User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 688 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Negative: 73 out of 688

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  1. 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 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 SteamI 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. Expand
  2. Apr 22, 2017
    7
    1 – GENERAL

    Age of Empires II HD it's a remastered version of the original isometric RTS game that we spend a ton of time playing when we were small brats! The graphics had a little boost but the game remains more or less the same. You have those nostalgic sounds and soundtrack, and even the same menus. Those menus are already dated with a lot of options lacking that could improve
    1 – GENERAL

    Age of Empires II HD it's a remastered version of the original isometric RTS game that we spend a ton of time playing when we were small brats!

    The graphics had a little boost but the game remains more or less the same. You have those nostalgic sounds and soundtrack, and even the same menus. Those menus are already dated with a lot of options lacking that could improve the game a lot but do not forget, we are here for the nostalgia...

    You can chose one of several civilizations to play with, customize the map and go, or you can choose some of the available historical missions to play.

    Multiplayer is alive and kicking, and that was the first time I've experienced it. I've sucked!

    2 – GAMEPLAY

    Age of Empires it's still a great game. The AI always had some issues, and now it still has. For the core players this will be a easy and exploitable game, but it gives some illusion of depth for the casual gamer. Either way it's very fun to play, it's fun to try to find the perfect balance between resources and armies, try to boost economy, and crush all the opponents.

    The replay value is immense. You can customize each map, you have the missions and the multiplayer. Even the tutorial is interesting.

    Overall it's still a very actual game.

    3 – CONCLUSION

    I have some issues with the game. OFC I'll recommend it, the game it's great, but it seems a lazy remake, since a lot of stuff could easily be improved, menus could be updated without losing the classic feeling of the game. But now it very easy to find this game almost for free so, I do not care with nothing of that stuff. Just buy it and have fun!
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  3. 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 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
    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!
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  4. Apr 13, 2013
    6
    This is basically the equivalent of downloading a mod that adds 1080p resolution support and a couple of texture changes/brushups most noticeably in the HUD and water/fire effects. Outside of this everything else is the same old Age of Empires II. After paying $20 for that It's a bit of a letdown honestly, there's so much more that could have been added to the game to really bring out theThis is basically the equivalent of downloading a mod that adds 1080p resolution support and a couple of texture changes/brushups most noticeably in the HUD and water/fire effects. Outside of this everything else is the same old Age of Empires II. After paying $20 for that It's a bit of a letdown honestly, there's so much more that could have been added to the game to really bring out the best of it but apart from a couple of additional parameters in standard game creation nothing has been considered or added even as a voluntary thing.

    The positive thing about this release is the workshop which I am sure will very quickly come to contain thousands of mods that hopefully address these issues but I do believe that it shouldn't be on the community to sort out problems the devs can't be bothered worrying about.
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  5. May 3, 2013
    5
    AoE 2 HD is a re-release of AoE2 with a very slight face lift. Sadly, it doesn't do anything to bring the UI into the new millennium and is missing key features that should be in all modern RTS releases. Nostalgia is a powerful thing, but when asking a full price for this game, it should be updated more than it is.
  6. Jun 24, 2013
    5
    AoE II is legendary game, but this HD edition is rushed cash in on legendary game. It is very buggy and almost no graphics update. If you already got AoE II this is total waste.
  7. Aug 23, 2013
    6
    Age of Empires 2 is a fantastic RTS game which was a trendsetter in its genre and a entertaining time sink. So naturally with a remake of such a game there is very little to truly get wrong especially if the source material is a well liked game. However, Age of Empires 2 HD does not live up to the idea of a HD remake, especially not a release worthy of the price tag set which in allAge of Empires 2 is a fantastic RTS game which was a trendsetter in its genre and a entertaining time sink. So naturally with a remake of such a game there is very little to truly get wrong especially if the source material is a well liked game. However, Age of Empires 2 HD does not live up to the idea of a HD remake, especially not a release worthy of the price tag set which in all honesty is pretty steep for exactly what you get.

