Age of Empires II: The Conquerors Preview

Age of Empires II: The Conquerors is nearly finished, and it should arrive on store shelves at the end of this month. This expansion pack continues the deep and fun gameplay of the original by adding many new features, including five new civilizations, new units, new technologies, new campaigns, and more. In fact, The Conquerors could possibly be one of the most ambitious and feature-packed expansion sets to ever release. Even more so than the first Age of Empires expansion, Rise of Rome, the Conquerors enhances and deepens the gameplay of Age II with a wealth of new options. Let's reveal those options now and give you a glimpse at what's in store for you when this robust expansion pack finally arrives in the next few weeks. One warning to readers: This preview reveals specific information about units and new technologies, so those who don't want these specific details spoiled for them are forewarned.

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The most immediate new feature of the expansion pack is the group of new civilizations, which are loosely grouped around the conquerors' theme. Unlike the Rise of Rome pack, these new civilizations are not related by geography or time period. Instead, they are historical conquerors, mighty civilizations that expanded their reach and power through conquest. The five new civilizations are the Huns, the Koreans, the Spaniards, and two civilizations from the all-new Mesoamerican tileset, the Mayans and Aztecs. All these civilizations have already been profiled in our civilization showcase features, which you can access via the previews link in the continue box to the right. Another new feature is of course the Mesoamerican tileset, which was created for the two New World civilizations. The tileset has all new graphics for all the buildings, as well as a new look for the Aztec monk. The visual detail is stunning, and the artwork is very colorful.

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The introduction of the Mesoamerican tileset also heralds the inclusion of some new map types. There is now a jungle map type that is appropriate to the Mesoamerican theme. This map type, called the Yucatan, has lots of tropical trees, but it also replaces the sheep of the Old World with turkeys and swaps in jaguars for the wolves. It's a nice touch, but at least one detail failed to be followed up, because the turkey gatherers are still called shepherds. There is also a new snow tileset, with frozen water and snow that you can leave footprints in. Other new map types include real-world maps, which are basically maps based on the geography of real places, such as Mexico, Britain, Europe, and Japan.