Age of Empires II: HD Edition

 PC
Metascore
68

Mixed or average reviews - based on 20 Critic Reviews

Critic 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. Cheat Code Central
    Apr 17, 2013
    88
    Do you want a modern RTS with an absurd amount of polish and visuals that make you feel justified in purchasing that high-end gaming rig? Well, you’ll want to look elsewhere. In fact, I hear StarCraft II’s new expansion is pretty great. But if you want to relive the glory days of when the RTS was first coming into its own as a genre (with a glorious palette of pixel art), then you can’t do much better than Age of Empires II: HD Edition.
  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.
  5. GameFront
    Apr 15, 2013
    80
    AoE2 is an RTS with classic sensibilities, and it can be daunting for those used to simpler, more focused, and more modern RTS games. It will chew you up and spit you out if you aren’t careful.
  6. 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.
  7. Vandal
    Apr 9, 2013
    79
    Ironically, the best part of this Age of Empire II: HD Edition has little to do with the HD resolution, and way more to do with the Steam features. Steam Workshop and the online matchmaking are the true additions to this game that still is as good as we remember.
  8. GameStar
    Apr 16, 2013
    77
    Quotation forthcoming.
  9. Hooked Gamers
    Apr 12, 2013
    75
    All in all, the combat and gameplay is unchanged, and I’m OK with that. Even in a world of beautiful advanced RTS titles like Starcraft II the game holds up remarkably well.

Awards & Rankings

53
#53 Most Discussed PC Game of 2013
25
#25 Most Shared PC Game of 2013

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 688 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 495 out of 688
  2. Mixed: 120 out of 688
  3. Negative: 73 out of 688
  1. 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.… Full Review »
  2. 223kazin
    Apr 23, 2013
    4
    I love, love, LOVED AoE2 and have owned it almost since it's release all those years ago. I like the fact that they brought out the defib toI love, love, LOVED AoE2 and have owned it almost since it's release all those years ago. I like the fact that they brought out the defib to bring it back to life, but they really didn't do anything with it besides tack on a 20$ price tag. Everything the developers did with this release was already done with the Forgotten Empires mod, for free(Assuming you owned the original game). I can't in good faith give this game the 7+ rating I sincerely want to give it.

    What really irks me is that it's been completely stripped of LAN. AoE2 was /THE/ game to lan party it up. Anyone that played it when it was still fresh knows what I'm talking about. This reeks of sacrificing the game to hit piracy. Something pretty much everyone condemns EA and their ilk for. It's not even successful, the game is still piratable and pirates can still play with eachother.

    I really hope the developers at Hidden Path have more in store for us than what's been presented so far. Perhaps the Steam Workshop will kick the game into overdrive? It's always been an amazing game and still is an amazing game, it's just disappointing how they had so many opportunities to fix some of the problems with AoE2 but didn't capitalize on any of them, and instead just implemented the exact same changes already done in Forgotten Empires(Unit cap increase, higher resolution support, etc etc)    … Full Review »
  3. Smarticus
    Apr 15, 2013
    5
    I bought this game for nostalgia purposes. I loved AOE2 when it came out. Unfortunately, this is the exact same game and they didnt fine tuneI bought this game for nostalgia purposes. I loved AOE2 when it came out. Unfortunately, this is the exact same game and they didnt fine tune any gameplay mechanics at all. To me, it just seems like a lazy reboot of the series. The original was good, but it wasnt perfect. There was room to make this version better. Instead, all they did was update a few textures and integrate the Steam workshop. Within a few minutes of playing, I noticed a bunch of things that could very easily have been improved in the gameplay. Sadly, this re-release seems half-assed.… Full Review »
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