    So what do you get for your money? Well the HD in the title seems pretty much exclusive to the better resolution support and improved water textures, as for other artwork it simply does not feel clear and crisp, as what one would expect from the title. This is not terribly surprising given the engine seems more or less the same, so there is only so much new artwork could do for it. If your expecting visuals to rival rts's of today then i am afraid you'll be sorely disappointed. But overall the game is not exactly ugly, but as i said above, it lacks what you would expect from a HD edition. As for it's gameplay it is pretty much identical to the original AoE2, the same strengths and the same flaws. The uninspired AI from the original is unchanged, and any attempt to change the mechanics of the gameplay go without notice, which may be a good thing if you consider that the source material is the main draw, yet is obviously negative to the goal of a remake. Multiplayer has been upgraded, giving the ability to play online through Steam and it's servers meaning no need for Hamachi or other internet lan based alternative to play. Though the multiplayer is improved, it should be mentioned that it has plenty of issues, namely in it's coding. There seems to be plenty of examples of errors and incompatibilities that make the experience unpredictable at best, especially in large games of 4+ people. There are client side fixes to some of these problems like port forwarding, but it is obviously not ideal.

    Overall, in my opinion you do not get enough for your money with AOE2: HD, but if it is on sale or you happen to have the money to waste then i would advise to go for it if you enjoyed the original, the series or the rts genre as a whole.
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  8. Apr 13, 2013
    5
    10 for it being AoE:II
    0 for the "lazy" execution
    This "HD" AoE is the same AoE we all know, with all its good things. BUT with all its bad things too! Other than cranking up some textures, some for the better, some for the worse and the removing of LAN support, they didn't change anything. With that said, I don't care about graphics. What I care about are "quality of life" features I
    10 for it being AoE:II
    0 for the "lazy" execution

    This "HD" AoE is the same AoE we all know, with all its good things. BUT with all its bad things too! Other than cranking up some textures, some for the better, some for the worse and the removing of LAN support, they didn't change anything. With that said, I don't care about graphics. What I care about are "quality of life" features I simply expect from a RTS game that is being released in 2013. AoE:II is old and you can't only tell by its graphics.

    Arbitrary low number of units that can be selected at one time (how are you supposed to manage your army of 400 units???), horrible path-finding, no real attack move, selecting more than one recruiting-building so that it divides the units between them doesn't work ect. Those were acceptable 15 years ago but not any more!

    If you plan to play multiplayer, go for this version. If you don't then you probably should save yourself the 20$ and get the Forgotten Empires mod which also has a resolution fix for up to 1080p.
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  9. Jul 15, 2015
    6
    As someone who never played the original and came in as an RTS fan, I found this quite underwhelming in most aspects. While you can forgive the aesthetics due to age, the actual game play and AI leaves a bit to be desired. The pacing is a little average, units variety is actually very good and plenty of different buildings/upgrade paths for a variety of strategies. The worst part is theAs someone who never played the original and came in as an RTS fan, I found this quite underwhelming in most aspects. While you can forgive the aesthetics due to age, the actual game play and AI leaves a bit to be desired. The pacing is a little average, units variety is actually very good and plenty of different buildings/upgrade paths for a variety of strategies. The worst part is the AI, and it is so integral to all modes except Multiplayer. I tend to play Single more and for me it really lets down what would otherwise be a great game. Expand
  10. Apr 20, 2013
    6
    UNBELIEVABLE! It´s a bad edition. Why? Because you have nearly no options. Not even resolution options. The game automatically fits your desktop resolution. Why it´s bad,.....because the animations of the boats, units and all the nice animations they had, which we AoE players enjoyed, are unrecognizable anymore, thanks to the damn 16:9 resolution. I want a 16:9 picture, but with less FieldUNBELIEVABLE! It´s a bad edition. Why? Because you have nearly no options. Not even resolution options. The game automatically fits your desktop resolution. Why it´s bad,.....because the animations of the boats, units and all the nice animations they had, which we AoE players enjoyed, are unrecognizable anymore, thanks to the damn 16:9 resolution. I want a 16:9 picture, but with less Field of View. I want a zoom/fov option for this game. And there are even more problems! It´s HD, but the graphics stayed the same. For such a price (18,99) they could at least have been updating the textures and also making the old AoE 2 style optional as an option in the options. Switching between old textures and new textures would be a great fan service. For such a high price i expect at least these changes! Also the singleplayer laggs. Yes the damn Singleplayer laggs! Framerate issues and the unit animations, skip frames and through that, they don´t look smooth anymore. Thankfully that can be fixed through patches, just as the resolution problem. It´s about 20$, 18,99€ in Europe. That´s too much for such a ****ty edition! I expected more. At least they did a great job including Workshop and Mutliplayer. Trolled! The multiplayer is lagging and you have connection issues. But that´s something that can be fixed through patches...again. I hope they patch the game...unbelievable. I´m very dissapointed from this edition. I hope I can buy it as soon as they fixed it. Don´t buy it yet. Wait for the Steam Sale and the patches. You can play it, but it´s just AoE 2 Conquerors with higher resolution, some bugs and laggs. Expand
  11. Jan 27, 2014
    7
    I am going to start off by saying that I am a big fan of the Total War series and I like it better then age of empires so I am biased against this series. I had a lot of fun with this game but then I found the Total War series. Total War trumps this game in all ways except the AI is better in age of empire. If you want fun game get this but if you want a vary fun game get one Total war games.
  12. Apr 23, 2013
    5
    Memories are sometimes best left in the past. Not worth the cash for this game of your childhood, it will let you down. Highly disappointing brings nothing to the table, time was cruel to this game and you will be let down.
  13. Apr 19, 2013
    7
    The demand of Age of Empires II: HD Edition is promptly apparent. After all, the original Age of Empires 2: Age of Kings and its expansion are so admired that there is still a rich modding and multiplayer community devoted to the game. This is quite an impressive feat for a real-time strategy game that came out just over a decade ago, notably when you consider that the official multiplayerThe demand of Age of Empires II: HD Edition is promptly apparent. After all, the original Age of Empires 2: Age of Kings and its expansion are so admired that there is still a rich modding and multiplayer community devoted to the game. This is quite an impressive feat for a real-time strategy game that came out just over a decade ago, notably when you consider that the official multiplayer matchmaking service was shut down years ago. An HD version of AOEII with simpler multiplayer matchmaking and mod support (Steam's servers and Steam Workshop) is a brilliant idea. Unfortunately, Hidden Path's HD edition of Ensemble Studios' beloved RTS suffers from a wide range of bugs and missed opportunities.

