Age of Empires II: HD Edition

 PC
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

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  1. IAmTudor
    Dec 12, 2013
    10
    Even after a decade this game is a master piece.I recommend it to anyone who loves RTS games.As for the hd version,it's not much of a difference except the fact that structures has been redesigned to look better.Anyway if you ask me the game is worth it and I think you should buy it.
  2. leaf68
    Dec 6, 2013
    10
    Hidden Path has done an excellent job bringing an approx. 15 year old game engine up to date. The game is very stable and is being updated regularly. Excellent choice, especially considering the price.
  3. kykinson
    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.
  4. hawk98
    Dec 4, 2013
    8
    Great game if you have played the original before and the forgotten expansion is great. However if you just buy the HD version without the expansion for the full $20 I would not recommend it as much. Otherwise a solid 9/10 with the expansion, but only a 7/10 for the base game. (Split the difference for my score)
  5. JonTheMediocre
    Dec 4, 2013
    10
    An excellent game! I can't really add to what some of the other positive reviews are saying: It's classic, endless playability, yet quickly becomes familiar and easy to improve your performance. It's an incredibly satisfying game to play, and the option of allying with other players and combining your empires, armies and tactics is so fun. The random maps are all unique and cool to exploreAn excellent game! I can't really add to what some of the other positive reviews are saying: It's classic, endless playability, yet quickly becomes familiar and easy to improve your performance. It's an incredibly satisfying game to play, and the option of allying with other players and combining your empires, armies and tactics is so fun. The random maps are all unique and cool to explore and use geography to your advantage. The economy military balance is extremely intriguing as well.

    If you've played the original, it is not any different except some of the graphics are smoother, the max pop cap is at 500, and there is support for online multiplayer and a thriving community both in-game and in steam workshop.

    Cons: There is an annoying unit selection limit, (like 30 units?) and the continuity when playing multiplayer online is dependent on everyone having a fast connection. If even one player has a slow connection or slow computer, the game will lag very badly, especially when many units are on the map. Even with adequate connection speeds, I wouldn't recommend setting the pop cap much over 300 in a 6 to 8 player game.

    Redeeming fact: They are working on patches and continuing support for the game. Playability and technical issues have been improved and will hopefully continue to improve.    … Expand
  6. Representer
    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.    … Expand
  7. BlitzStein
    Dec 2, 2013
    1
    Probably the worst HD edition ever. Don't waste your money on this. Obtain the original game with the patch.

    The main menu displaces objects. The music is near the worst. The videos are not new nor better. The textures are not real HD.

    Congratulations Microsoft.
  8. jakerfv
    Nov 8, 2013
    2
    This was my favorite RTS until I played starcraft 2.

    This game is not worth it in its current state, EVEN 7 MONTHS AFTER RELEASE IT STILL DOES NOT WORK!! Broken online mode means it's a lag fest, am I playing on a dial-up modem? Game has almost no changes from the original, no resolution options or anything like that or graphics options. Well why would it need graphics options? Well    This was my favorite RTS until I played starcraft 2.

    This game is not worth it in its current state, EVEN 7 MONTHS AFTER RELEASE IT STILL DOES NOT WORK!!

    Broken online mode means it's a lag fest, am I playing on a dial-up modem? Game has almost no changes from the original, no resolution options or anything like that or graphics options. Well why would it need graphics options? Well f*** me but they managed to botch the port so bad I get 20 FPS online WITH AN ATI 7950 AND A CORE I7 3.5GHZ, CRYSIS 3 RUNS BETTER THAN YOUR GAME, HOW THE HELL.

    Last but not least, it's 20 dollars, and 10 dollars for the dlc. Yeah, how about you instead by yourselves starcraft 2 for 10 dollars more mkay? The developers of the DLC should be commended but we paid 20 DOLLARS ALREADY, WHY NOT GIVE THEM SOME OF THAT MONEY AND MAKE THE DLC FREE, MICROSOFT. You know I love you guys under all this awful PR lately but COME ON.

