I got it for less than 20$, and it was worth it. Microsoft says it contains up to 200hrs of solo gameplay, and I'm inclined to believe it, so far.
It is much, much, much better than the botched HD edition of 2013. Some of the game mechanics have been improved, fans of MP will find their fill (although, I hear there are still some bugs, and some problems due to patch mismatch between MS Store and Steam), fans of history will find their... hmm, their... well, we'll find something :P
The basic story hasn't changed, but they've added many new campaigns, in Africa and Asia.Here's a review (https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2019/11/14/age-of-empires-2-definitive-edition-pc-review/) from Rock, Paper, Shotgun, for many more details. I'm just getting started, replayed the Scottish tutorial, and begun the Portuguese campaign in Africa and India. The AI has been reworked, it's a little more challenging than it used to be. No cheating AI, apparently.
Graphically, the game is very nice looking now, but you got to add the graphic DLC from Steam, than add it to your DLC list manually (why didn't they include it in the base game, I wonder...). However, if you zoom too close, you'll begin to see the rough edges of the models they used before, I guess there's only so much you can do with such an old game.
Syt, I see you have the game, have you had a chance to play it a little? What do you think of it? :)
Me, I can't wait for AOE III Definitive Edition :)
I have it, part of GamePass.
I didn't know it had more campaigns. I'm interested in that.
I look forward to AoE4.
Quote from: Grey Fox on November 19, 2019, 08:40:36 AM
I look forward to AoE4.
Me too :)
The "new" campaigns were, I believe, part of the "Forgotten" expansion a few years ago. All reworked for 4k resolution.
Haven't played it yet, viper. TBF, I at most play against the AI (actually I had forgotten I bought it :D ). :blush:
Actually, I just saw that I haven't bought it. I just have the "normal" HD edition and its expansions, not the Definitive Edition (it pops up for me in the current Steam sale). :D
Quote from: Syt on November 26, 2019, 01:33:25 PM
Actually, I just saw that I haven't bought it. I just have the "normal" HD edition and its expansions, not the Definitive Edition (it pops up for me in the current Steam sale). :D
Duh!
I thought it said you were playing it, but Steam is only telling me you have it on your wishlist.
Imho, if you liked the HD, you should buy the DE, it is much better, and it is a true remake of the game. :)
I haven't played this game since the original expansion....what was it, Conquerors or something? I remember my PC at the time started giving me issues with huge skirmishes, then I moved on. probably discovered EU at that time.
But I'm thinking about going back. Is it still fun?
Quote from: Josephus on December 03, 2019, 09:14:19 AM
But I'm thinking about going back. Is it still fun?
Yes, it is :)
Got it. Now have to relearn it.
Isn't there an order you can give to your scout to have him scout indefinitely without mircro managing him? Or was that one of the other similar type of games?
Quote from: Syt on November 26, 2019, 01:33:25 PM
Imho, if you liked the HD, you should buy the DE, it is much better, and it is a true remake of the game. :)
Im in the same boat as SYT and I don't understand what the big deal is about the definitive upgrade and how the HD edition was "botched"
the graphics were ugly, and they kept all the bugs in place.
The DE has upgraded mechanics & graphics that are really nice.
Tell me more about the upgraded mechanics :)
Quote from: crazy canuck on December 10, 2019, 04:38:16 PM
Tell me more about the upgraded mechanics :)
The biggest ones are the farm auto-seed mechanism and a similar one for fishing boats. You click on the opion on the mill/dockyard and your unit will replant/re-throw a net instead of you actually having to monitor it and doing it manually everytime.
AI has been improved by a lot, no cheating AI.
There are improvements in the multiplayer backend, but I haven't played MP and don't think I will either.
For all the details head here:
https://ageofempires.fandom.com/wiki/Age_of_Empires_II:_Definitive_Edition
That is a nice QoL fix. Will give it a go, thanks.
Having fun, except I remember now that I actually suck at this.
I'm OK on maps where water separates me from the AI. but in a land map, I find the AI always manages to attack me from multiple areas, and I can never recover enough to get back at it.
Have you tried putting your back into it?
Quote from: Josephus on December 12, 2019, 02:26:27 PM
Having fun, except I remember now that I actually suck at this.
I'm OK on maps where water separates me from the AI. but in a land map, I find the AI always manages to attack me from multiple areas, and I can never recover enough to get back at it.
I think the trick is to build walls as quickly as possible and towers/castles to protect yourself. Agressivity in skirmish pays off, but in the campaign, the ennemy is often already setup with towers and castles, so it's hard to attack its peasants.
And as luck would have it, picked it up this morning in the Steam sale :)
I will revise my judgement on this.
Yes, it is a very fun game, at first. I like that it's connected to history, albeit a tad warped, sometimes, it does stimulate me to look on Wikipedia for historical events or characters I don't know much about (particularly the asian campaigns).
However, it does get repetitive. And aside from 1 or 2 unique units, they mostly look the same. Play the Aztecs of the Inca, and you get men-at-arms and two handed swordsman like France or Portugal.
AoE 3 is much better in that regard and I anxiously wait for the DE to be released for that one as well.
Also, I tried AoE 1 DE, and it looks really bad, so I ended up returning it.
You could play Star Wars: Battlegrounds, which is AoE2 in Star Wars paint. It's available from GOG and has 6 factions: Empire, Rebels, Republic, Confederacy, Wookiees, Naboo, Trade Federation, and ... Gungans. :P
"Should you play SWGB in 2019?": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDGatw1Ti9g