    The fast-paced-game-play has you abusing natural resources, constructing beautiful wonders and intimidating castles, and advancing from the Dark Ages to the much more dignified-sounding Imperial Age. Along the way, you can use the old fashion tried-and-true-favorite formula (pointy sticks kill horses, villagers kill sheep, and so on) to evict other players from the map. There is a lot of depth and variety in AOEII:HD, because all of the 18 playable nations have unique bonuses, units, and tech trees. For example, The Korean guard tower and keep upgrades are free, Turks employ astonishing gun-powder units early on, and the Huns do not require houses to support their population.

    Though we cannot forget about the randomly generated and real-world maps to play on, as well as several game modes, including a laid-back game type where the first player to complete a wonder wins. Because of the various ways to achieve victory conditions and diverse powers for each nation, there are many ways to play, and excel, in Age of Empires II HD. Though, Hidden Path missed several opportunities to better AOEII's game-play. You cannot give move-attack orders; dragging a box over a crowd of units selects both villagers and troops; and it's hopeless to queue up a mixture of units and research at the same building. Not to mention AI path-finding also needs some work. For instance, villagers ordered to travel to a mining camp located in plain sight 200 yards away over open country may decide to take a scenic route through a forest populated by hungry wolfs. These are examples of flaws that could have been resolved and fixed, but increasing the maximum population limit from 200 to 500 is the only notice able change made interms of game-play.

    It’s only been a week since the game was released and there are already a decent amount of texture packs, gameplay tweaks, and plenty of other goodies. In almost the same way that Skyrim took my investment of 100 hours and magically grew that to something in the neighborhood of 400, the Workshop for AOEII:HD is an amazing bonus. And, combined with access to multiplayer via Steam, it's really the only addition the game needs.

    Though, 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 commendable title. The brilliance of the game’s design is still there, you just might need to look past its age to see it.
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  14. Aug 1, 2013
    7
    Age of Empires II: HD Edition is an upright and outstanding example of what strategy games used to be, and what they should be now. The original Age of Empires II had countless bugs, of which most are severe and do things like crash the game. The new HD Edition has barely any bugs and of which said bugs do nothing more than stop the game for a few seconds.

    The old multi-player for Age
    Age of Empires II: HD Edition is an upright and outstanding example of what strategy games used to be, and what they should be now. The original Age of Empires II had countless bugs, of which most are severe and do things like crash the game. The new HD Edition has barely any bugs and of which said bugs do nothing more than stop the game for a few seconds.

    The old multi-player for Age of Empires II meant you had to have the IP address of participants to actually play a game, which means you could only get a game in with people once every few weeks (or for more if you're a budding AoE2 enthusiast); the new multi-player is brilliant; a list of lobbies to join, far more customisable features for the host to attract players and filters so the player find the game they want to play. What bugs me about this is that LAN has been completely stripped. Age of Empires II was probably one of the best games you could own for LAN parties. Although, no point beating the game up over LAN as you can simply just host a private game.

