In this, our eighth installment in our ongoing look at the civilizations of Age of Empires II: Age of Kings, we turn our gaze to the barbarians who sacked Rome: the Goths. The Goths were a Germanic tribe famous for pillaging and raiding cities across a region that spanned from what is now Italy to Spain. In Age of Kings, they have some interesting bonuses that reflect their barbarian penchant for sacking villages. Of course, to say that the Goths were only known for brutal conquest would be gross oversimplification, but in the game, this aspect of their history is played up to good effect. As Age of Kings civilizations go, this one is rather strong and good throughout the ages.

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Although they, like the Zoroastrian Persians we previewed two weeks ago, were gone by the later part of the Middle Ages, they left quite a mark on Western history, enough so that Ensemble wants to include them in the game. Says designer Greg Street, "Age of Kings roughly covers the years 500-1500 AD. While the 'barbarians' of Europe and Asia had more or less disappeared by 1500, there were many Germanic tribes on the scene in 500 AD, such as the Anglo-Saxons, Avars, Vandals, and Goths. It would be remiss to make a game on the Middle Ages without including at least one of these tribes. For the history conscious, think about it this way: In the real world, Goths were eliminated early on in the game (perhaps they failed to pull off an early rush.) When you play them, try not to make the same mistakes."

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In this installment, we'll take a look at the Goths' cultural bonuses, strengths, and weaknesses, and we'll examine their unique unit, the Huskarl. In addition, our showcased building and ship this time are the stable and galleon, respectively. And as always, we'll try to shed some historical light on our spotlighted civilization with a brief and abridged look at the history of the Goths. If you want to jump straight to the gameplay section, go on. Otherwise, turn the page and read about the history of the Goths.

Next: On to the history