Rating: 
Summary: AGE OF EMPIRES 2 THE CONQUERORS EXPANSION
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: 5 new civs? Or just the same stuff with a new look?
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Great Learning, Great Family Sharing Opportunity
Review: 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!
Rating:
Summary: Totally Excellent - educational and fun!
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: A must buy for strategists
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: The Greatest War Game I've Ever Played!
Review: 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!
Rating:
Summary: The most playable Age of all
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Intelligent and Utterly Engrossing
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Do not buy this game if you want to keep your partner
Review: 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!
Rating:
Summary: A Darn Good Game
Review: 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.
|