    Steam Workshop is an amazing way to get modifications and good maps as well as custom campaigns around. There's been many amazing maps and essential mods that have come out in less than a month from release; Steam Workshop has evidently been implemented perfectly.

    Although HD is good, there's more that could've made it better. The option to revert back to the original graphic quality at any time would've been great for when you want to mark a Battle of Nostalgia.

    Overall, abundant quality of the new features outweigh the lack of new features.
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  15. Jan 2, 2015
    7
    There is nothing "HD" about this game. As far as I can tell, the only change that was made from the original was to make it widescreen, but the game still uses the same graphics it had in 1999. The game title is dishonest.

    That said, if you enjoy classic RTS gaming from the 90's (games like the originals of Starcraft, Warcraft, and Command & Conquer), then you will appreciate this game.
    There is nothing "HD" about this game. As far as I can tell, the only change that was made from the original was to make it widescreen, but the game still uses the same graphics it had in 1999. The game title is dishonest.

    That said, if you enjoy classic RTS gaming from the 90's (games like the originals of Starcraft, Warcraft, and Command & Conquer), then you will appreciate this game. There is a lot of depth to this game, and most importantly, it uses most of the same hotkeys that have become standard in RTS gaming.

    I cannot recommend this game at full price, however. $20 for a 15 year old game, plus another $10 for the expansion? No, **** that. Wait for a Steam sale where you can pick them up as a bundle for $7.50.
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  16. Sep 20, 2014
    7
    So is Age of Empires II HD worth getting? If you're a newcomer to RTSs and want to experience a classic or you're a returning fan that enjoys the single player aspect of the game but want a copy that works on modern operating systems, then yes I would recommend giving Age of Empires II HD a try. For those wanting to play the game mainly for multiplayer, mileage may vary since from mySo is Age of Empires II HD worth getting? If you're a newcomer to RTSs and want to experience a classic or you're a returning fan that enjoys the single player aspect of the game but want a copy that works on modern operating systems, then yes I would recommend giving Age of Empires II HD a try. For those wanting to play the game mainly for multiplayer, mileage may vary since from my experience, games can become pretty laggy - almost to the point of being unplayable. Expand
  17. Dec 6, 2013
    6
    AOE2 HD is one great game and gives back the old school feelings. In april they gived us the same version of the game we had in 1999 but now buggy. In the last year they fixed almost all the bugs and glitches. This game is good but not the best.
  18. May 31, 2013
    7
    Now not many games are rated 100/100. But I do enjoy me my RTS games. This is a fun game, just better graphics. Like I said, it's not perfect, but, if you like RTSs, this is a great game.
  19. Dec 4, 2013
    5
    I'd like to give this game a 10, for nostalgic reasons. Back then this was a great game and probably the best RTS out there. Today it is lacking a lot. I am not talking about graphics, allthough for a Full HD Version which costs 20 bucks I expect more. It is the gameplay which, in comparision to Starcraft 2, feels boring and slow. It is also the story and presentation which in no way canI'd like to give this game a 10, for nostalgic reasons. Back then this was a great game and probably the best RTS out there. Today it is lacking a lot. I am not talking about graphics, allthough for a Full HD Version which costs 20 bucks I expect more. It is the gameplay which, in comparision to Starcraft 2, feels boring and slow. It is also the story and presentation which in no way can compete with todays standards.
    So for me AoE II: HD is a classic, but not one that works well compared to todays standards.
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  20. May 23, 2015
    6
    CZ:
    HD re-edice jedné z nejznámějších strategií všech dob nepřinesla prakticky žádné změny, kromě podpory platformy Steam a HD rozlišení. Ve výsledku je tak velmi těžké hru hodnotit, neboť hra jako taková přežila několik let a stále patří mezi špičky v rámci RTS žánru, na druhou stranu bych od vývojářů očekával trochu více snahy.
  21. Jun 16, 2015
    7
    Just as I had guessed, there was very little change in the gameplay or visual appearance of the game, other than what would've been expected: higher definition display and support for 60 fps. I've always enjoyed the fair and balanced challenge that this game provided to players, whether new or old, and I was glad to see that the same gameplay still existed more than a decade later. ThereJust as I had guessed, there was very little change in the gameplay or visual appearance of the game, other than what would've been expected: higher definition display and support for 60 fps. I've always enjoyed the fair and balanced challenge that this game provided to players, whether new or old, and I was glad to see that the same gameplay still existed more than a decade later. There were, however, problems with this edition.

