Surprisingly good from a handheld RTS type game.

User Rating: 9 | Age of Empires: The Age of Kings DS
I was very surprised when playing this game how addictive it became. I am a RTS on the PC fan and didn't think I'd get into one on the DS at all, but this game surprised me.

The tutorial was fun in of itself just getting you used to the game. Then being able to play free mode and set the level of each of your opponents makes the game very deep. You can have 4 total teams on a map including yourself. You can make one easy, one medium and one hard. Or you make any combo of them you want. It can be as little as 2 on a map or up to the max 4. This I would try to pick randomly so I wouldn' t know who was going to be more aggressive as I played the game.

That made for some unbelieveable play by the computer AI. Thinking I was pushing forward on a weak 'easy' opponent I had another come in the back door into my town and wipe me out. I never saw it coming. Things like that make me totally regain strategy instead of the usual store up goods and bombard afterwhile.

The one downfall was the slow down that came about when i had opened up most of the map and had units all over the place. The game really chugged then, but it ended soon after with my victory so I was ok with it.

To me this game is worth the price tag. $35 is a no brainer!