    I have never seen, a more botched port of an old game in my life, at least with a lot of ports today it makes sense because they are just larger games, but this, there is no excuse...

    This game gets a 2 because of how much they make you pay for a broken game. A game that you can pirate guilt freely and get the FREE MODDED DLC TO WORK WITH YOUR SYSTEM. Also, the new update, CHANGED THE MUSIC AND BROKE MY SAVE FILES. The only thing this game has is that when it is fixed and lets me choose the original freaking music, than it will be a fun game, but guess what, SEVEN MONTHS WE HAVE BEEN WAITING aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand the new update added more crashing issues.

    Now I came to this games defense when it was coming out, people were going on about how you can get forgotten empires (the now 10 dollar dlc for HD) for free to work on modern systems and an original copy of the game for a small price (free if you pirate, which you probably would because you probably bought the game anyway if you were defending it so who cares?.) I defended the game saying that the online and the HD port is the reason why..... Yeah I feel pretty stupid now.

    Also, it isn't out on mac or linux, despite the original being on mac. Which I find hilarious.

    So to recap:
    Broken Multiplayer (after the new update to ready for the DLC, it actually adds crashes to everything)
    Changed audio
    Horrid performance
    Lack of options
    Overpriced

    Do I sound angry? Yeah I am, because microsoft botched my childhood almost as much as they botched this game.    … Expand
  9. TheMetalfreak
    Oct 28, 2013
    10
    Of course the game is don't have that much new in it, it is called "AOE2HD Edition" because it is just HD of AOE2. But think about what the game have, much better matchmaking, so that people can play online without a worry in the world. And that is something I personally are very glad for, since I don't want to experience something like Crusader Kings 2 matchmaking/creating games onlineOf course the game is don't have that much new in it, it is called "AOE2HD Edition" because it is just HD of AOE2. But think about what the game have, much better matchmaking, so that people can play online without a worry in the world. And that is something I personally are very glad for, since I don't want to experience something like Crusader Kings 2 matchmaking/creating games online again. And we got the workshop, which have made people making mods again for the game, making the game better or just simply more fun with taunt packs. It is very well made, and I am glad that they didn't change much. It was good as it is. And now they are even giving out the "Forgotten Empires" expansion pack. Which is even more great news, since that just shows that they are continuing to improve the game. Just like the patches that we have gotten lately.… Expand
  10. pinoybboy2004
    Oct 25, 2013
    4
    As much as I would love to give a positive rating I can't! I grew up playing this game and have logged several thousand hours over the years. When I saw that it was remade for steam as an HD game I figured that they would have made some other important changes and added more to it. It's simply a repackaged game with the SAME coding as the original. The only positives are that the onlineAs much as I would love to give a positive rating I can't! I grew up playing this game and have logged several thousand hours over the years. When I saw that it was remade for steam as an HD game I figured that they would have made some other important changes and added more to it. It's simply a repackaged game with the SAME coding as the original. The only positives are that the online matchmaking is simplified and that I can tab alt or play in windowed mode. Other than that this game is a slap in the face to anyone expecting changes. The multi-player engine still lags with that 1999 style (even with cable modem and quad core) and the game still freezes at wait screen before and during game. It also still goes out of sync...If you're a first time player I'd save your money for something else instead of paying for a repackaged game from 1999.… Expand
  11. MaxTolenaar
    Oct 10, 2013
    2
    Uh, I know... there will soon be Donkey Kong HD and Super Mario HD. Should those microsoft guys think about Age of Empires 4 instead of raising the dead?
  12. Metalsand
    Sep 25, 2013
    9
    I am unsure why so many people are so negative about this game. It had more than a few updates, albeit calling it HD was a bit uncalled for.

