvement in gameplay. Mainly thanks to the tweaking in each civilizations profile and abilities + the added sensibility in the AI. Whether you are completely new to the genre or AOE universe, or long time addicted, I don't see how you can stay without this title. It could easily be the best game ever.
83 A Addicting Game
Age of Kings is regarded by many publications as The first ever "perfect game." I say microsoft and ensemble studios are the masters at perfecting perfection. When I first played Age of Kings, I thought there could not be a better game than this. Well, I was proven wrong. The conquerers adds many new features to Age of Kings. This is a must buy if you have Age of Kings.
84 The Best Just Got Better
This game is the next installment of the Age of Empires series (hopefully not the last) and is an improvement upon a game I didn't think could get much better. Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings was a great game with lots of civilizations, technologies, units and terrains. But they've expanded out in The Conquerors. They have five new civilizations: The Huns, Aztecs,Mayans, Spanish, and Koreans, on top of the thirteen others already. Add to that four new campaigns, as Attila the Hun invading Rome, Emperor of the Aztecs defending your homeland from the Spaniards under Cortes, El Cid, the commander of the Spanish Reconquista, and the Battles of the Conquerors, where you fight in famous battles throughtout history (like Hastings, and Lepanto, etc.) They also have an entirely different building set for the New World civilizations as well. There are new game types, like King of the Hill and Wonder Race, an you can play on real world maps like France, Japan, and Mexico. They've even added snow! I mean, if there was one thing odd about Age of Empires II, it was Vikings fighting in deserts. But they've fixed that with snow terrains, and all new maps as well. Your farms can now be queued to replant at mills, your villagers are smart enough to auto-work when finished building resource gather points like lumber camps and mining camps, and you can even garrison inside rams for protection! To top it all off, every civilization has a unique technology as well as their unique unit, it's amazing. All in all, there are enough new feature in this game to warrant buying it; I promise, if you liked Age of Empires II (the required game to add The Conquerors Expansion on your computer) then you'll love what they've done with it in The Conquerors Expansion.
85 Like Age Of Kings, But Way Better!
My 9-year-old grandson said this about the gift he received from us: "If I could give this 8 stars, I'd give this 8 stars! It is like Age of Kings except it has much better campaigns and has much more to offer. It has better graphics and more men to choose from in your army. It is an exhilarating game! And if you have Age of Kings and you think it's good.... I recommend you buy this quickly!" (great review, Jimmy!)
86 A terrific upgrade package, a must-have
If you already love Age of Empires, you might not think it could be improved. But the Conquerers Expansion Pack really is a big improvement. The new civilizations are interesting to play (Korean, Mayan, Aztec, Spanish, Huns) There are bug fixes and improved features, like farm queuing (replant the farms in advance without the annoying rattle of expired fields.) There are new unique units like Korean War Wagons and Turtle boats, plus new technologies for monks (herbal medicine) and new military units (halberdiers and Hussars.) A tremendous product.
87 AGE OF EMPIRES 2 THE CONQUERORS EXPANSION
This game rocks! However this does not surprise me at all. Just like AOE, AOE the rise of rome, and AOE 2 this series of games just keeps getting better. It has many scenarios and with a Awsome multiplayer website at THE ZONE it is easy to register online and play your friends or anyone!. Also, this game as unlimited replay value and is fun to play 1 player games such as random map, deathmatch, regicide and much more.
88 5 new civs? Or just the same stuff with a new look?
Well, the install period is about half an hour. I know this because I got an entire episode of the Simpsons in. However, upon starting the game, I realized that it was indeed, a game within itself. It would have been a perfect stand-alone game, with only a few piques. However, I found out that it was indeed the same thing as the other civs. It was simply a new name, with new unique units, but the same general armies.
Perhaps this could be over-looked by some obvious things. One, this is set in a time when technology was very limited and chances are, if it worked, you used it. Two, you want to try making totally unique units and buildings for 18 different civilizations? Three, the game simply has too much more to offer, to sit and waste our time looking at this kind of non-sense.
Each civ has a new unique technology, as well as more developed team/player bonuses. Also, the rocks/paper/scissors relationship has been tweaked somewhat. Camels are now more effective against pikeman, and so on. Plus, Villagers now have more brains! They will build a wall from several locations, instead of tripping over each other, when a drop off site is created, they start gathering the resource, and they will stop and fend of a wolf instead of just walking. Also, the addition of 3 new game types, several "real-world" locales, and a whole bunch of other stuff, will keep you busy for months just trying to find all the new stuff.