    I've had issues with frame rates dropping especially when starting up saved games with many units, which is rather disappointing, since my PC never had issues running more demanding games. At times, the frame rate never gets back up, rendering some maps virtually unplayable. Pathfinding wasn't great either, with units often times getting trapped and unable to find their way around lakes and rivers. For something that only offered a "revamped" version of graphics, it was surprisingly buggy, and I hope they plan to address these issues as soon as possible.
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  22. Oct 29, 2020
    7
    Made the game better compatible with current systems but still buggy and not much added value.
  23. Aug 8, 2017
    7
    Age of Empires II: HD Edition jest świetną okazją, żeby pokazać komuś, kto nigdy nie miał styczności z tą serią jak wyglądały kiedyś gry. Bowiem mimo możliwości ustawienia wysokich rozdzielczości gra wygląda dalej prawie tak jak w 1999 roku - co dla jednych może być zdecydowanym plusem, a dla innych z kolei dyskwalifikować nowego-starego AoE na całej linii. Osobiście grałem bardziej dlaAge of Empires II: HD Edition jest świetną okazją, żeby pokazać komuś, kto nigdy nie miał styczności z tą serią jak wyglądały kiedyś gry. Bowiem mimo możliwości ustawienia wysokich rozdzielczości gra wygląda dalej prawie tak jak w 1999 roku - co dla jednych może być zdecydowanym plusem, a dla innych z kolei dyskwalifikować nowego-starego AoE na całej linii. Osobiście grałem bardziej dla przypomnienia sobie „starych” czasów i muszę się przyznać, że pewne wspomnienia wróciły… w końcu gry z czasów dzieciństwa pamięta się przecież najlepiej. Trzeba jednak zdać sobie sprawę, że te czasy już nigdy nie wrócą, a próby „wskrzeszenia” tytułów z tamtego okresu nie zawsze muszą się dobrze skończyć. Czy zatem Age of Empires II: HD Edition warte jest uwagi? Ciężko mi jednoznacznie odpowiedzieć na to pytanie, ponieważ darzę serię wielką sympatią. Potraktował bym jednak grę bardziej w charakterze ciekawostki, która niekoniecznie musi kogoś zainteresować. W końcu nie wszyscy przepadają przecież za serią, a bardziej oddani fani sprawdzili już grę na wszystkie możliwe sposoby… Decyzję pozostawiam więc każdemu z osobna.

    Pełna recenzja dostępna jest na blogu Gracz.org
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  24. Mar 18, 2019
    5
    Although being great in 1999 (I grew up with AoE series), this game hasn't aged well. Tons of quality-of-life features are missing compared to newer RTS games, and the balancing is terrible. However, the theme is nice and you get a lovely nostalgic trip. But for new players that haven't grew up with the AoE series, I honestly wouldn't recommend this.
  25. Sep 4, 2020
    7
    Well, DLS are quite expensive for so old game, but i play it almost every day.. i guess it means something. Most important, multiplayer lobby work nicely on steam.
  26. Dec 24, 2020
    7
    Jesus christ wtf is relic ? GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR HAVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
  27. Dec 30, 2020
    7
    One of the best hd edition version of a nostalgia game. Visits important events in history. Unfortunately gameplay is a bit shallow such as troops' movements and attack. Overall it is a nice game but still need some improvements.
  28. 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 it lacks tuning old issues and gameplay parts.
Metascore
68

Mixed or average reviews - based on 20 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 20
  2. Negative: 1 out of 20
  1. PC Master (Greece)
    Jun 5, 2013
    65
    Mixed emotions, overall. On the one hand we have the same graphics, not at all improved. On the other, Steam offers functional multiplayer and workshop support, that breathe life into an old game. [May 2013]
  2. CD-Action
    May 13, 2013
    55
    Let me make a list of all the changes introduced in the HD version of Age of Empires II - higher resolution. [CD-Action 06/2013, p.77]
  3. May 5, 2013
    60
    Unfortunately Age of Empires II HD isn't a very impressive update. It disappoints graphically and not much has been done to improve or modernize it. The gameplay is still strong though, and Age of Empires II still shows how balanced and detailed strategy games can be. With the addition of the Steam Workshop there's enough potential here for the game to be given a new look. Too bad this is left up to the players though.