    For starters, I don't know how many of you tried to use your old AOE II disks recently but...unless you find a user-made patch on the internet, they don't WORK on modern machines. They also increased the resolution the game can run at, and    I am unsure why so many people are so negative about this game. It had more than a few updates, albeit calling it HD was a bit uncalled for.

    For starters, I don't know how many of you tried to use your old AOE II disks recently but...unless you find a user-made patch on the internet, they don't WORK on modern machines. They also increased the resolution the game can run at, and reenabled internet play on AOE II, since GameSpy or whoever else originally hosted multiplayer connections does not do so, and has not for years.

    Finally, they added steam support to the game, so that using "Join Game" from the friends menu would pop right into the game, which was a nice feature, and added Steam Workshop integration, which is AMAZING in comparison to the old style of manually installing files, finding them on different sites, etc.

    Now that it is out of the way, let me move on to the actual review...

    The game is exactly how it was, but with fixes to work on modern PC's which is what I wanted...but just not fro $20. It seems like a massive rip-off that they are selling a game that has a few tweaks and modernizations for the same price. $10 would have been a much more reasonable price, and I bet less people would be pissed off if it were re-sold for that price with the fixes included.

    Overall, I liked AOE II when I was younger, and while due to their fixes I can play it on modern PC's...the price is very exorbitant, and it feels like they are just trying to use my nostalgia to make a quick buck. The game itself is perfectly fine however.    … Expand
  13. Azill
    Sep 17, 2013
    0
    5 months later and the game is STILL BROKEN! I STILL get choppy fps (i'm on a gtx 670 by the way),the steam workshop with the game is totally borked most of the time and they never fixed any of the problems that the vanilla version of AOE 2 had. I will NEVER buy another game from hidden path again in my life.
  14. Alekso
    Sep 6, 2013
    0
    The game is excellent and graphics awesome, but it is SUCH a shame there is no Mac version. Come on, the game is on Steam, what is it it cannot be shipped to Mac
  15. Wolfenseer
    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.    … Expand
  16. SalaciousCrumb
    Aug 23, 2013
    10
    Now most of the bugs have been fixed, this is a very good game, definitely worth the money. Compared to the original, it has some nicer textures (e.g. fog of war, water), Steam leaderboards, achievement, and a good multiplayer community. Patches are still being released, so I recommend it;.
  17. Yoshan
    Aug 7, 2013
    0
    I bought this remake to play it with friends online, but the game starts to lag after about 10 minutes and is unplayable. I thought it would have better graphics, but the only thing that changed is that it has a higher FOV.. and all this for only 20€
  18. Cmd_Shepard
    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.    … Expand
  19. anr96
    Jul 28, 2013
    0
    I pre-ordered the game, but never able to run it. I following the forums, read the reviews etc. but still no solution for me, and I'm not alone with this problem. This game is simply an unfinished patchwork. This game is ready when the Community is finishing it, until then avoid it, and buy the original.
  20. 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 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...
  21. 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 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!    … Expand
  22. oso
    Jul 18, 2013
    0
    This is just another attempt to squeeze money from a dead series. The title 'HD' is a joke cause its the same scaled up textures also it doesn't offer any new gameplay featuresat all. We quickly stopped playing it because of the serious performance issues it has. By that i mean constant desync and lag problems during multiplayer gaming.
  23. Darkrider
    Jul 14, 2013
    10
    Age of Empires HD is great because it is now on steam which makes it easyier to play multi-player and still experience the classic original components of the game which make it so worth while. BTW do any of you have a monk.. need a monk, rogan. LOL it still cracks me up yer way you should see the other guy".
  24. SX_Predator
    Jun 29, 2013
    1
    This is literally the exact same game as age of empires 2. LITERALLY. They didn't change anything except the graphics, which look the same anyway. Don't spend 20 dollars buying a texture pack.
  25. proto91
    Jun 28, 2013
    0
    AOE fans probably own two copes of AOE II: AOE II and Age of Kings. Then we get charged $20 for something that has already been done by the community? This is a joke. Dont waste your money, you can get resolution increases for free without the extra bugs.
  26. faceless-1
    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.
  27. Dzyann
    Jun 15, 2013
    0
    I love AoE2! This HD version after so many years should have been way better.
    As another user on Steam said:
    Adding "official" 1080p support HD and does not demand a price of 20 euros. Even people that loves this version of the game and is playing it happily had huge problems to make it run. For example, one of them told me on one of my posts at Steam about how he downloaded the game    I love AoE2! This HD version after so many years should have been way better.
    As another user on Steam said:
    Adding "official" 1080p support HD and does not demand a price of 20 euros.