I can't say much for the graphics, it still looks like AOE. The interface has been improved a little bit. Now you can send commands to your computer allies, and they will respond to a certain extent. Multiplayer engines are the same, and so is the campaign structure. However, all of this really isn't that evident as you explore all the other stuff that this game has to offer.
As always, peace! Brian.
89 Great Learning, Great Family Sharing Opportunity
At 46, don't have time for many games, but this one is one I share with my 9 & 10 year olds with many pleasurable moments. For kids these ages, (reading the manual is mandantory for all-- a definite benifit for fourth grader parents) the game requires a fair amount of planning and resource management, and presents the ever present historical factoids/factors to boot. As such, it's a cinch that you'll have lots of quality bonding experiences with your children as you discuss and perhaps learn this and that tidbit from history; further, if you have multiple computers gameplay with your child is a snap over a simple serial link, not to mention over any NET and the WWW. My Mrs. also lends a hand from time to time, but refuses to go head to head. Of course, for Teens and up (Sneaky to have a game that educates), this one wins in a cakewalk!
That there's more to this series than hack and slash, be in no doubt. There are multiple ways to win for starters in the AOE series overall -- only one of THREE major winning conditions is conquest, but achieving either of the others will get you invaded! Society, Economy, Religion, population, and diplomacy, all add depth and strategic scoring factors, so it's quite possible to be the winner, through your allies `win' based on the simplier major criteria, and vice versa. (Microsoft calls this being the alliance MVP.)
This Upgrade/Expansion is better playing than the AOE II -- Age of Kings version, as certain overhead factors that detracted from game play have been semi-automated, and that gives you more time for strategic development. Armies can't fight well if they're hungry, or out of other resources, and fighting is a definite unavoidable part of winning-- even if only defensively!
If you've neither, the AOE-II is a pre-requisite (Borrow it and install -- the run time CD is this one, and once you upgrade, all the AOE-II senarios are available through the Conquerers, and goodness, I haven't even mentioned the historical basis of THOSE, or the ability to craft your own senarios either! ADD THIS ONE TO BEST VALUES, and start enjoying it!
90 Totally Excellent - educational and fun!
What a perfect game! My 7 year old loves it and playing over networked PC's you can play against each other - battling and learning about the Huns, Persians, and Vikings. I don't feel like he's playing a shoot 'em all up game and we get some great family time!! One word of warning. You can get so engrossed in the game that several hours can go by, and you emerge from your PC with totally exhausted eyes. You daren't blink - you might miss a sneak attack! Can't wait for the next installment.
91 A must buy for strategists
The Conquerors expansion is an excellent expansion to Age of Empires 2. It has 5 great new civilizations that catch your interest with new advantages from those of the original 13 civs. It also makes it easier to playby helping minimize micro-management. The villagers work after the collect the drop-off point, they work more efficiently and dont have to be re-assigned the same job as much, and sense danger and then try to escape. The units are also better and there is a bigger selection. The multiple maps are another great thing giving people maps to go along with their civs. If you like strategy and historical civilizations The Conquerors Expansion is a must buy.
92 A must buy for strategists
The Conquerors expansion is an excellent expansion to Age of Empires 2. It has 5 great new civilizations that catch your interest with new advantages from those of the original 13 civs. It also makes it easier to playby helping minimize micro-management. The villagers work after the collect the drop-off point, they work more efficiently and dont have to be re-assigned the same job as much, and sense danger and then try to escape. The units are also better and there is a bigger selection. The multiple maps is another great thing giving people maps to go along with their civs. If you like strategy and historical civilizations The Conquerors Expansion is a must buy.
93 The Greatest War Game I've Ever Played!
Even though Age of Empires does not have civilizations such as the Romans, I loved slaying my enemy day after day! I've had it for about two months now, and I got very good at it. It controls sort of like the Command and Conquer series. It's even better than C&C: Red Alert! I recomend it to everyone! Even though it is rated T for teen. The only remotly violent thing you see is a little skeleton once you killed some one!
94 The most playable Age of all
Though called an expansion pack, the number of changes made to AGE OF EMPIRES II ¨ is almost enough to make THE CONQUERORS a brand new game. Indeed, once installed, it wipes out much of what was there before. Gone are the campaigns of AOE II, replaced by a whole slate of new ones, designed to highlight enhanced features and new civilizations. Though these new single-player games are not, in the main, as challenging as what preceeded them on AOE II, they serve well enough as introduction to what new gifts Microsoft has brung.
