The best of a disappointing bunch!
Age of Empires 2 set such a high bar for PC Real time Strategy Games back at its release in 1999. So high, that its never been surpassed. The game is completely sprite based and looks enchanting even today. The unit models and terrain types/features are numerous and have aged remarkably well when compared with today's graphics.
As a young boy, playing Age of Empires 2 blew my mind. And the expansion just added more stuff on top of the game we already knew and love. With over 15 civilizations to choose from Age of Empires 2 the conquerors expansions leaves the players with lots of new content to play around with, From campaigns to new units, to more polished game play like the improved Mill.
Using Guerrilla Warfare tactics to pick off men and siege with Mongolian horse archers never gets old. The combat is the strongest part of the game. While the preparing for combat and the economy part of the game is fun early on, but becomes a chore when you've played for the 100th time. The mechanics of the game at its release were exceptional.Today in 2012. They show their age a little. The unit pathing (the way units move/interact with the environment) is a little clunky and the inability to stack unit commands can be for some players, game breaking.
The single player campaign is mediocre, in addition, games last too long and an evenly matched multiplayer game is an absolute rarity. Most of the time, you'll either stomp your opponents and feel unsatisfied or your opponents will stomp you, and you'll be left unsatisfied. But when you get an even match, and no players leave prematurely, it can be a fun time. The game is quite unbalanced also with certain civilizations being too powerful on certain map types. However, The kind of flaws i'm picking at are those that have shone through after many hours of play on my part.
All things considered this game is a classic in real time strategy gaming. Its the Chess of PC Games.In 1999 This game excited players for all that was to come in the future but sadly it has yet to be surpassed by any other game. The only game that came arguably close was the innovative Company of Heroes Online while Games like Starcraft 2 embarrass us with the exact same game play from 1999 except made worse.
AOE2 is a game with huge potential and cries out for remake with improved polish, graphics and gameplay. AOE2 does so much right and yet so much wrong. Beautiful and flawed at the same time.
PS: Stay the hell away from AOE3 and Age of Empire Online. As far as i'm concerned, the franchise died after AOE2 the conquerors expansion.