    Even people that loves this version of the game and is playing it happily had huge problems to make it run. For example, one of them told me on one of my posts at Steam about how he downloaded the game like 5 times over 6 hours while he was troubleshooting it.

    To be able to change the resolution you have to change the resolution of the computer. And if you have some problem in your eyes, forget it! the Texture/image of the units is so bad that that or you have your computer on 800x600 or you will get a headache. Is that really an improvement to put the game up to date with newer systems?

    The "start" screen where you can select what to do (play, change options, etc) looks worse than the "start" screen of the original game. That such a basic thing hasn't improve tells you what the general state of the game is.
    I actually sent an email to the developers and so far the only thing I got is an email of them telling me they were told to resend all feedback to Microsoft.

    The only thing they put up to date with this game was their pockets. This is a franchise that has a huge fan base, they realized that if they tried to revive the game lots of people would buy it out of nostalgia and in hopes of having a gaming better experience than with the original one. And they have used the community as beta testers.
    It is an insult to the consumers and other Studios that make a point of releasing quality games but don't have such big fan base to profit from.    … Expand
  28. colossalcarl
    Jun 9, 2013
    2
    The original AOE2 was amazing in that it had very historical campaigns that made me enjoy learning about history. The graphics and gameplay were up to date for the time and it was one of the best games I ever played. I and my eight year old son moved on to AOE3 long ago and have enjoyed playing that together a lot. I thought I'd try to get this AOE2 HD version so that he could learnThe original AOE2 was amazing in that it had very historical campaigns that made me enjoy learning about history. The graphics and gameplay were up to date for the time and it was one of the best games I ever played. I and my eight year old son moved on to AOE3 long ago and have enjoyed playing that together a lot. I thought I'd try to get this AOE2 HD version so that he could learn more about actual history as opposed to the "history lite" in AOE3.

    Well I fire it up and my son says, "That looks terrible". The graphics really are not good. The interface stinks, just like the original AOE2. I was reminded of all the annoying micromanaging things that you had to do in AOE2 like create mining camps. The bottom line is that AOE2 HD seems just as dated as AOE2 does today. Will Microsoft please wise up and either create AOE4 or sell the rights to the franchise so someone else can? The fact that people are buying this polished turd is testament to how much latent demand is out there for this franchise.    … Expand
  29. Mandula
    Jun 9, 2013
    10
    Nostalgia I always loved AoE II back in time. I think this AoE II HD Edition is a great rework of that great game. Why did you (people) judged the game before it was out? I had no problems with it, I loved it. Steam Workshop, better Multiplayer (The ranking system could be better, they are working on it!), remastered textures, more beautiful water (I liked that, my favourite improvementNostalgia I always loved AoE II back in time. I think this AoE II HD Edition is a great rework of that great game. Why did you (people) judged the game before it was out? I had no problems with it, I loved it. Steam Workshop, better Multiplayer (The ranking system could be better, they are working on it!), remastered textures, more beautiful water (I liked that, my favourite improvement :D), resolution support to very high (I've seen someone who played it on 5 monitors), Steam Achievements. Others said it's full of bugs. But it isn't!!! I bought the game yesterday, no bugs or any problems at all so far (I played Singleplayer and Multiplayer, not for a single time). I think the 68 Metascore is too severe. It's much better than that. And the most important thing: THEY ARE WORKING ON IT! It's version 2.3, 2.4 is on the way, it will come out in 2-3 days. I recommend this game to anyone who played AoE 10-15 years ago!… Expand
  30. ArtanisDude
    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.
  31. willkzhang
    May 18, 2013
    0
    It's a really bad game in comparison with both the original game and modern competitors. It introduced plenty of new bugs and the graphic quality is not improved at all.
  32. paketep
    May 15, 2013
    0
    They added a resolution fix, a couple of textures and a load of achievements, and they completely removed proper LAN support. Way to go!. Another kick in the nuts for AoE fans after AoEO.
  33. miektwo
    May 13, 2013
    0
    Now I don't usually write reviews but i wanted to make it clear to potential buyers of the big issues this release has. The game is great but the lack of support the developers give to the game is shocking. Multiplayer is practically unplayable after 15mins due to lag/stutturing/desync and the support forum is ignored.

