Age of Empires II: HD Edition

Age of Empires II: HD Edition is a real-time strategy video game developed by Hidden Path Entertainment and published by Microsoft Studios. It is a high-definition remaster of the original game Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings. It comes with improved graphics, widescreen support as well as new multiplayer options through Steam.[1] It was released worldwide on April 9, 2013.

Age of Empires II: HD Edition
Developer(s)Ensemble Studios (original)
Hidden Path Entertainment
Publisher(s)Microsoft Studios
SeriesAge of Empires 
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
Release
  • WW: April 9, 2013
Genre(s)Real-time strategy
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Reception
Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic68/100[2]

Age of Empires II: HD Edition received mixed reviews with aggregate review website Metacritic assigning a score of 68 out of 100 based on reviews from 20 critics.[2] Critics agreed that the HD Edition changed very little from the original game. Daniel Starkey of Destructoid added that the reluctance to change the game features encourages "a much more aggressive, and obsessive style of play". He highlights the fact that many of the problems of trying to run the original game on a modern computer are gone, and calls its compatibility with Steam's Workshop "an amazing bonus".[3]

Paul Dean of Eurogamer was less forgiving; although he agreed that the Workshop compatibility was a good addition and praised the players in the online community as "remarkably calm and friendly", he thought that the game should have been updated more, citing its "boring campaign" and poorly-aged gameplay mechanics: "It just doesn't play very well, and its flaws are more blatant than ever before". Underscoring his criticisms of the lack of significant changes to the game, he described it as "a mouldy time-capsule that will likely mar your memories of the original".[4]

Expansions

Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten
Main article: Age of Empires II: The Forgotten

In August 2013 an expansion pack was announced for Age of Empires II HD, entitled The Forgotten. It is based on the fan-made expansion, The Forgotten Empires. The Forgotten introduces five new civilizations: the Italians, Indians, Slavs, Magyars, and the Incas. It includes new maps, campaigns, units, a new game mode, an increase of population limit from 200 to 500[5] and numerous balance and gameplay adjustments.[6][7]

Age of Empires II HD: The African Kingdoms

A second expansion pack for Age of Empires II HD was announced on April 9, 2015, and released on November 5, 2015. The African Kingdoms introduces four new civilizations: the Berbers, Ethiopians, Malians, and the Portuguese. It includes new maps, campaigns (Sundjata, Francisco de Almeida, Yodit, and Tariq ibn Ziyad), and units, a new game mode, and numerous balance and gameplay adjustments.[6][7][8][9][10]

Age of Empires II HD: Rise of the Rajas

Rise of the Rajas was released December 19, 2016.[11] It is set in Southeast Asia, and adds four civilizations (Burmese, Malay, Khmer, and Vietnamese; each with its own fully voice-acted campaign: Bayinnaung, Gajah Mada, Suryavarman I, and Lê Lợi) as well as a new map type with environments, units, improved AI and more.[12]

References
  1. Rouă, Victor (April 26, 2016). "Age Of Empires II: HD Edition Review". The Dockyards. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
  2. "Age of Empires II: HD Edition for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on July 1, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  3. Daniel Starkey. "Review: Age of Empires II HD". Destructoid. Archived from the original on December 5, 2013. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
  4. Paul Dean (April 12, 2013). "Age of Empires 2 HD review". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on December 5, 2013. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
  5. "Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten". forgottenempires.net. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  6. "Age of Empires 2 HD: The African Kingdoms: Neue Erweiterung erscheint morgen, Trailer zeigt die neuen Zivilisationen" [Age of Empires 2 HD: The African Kingdoms: New expansion will be released tomorrow, trailer shows the new civilizations]. gamona.de (in German). Archived from the original on December 11, 2015. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  7. "AoE 2 HD Edition: "The African Kingdoms" erscheint in Kürze" [AoE 2 HD Edition: "The African Kingdoms" will be released soon]. PC GAMES (in German). November 3, 2015. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  8. "Age of Empires II: The African Kingdoms se muestra en imágenes" [Age of Empires II: The African Kingdoms is shown in pictures]. Perú.com (in Spanish). November 5, 2015. Archived from the original on November 7, 2015. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  9. "Recensione Age of Empires 2 HD: The African Kingdoms" [Review Age of Empires 2 HD: The African Kingdoms]. Everyeye.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on April 22, 2016. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  10. Cicarelli, Daniele (November 5, 2015). "La nuova espansione di Age Of Empires II, The African Kingdoms, disponibile ora su Steam / Orgoglio Nerd" [The new expansion for Age of Empires II, The African Kingdoms, available now on Steam / Nerd Pride]. www.orgoglionerd.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on November 7, 2015. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  11. "Age of Empires II HD: Rise of the Rajas". Archived from the original on December 21, 2016. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  12. "Rise of the Rajas Available for Pre-Order Now!". Steam. December 13, 2016. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
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