And substantial gifts they are. The new civilizations are equal to the ones which came as a part of AOE II. Their unique qualities seem have historical relevance to the cultures depicted, which helps to make AOE II a better computer game than most, because there is genuine educational value to it. Also, the new cultures help to move AOE II away from its Euro-centricity. Only one new European culture makes its debut here.
What makes THE CONQUERORS really different, though, are the profound number of changes to the AOE II strategy code. To name just a few:
* Farms and fish traps can be automatically rebuilt once exhausted
* Units can be garrisoned inside rams
* New coloring scheme makes it easier to tell who's your enemy
* You can command allied computer players, not just your own
* Villagers now automatically look for work to do
* Many items/units now have different costs
If you've never played AOE I or II, this laundry list of changes may make little sense to you. But anyone whose played it even at a minimal level knows that these are pretty massive changes to the way you play the game. Of especial note are the new way villagers move and farms can be automatically rebuilt. It used to be that you had to constantly worry about which of your villagers were being idle, because economic strategy depended upon your labor force constantly working. And you had to continually check whether your farms and fish traps had "dried up", so that your food would be processed around the clock. Now, though, villagers and farms are `smarter', freeing you up to get to the business of conquering.
Likewise, conquering strategy has changed by the addition of rams which can take passengers, and allies who can be commanded. In the past, you had no way to really hide troops during an offensive charge; now you can not only thunder on your oppenent's walls with enhanced rams, you can also surprise him with a sudden onslaught of angry warriors. Similarly, you can now do better than just call for support from your allies: you can actually specifically command their armies. Such a change obviously demands careful players to rethink their strategies.
What will make top-notch players think even harder are the myriad tiny cost changes in elements common to both AOE II and THE CONQUERORS. The biggest is an increase in the cost and construction time of Town Centers. Vital to every civilization, this change is immediately felt when your society comes under economic or military pressure. But there are dozens of other changes like how much docks cost for Vikings to build, or how fast camels move, or how effective pikemen are against camel. They're small changes, but if you've developed a strategy based on any particular unit, you may suddenly find it less (or more) effective.
Though some may well balk at the changes made, there's no doubt that ultimately THE CONQUERORS stands as a the most playable version of AGE OF EMPIRES yet. Where it falters slightly, in my view, is in making this an add-on rather than a free standing game. That means that you have to buy both the original AOE II, and this expansion pack, to take advantage of any of its neat features. This, obviously, makes the game a bit pricey, even for all its excellence. Also, there's no Mac version of the game yet available, which disenfranchises creative souls who would probably love to help make this even more of a must-buy. Still, though I'd generally take a star away for these sins, I can't seem to make myself do it. THE CONQUERORS is simply too fine an achievement to do more than wistfully sigh that it's not a little more accessible, both in terms of price and platform.
95 Intelligent and Utterly Engrossing
I note with some dismay that it has been more than a month since I last submitted a review to this august website. I don't imagine there has been a universal clamor of disappointment, but if you care, the explanation for this lapse can be discerned by simply looking at the title of the game I am reviewing currently. Yes, another installment of the Age of Empires series has made its way into my life, and for the last month or so all of my activities outside work and sleep have essentially ceased, but for the playing of this addictive game. I have quit reading, watching football, and listening to music; I don't return phone calls; I have ignored my wife, my children, and my dog; and I have even cut down on my boozing, which, if you knew me, you'd recognize as nothing less than an astonishing revelation.
It's over now, though. Thankfully, these interruptions to my life don't last as long as they used to. When the very first A of E came out this insanity lasted eight months. Yes, eight months. From February to September of 1998, I did not read. I went from reading three to four books a month to zero, just like that. I went to bed at night and lied awake, thinking of tomorrow's strategies. Sometimes I woke up in the middle of the night in terror, because I didn't know if I was going to be able to beat a particular scenario, and was afraid that I would never get to play any of the games which came after it. (I didn't know about cheat codes then.) Entire weekends would go by--and I mean from Saturday at eight o'clock in the morning to Sunday at midnight--in which I would do nothing but play this game. Perhaps I have somewhat of a compulsive personality, but really, these games are that much fun. They are perfectly designed, challenging, beautiful to look at, and are presented with just the right amount of seriousness and small doses of levity. It is always a pleasure to come across a product which treats its customers with respect and assumes that they are intelligent.
