Age of Empires II: HD Edition

 PC
Age of Empires II: HD Edition Image
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68

Mixed or average reviews - based on 20 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 684 Ratings

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  • Summary: In Age of Empires II: HD Edition, fans of the original game and new players alike will fall in love with the classic Age of Empires II experience. Explore all the original single player campaigns from both Age of Kings and The Conquerors expansion, choose from 18 civilizations spanning overIn Age of Empires II: HD Edition, fans of the original game and new players alike will fall in love with the classic Age of Empires II experience. Explore all the original single player campaigns from both Age of Kings and The Conquerors expansion, choose from 18 civilizations spanning over a thousand years of history, and head online to challenge other Steam players in your quest for world domination throughout the ages. Originally developed by Ensemble Studios and reimagined in high definition by Hidden Path Entertainment, Microsoft Studios is proud to bring Age of Empires II: HD Edition to Steam!… Expand

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Age of Empires II: The Conquerors Movie One

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 20
  3. Negative: 1 out of 20
  1. Gamer.no
    Apr 17, 2013
    90
    Age of Empires II recaptures its status as a classic with an HD remake filled to the brim with content. With eight campaigns, a robust multiplayer, Steam Workshop integration for modders and a map editor, strategy fans will find that Age of Empires II HD is definitely worth the price of admission.
  2. Digital Spy
    Apr 4, 2013
    80
    Instead, the re-release should be considered by anyone with an itch to revisit the well-loved game or anyone looking for a new and entertaining strategy title at a reasonably low price.
  3. Destructoid
    Apr 17, 2013
    80
    While a little frustrating if you’re not into tons of micro-management, Age of Empires II HD with the Workshop and updated multiplayer features is an excellent title. The brilliance of the game’s design is still there, you just might need to look past it’s age to see it.
  4. Gameplanet
    Apr 2, 2013
    70
    Age of Empires II: HD will scratch a nostalgic itch for some, but Hidden Path's update doesn't go far enough to bring new audiences to the series.
  5. Multiplayer.it
    Apr 13, 2013
    65
    A good graphic overhaul, but not much more unfortunately.
  6. Eurogamer Sweden
    Apr 21, 2013
    60
    Though it's still the competent RTS game it has always been, it can’t be avoided that the age in Age of Empires II has become apparent. The HD edition shows once again why the game is a classic, but besides a functional multiplayer lobby it just doesn’t add enough to warrant the price tag.
  7. Games.cz
    Apr 28, 2013
    40
    For youngsters it's oddly out of date, for the old stickers it's far from the original. This is how the HD edition of the legendary strategy game Age of Empires II has turned out. From one golden legacy to just broken pieces. Hopefully, its community will put it together.

See all 20 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 93 out of 156
  2. Mixed: 28 out of 156
  3. Negative: 35 out of 156
  1. jesus_vw
    Jul 27, 2013
    10
    excellent game, i appreciate that it was relaunched in hd so i can revive the moments playing on line. the only thing i dont like too much isexcellent game, i appreciate that it was relaunched in hd so i can revive the moments playing on line. the only thing i dont like too much is that the LAN was eliminated and you need to purchase a game for any of your LAN friends, but that is normal this days...… Expand
  2. debigman
    May 16, 2014
    10
    An epic collection of epicness. PLAY THIS GAME! It has everything the first one did, along with some glitch fixes and improved AI. Most of theAn epic collection of epicness. PLAY THIS GAME! It has everything the first one did, along with some glitch fixes and improved AI. Most of the ppl who rate this game poorly did so before the game left Beta.… Expand
  4. Pringled
    Apr 9, 2013
    10
    To start of this review, the score I would like to give is a 9. I give a 10 to compensate for people who judge before a game is even out. ForTo start of this review, the score I would like to give is a 9. I give a 10 to compensate for people who judge before a game is even out. For the HD part: they managed to up the resolution to max and also retexture a 14 year old engine, which is pretty impressive in my opinion. Regarding the framedrops: when we got the privilege to play the game before it is officially out doesn't mean they will have every bug fixed, otherwise they could just release it for everyone at that time. As soon as they heard about this problem the devs posted on multiple multimedia sites and their own site that they are working on the problem right now. The game has been out for a few minutes now while people know that the devs are doing their best to work on the issues, so please show some patience. The real addition of this however is the online. The servers for the original AOE II were pulled long ago, and now we have new servers to play this still awesome game online with friends. Oh, and did I mention steam workshop? This means that we will see a lot more mods to keep te game alive even longer. All in all, a great idea worked out great, with some bugs at the start. It's also a nice way to show that for some games it doesn't matter how old they are, it's all about the gameplay, just like how you don't care about graphics when playing a cardgame.… Expand
  5. Detraxxx
    Mar 23, 2016
    8
    HD remake of the best strategic game ever. There are not many major changes, just addition of HD resolution and few civilisations. There areHD remake of the best strategic game ever. There are not many major changes, just addition of HD resolution and few civilisations. There are some bugs and framedrops. Finally there is a large online community and you can easily find players online. In overall I am satisfied with this game.… Expand
  6. Misterdiony
    May 17, 2021
    7
    The HD Edition adds a great graphic update, but is overall not changing much. Back in 2013 it surely was a great graphic enhancement, but itThe HD Edition adds a great graphic update, but is overall not changing much. Back in 2013 it surely was a great graphic enhancement, but it lacks tuning old issues and gameplay parts.… Expand
  7. Steamcausedthis
    Jul 24, 2013
    5
    What really hurts this game is the nostalgia from years of aging combined with the delivery of modern day expectations.

    First, I am    What really hurts this game is the nostalgia from years of aging combined with the delivery of modern day expectations.

    First, I am disappointed on the (stated several times) textures provided to constitute as HD most of the textures such as the farms and fire do look better but they werent really needed.

    Second the price point for a game that is 10 years+ old is beyond disturbing, I would have probably turned a blind eye if it was 10 maybe 15 dollars but at 20 I feel that steam along with Microsoft is just capitalizing on an old product that was arguably one of their better in the Age series along with the hype brought on by the release of the fan "expansion" forgotten empires that brought about many changes to the game along with interest in the series.

    Leading to my third point the fact that Forgotten empires will most likely never come to port on steam. The expansion brought about alot of bug fixes adding of new races and units and even included some updated textures for buildings, etc. I do realize that something that was added material to the original shouldnt affect my scoring for the HD port to steam but sadly it does weigh in to my experiences with current online play.

    Thankfully the things I felt that steam did well into having this game added to their list is the ability for players to play online without the help of things such as Game Rangers ever since the "Zone" went extinct. I also like to believe that having more people buy into the franchise will eventually allow a new release that will mimic that same staying power as AoE and AoE2 etc.

    tl;dr
    If you want to re experience this old gem with online play added back in the mix and historical campaigns go for it..
    If you are hoping this release was going to breathe life into an old series well, at least its not teaming with Brazilians and Italians!    … Expand
  8. Migasuke
    Mar 6, 2017
    0
    Age of Empires 2: HD edition is very similar to previous AoE2, with several bonus features. Obviously one of the features is to play in HD,Age of Empires 2: HD edition is very similar to previous AoE2, with several bonus features. Obviously one of the features is to play in HD, but only the pixels are managed, the graphics remains basically same like in the previous old AoE2.… Expand

See all 156 User Reviews

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Awards & Rankings

54
#54 Most Discussed PC Game of 2013
24
#24 Most Shared PC Game of 2013

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