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Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings

EMAIL PRINT pc

9.2 User Score:

Universal acclaim

Based on 21 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 47 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: Microsoft

Developer: Ensemble Studios

Genre(s): Real-Time Strategy

Players: 8

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Release Date: September 30, 1999

Summary

Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings is the sequel to the award-winning, best-selling real-time strategy game "Age of Empires." Age of Empires II spans a thousand years, from the fall of Rome through the Middle Ages in which players lead one of 13 civilizations into greatness. The game keeps the epic scope of Age of Empires' game play while evolving the combat and economic features. [Microsoft]

Also On Metacritic

GAMES: Age of Empires Age of Empires II: The Conquerors Age of Empires III

Cheat Codes & Hints: Age of Kings Heaven Cheat Code Central

Also On The Web: Official Website

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Yahoo! Games

While those of you with hypercritical eyes will argue there's room for improvement, AoE 2 is the best RTS game of the year to date, and as such is worthy of our GDR Gold Award.

100

GamePro

Extraordinary.

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100

Computer Games Magazine

An outstanding game. It looks great, is very well balanced, and is easy to get started with. The game has more strategy and fewer mouse gymnastics than the average RTS game.

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Gamer's Pulse

I really haven't had a game get me so fired up in a while, and this one seems to be one that I couldn't go wrong with. If you were a fan of the original AoE, then you're probably going to love this sequel.

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PC Gameworld

An engrossing and highly playable RTS game, Age of Empires II will even convert the people who didn't like the original.

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Electric Playground

Trivial shortcomings aside, Age of Empires II: Age of Kings is a good-looking and feature-full 2D RTS that manages to provide hours and hours of solo or multiplayer gaming enjoyment. The kicker? With its extremely lean system requirements, you don’t need the latest and greatest computer in order to get in on the fun.

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Gamezilla!

The only reason I did not give this game 100 out of 100, as great as it is, is that it is a sequel. It is not a totally new idea with groundbreaking creativity and originality. Don’t get me wrong, I love this game and it already has my vote for Game of the Year.

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Gamers' Temple

A beauty to behold and play. The AI may prove to be too great a challenge for some beginning players, though. Otherwise, there is very little I can find to complain about. This is a genuinely well-designed, fun to play game that stands out from most of the other games out there.

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TotalGames.net

Within minutes of starting out, you will find yourself totally immersed in the world inside your PC. No longer will you care about what''s for dinner or how you pay the rent. Instead, you will be worrying about how to raise finances to build catapults, or how best to storm the nearby French castle.

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PC Gamer

The Age of Kings is a work of art, and one of the best RTS games ever.

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Game Revolution

In almost all ways, The Age of Kings expands and nearly perfects the already proven AOE formula. A few remaining AI and path-finding glitches are a bother, but overall there are very, very few things that one can fault AOE 2 for. This is easily the best RTS game to come out this year, far surpassing the original, and destined to immensely entertain eager RTS fans for a very long time.

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Gaming Age

The AoEII environment is extremely rich in detail. Even more than the original, details on buildings are captured right down to the dead leaves resting on the rooftops.

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GameSpot

If you've ever liked any other real-time strategy game in this classical style, then you'll clearly see why this one deserves so much credit, even in direct comparison to the finest examples in its category.

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FiringSquad

AOK is as addictive as crack, but at the same time, as refined as a 30 year old cognac. Package all that into a drop dead gorgeous graphics engine and it's easy to see that Ensemble and Microsoft have a real winner on their hands; AOK is going to be around for a long time.

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Eurogamer

I never got into the original game, yet I find AoE II enchanting. The sheer depth of the technology tree and evolution of the civilisation are always a surprise. I particularly like the intuitive logic that makes battles more tactical.

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All Game Guide

The possibilities of this real-time strategy game seem nearly endless and it definitely is on my short list of personal "game of the year" nominees. If the music and sound isn't spectacular (which it's not), it's my opinion that most strategy gamers will focus on the game's stellar gameplay and forgive any minor shortcomings, the largest of which is possibly the lack of a zoom or map rotation feature.