This latest one is just as good as any of them and of course is loaded with new improvements, new civilizations, and new technologies. I am one of those who prefer playing the campaigns to playing on-line (although that is a blast also), and if you're like me, you won't be disappointed by these. I've always thought that the Rise of Rome campaigns were the best in the series, but man, these are very close. The last scenario of the Hun campaign, the Fall of Rome, was just fantastic, and as I fought my way down the map I was astounded as it slowly revealed itself to be the Italian peninsula. (It is interesting that the maps of this game can represent areas as large as the Iberian peninsula, and as small as the lakes surrounding Tenochtitlan, and still work effectively either way.) Other of my favorite scenarios were the Hastings, Agincourt and Vinlandsaga ones in the Conquerors campaign, but all of them are just wonderful.
I cannot rate this game highly enough. It is impossible and indeed a little embarrassing for me to admit to the countless number of hours I have spent enjoying these A of E and A of K games, rather than doing other productive things. But I will never regret it.
96 Do not buy this game if you want to keep your partner
I bought my partner this game as she liked the AOE2 original version...she squealed as she opened the box and I though: 'Great, at least I have done sonething OK for once!'. How wrong I was. She pushed me off the PC to load the thing, despite my unfinished work on my PhD thesis that I thought was top priority. She loaded the thing and that was the last I saw of her three weeks ago, building the occasional Wonder, fighting the Byzantines, killing the Franks, vanquishing the Britons, I cannot take any more. She sits engroossed for 3/4 hours per night, logging in as she gets in from work and logging off to come to bed. She is good enough to do it for England! I sit there, ignored, an ageing PC widower, listening to the clanking of arms, the hors cry and the sound of screaming and dieing men, you can even here the blood curdling urrghhhh! She has forsaken me for the mediaeval world and I regret buying this game. I am afraid Pandora's Box has been opened so I can only warn you.
THIS GAME IS SERIOUSLY ADDICTIVE!
97 A Darn Good Game
The new features of this new invigorating expansion pack really brings out the true prespective of great stratagy gaming. The pack offers a variaty of new feature which include various new technologies, units, game types including "King of the hill" and "Defend the Wonder". There's also a number of real life maps which feature geographical locations such as Britian and Italy. Smart Villages and Automatic farms replanting is another great improvement which proves to be usefull when in combat. The award winning pack holds hours of exellent strategy gaming with extra campaigns including "Attila the Hun", "El Cid", "Montezuma" and the illutrious "Battle of the Conquerors" featuring many famous battles fort in Europe including The Battle of Hastings. The Random Map games offer new game types with newly improved enemies giving a more chalanging skirmish. Overal the award winning expansion pack offers great entertainment and diserves all the creditabilty given to any game.
98 Don't Hesitate! Read This Review
The Conquerors Expansion really put things into a different perspective. New maps(both standard and Real World), new game types such as King of the Hill, Defend the Wonder. Five more civilizations(Mayans, Aztecs, Spanish, Huns, Koreans). All 18 civilization has new units and new upgrades, smarter villagers who can get to work after they built a camp, and the mill can reseed the farms automatically. It's not that much of a must have, if you want it and have the money, go buy without hesitation.
99 Expansion adds new fun to the game
I'm not much for buying expansion packs, but this one is worth it. It adds a great deal more variety to a game that is among my top three favorites.
100 Great Expansion to a Great game!
Strategy is what this game is all about. There are several new challenging campaigns to accomplish and several new types of games (ie. King of the Hill, Last man Standing). Ensemble Studios has improved Age of Kings (an already excellent game) to make it even more excellent with Age of Empires II: The Conquerors. They listened to gamers and did all they could do to tweak the game to make AOE/AOK gamers very pleased. If you are new to Age of Empires/Age of Kings, the graphics are the same as Age of Kings but are still wonderful with new units/wonders/civs/maps. The sounds and the music are very appealing. The playability is excellent. One word to describe this game is balance. If you are not new to AOE/AOK, you know that there is great balance to this game. The Conquerors have made the game even more balanced with new technologies and new civilizations. With several civilizations to choose from, there isn't a dominating civ. The unique units make each civilization very different from the rest. Ensemble Studios has also tried to take into account the history of all the civilizations and implement those facts into the game. For example, given the Nomadic style living of the Huns, this Civ does not require houses to build, just one advantage to this civilization. One more thing: if you are into these games and enjoy them, they can be very addictive. Thanks for reading my review.