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GameSpy

A very strong and well-themed real-time strategy title that shouldn't be missed. A fun single-player and multiplayer experience with plenty of fresh gameplay and original ideas, despite its adherence to the original Age of Empires formula.

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IGN

There's a certain strategic subtlety that games like "Dark Reign" and "Starcraft" inspire that is in many ways missing from Age of Empires 2, particularly in the single player mode.

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Game Over Online

It’s not a significant improvement as far as gameplay and graphics, but it does help further the claim of AOE as a solid gaming title and a quality multiplayer game. The originality may be gone, but the idea lives on.

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GameZone

Simply an awesome game - great in historical imagery, solid in sound and game play, and a lot of fun to play. The Age of Kings deserves its title.

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Adrenaline Vault

A rock-solid real-time strategy offering from folks that have a proven track record for providing historically accurate and fun strategy games. Its depth and long list of features will keep even the best empire builders and military strategists busy for months.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 9.2 (out of 10) based on 47 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Kevin B. gave it a10:
One of the best RTS's of all time, if not the best. Absolutely perfect. Extremely replayable (I still play a couple hours a week almost 10 years later), very addictive. The only downside is that Microsoft no longer provides online services, and I can never seem to get one of the new clients (such as IGZones) to work, but that doesn't take away from the fact that this is an amazing game.

Simon F gave it a10:
This is a masterpiece. Not only are the singleplayer missions fun and historically correct, it has lots to offer to new RTS players, as well as old RTS players, and is the most well-balanced game I have ever played. It is also a lot of fun, especially when you play multiplayer. The AI could use an additional difficulty mode, because the hardest mode isn't hard enough for real RTS veterans. I have to highlight the multiplayer again, because it is absolutely fantastic. You can have the most amazing and epic battles with sieges from multiple sides on your opponents castle et cetera. Playing with eight players is an amazing experience because of the importance of alliances, that can be really fragile, especially if you turn on the last man standing mode. This is a wonderful game, and an absolute classic.

ZuffuluZ T. gave it a10:
Best RTS game of all time. Period. ;) Seriously this game has everything you ever wanted in an RTS game. The graphics may not be up to date anymore but since it's 2D it doesn't grow old as fast as 3D titles do. (look at 3D games of that time and you know what I mean ...) The gameplay is just awesome, because it has such a great balance between economy and warfare, which allows you to build huge cities and train enormous armies to besiege them. Besides that there is just an endless amount of stuff to do in this game, because there are so many different factions, units, strategies, campaigns, scenarios and probably the most easy to use map editor of all time. It is already 9 years old and I am still playing it every now and then, because it just has so much more to offer than all the other RTS games that were released since then, especially AOE3, which was really disappointing to me. There has never been such an addicting RTS game out there, so if you still don't own it, buy it! It is more than worth it. And if you already have it, go and play it again! It is really so much more enjoying than all the modern RTS games with fancy graphics but no substance.

Srikantt M. gave it a10:
One of the finest RTS Games ever. Has a great replay value and endless scope,making it a great game. Even after the advent of so many new games, this game stands out for its unique gameplay and strategy.

Cedric T. gave it a10:
It's pointless to hate this game, because at first look your realize the work put into this. The Cathedral alone is example enough to display its excellence in graphics. The gameplay is moderate to control, the campaigns can be challenging, overall it was the best game in its time and still needs be recognized a classic. I still catch myself installing it to play a couple missions. Masterpiece.

Pablo S. gave it a10:
Easily one of the greatest RTS of all time in my opinion even better than starcraft, everything in the game is great the graphs the GAMEPLAY the story lines of campains ... just a revolution on RTS Genre.

Dan C. gave it a9:
Brilliant game. Hot graphics, and an amazing level of depth to the strategy.

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Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings

Game Info

Summary

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What The Critics Said

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