    I would stay away till they give the game some love if they ever do.
  34. mAs7eRa
    May 10, 2013
    10
    This is a great game! My favorite strategy of all time! I can't understand how many people speak against it... Some saying it's the same game, well what did you expect? It's written in a ancient program language, it was so hard for the developers to even do what they did and make it compatible with all the windows versions. Second of all, if it was changed, the same people would have beenThis is a great game! My favorite strategy of all time! I can't understand how many people speak against it... Some saying it's the same game, well what did you expect? It's written in a ancient program language, it was so hard for the developers to even do what they did and make it compatible with all the windows versions. Second of all, if it was changed, the same people would have been saying "ah it's not the same, they ruined it"... just the common trolls in the internet.. I am really happy that they did not change this classic in the strategy genre. For me the expansion The conquerors changed the original age of empires game too much and I was not happy with this, but I accepted it, and I'm really happy they did not do this again. For everyone who loves age of empires, and want to play it with players, I recommend buying it. It has 4-5k players in steam all the time, and it's great! it has a workshop, where you can change some of the skins like farms, mines, terrain, etc. Thank you for bringing my favorite strategy back to life!!!! Full respect!!!… Expand
  35. BalicanBreeze
    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.
  36. dustyogd
    Apr 30, 2013
    10
    This is a great Strategy game just for $20 dollar's and if you are a long time fan of the game then i recommend because the game is really fun and feels just like AoE2 just like back then. And with gamesworkshop you can even get new maps new game modes and texture packs.
  37. bobapplepie
    Apr 29, 2013
    9
    Lots of people are giving this game negative reviews because they are saying that this is exactly the same as the original. However, I am going to judge this as a separate game. The gameplay itself is extremely good, and the graphics are fine. The steam workshop support is nice. There are a few bugs, but I imagine that they will be fixed.
  38. fzzzt
    Apr 24, 2013
    0
    The game doesn't work. Multi-player starts, then gets out of sync instantly. To me, this means it's defective. (Yes I have forwarded the ports.) Lame.
  39. Mittsies
    Apr 24, 2013
    10
    Age of Empires II was and still is easily one of the best RTS titles of its time, rivaled only by Starcraft. Even after 14 long years, AoE II is still very playable. HD Edition offers nothing more than a way for Windows 7 users to play the game in full 1080p+ without visual glitches and uses steam integration to make connecting to other players easier. I enjoy the fact the title wasAge of Empires II was and still is easily one of the best RTS titles of its time, rivaled only by Starcraft. Even after 14 long years, AoE II is still very playable. HD Edition offers nothing more than a way for Windows 7 users to play the game in full 1080p+ without visual glitches and uses steam integration to make connecting to other players easier. I enjoy the fact the title was untouched gameplay-wise, because I felt the original game was already very complete and well-rounded.

    There was definitely some missed potential here... but that's not what I expected anyways. I just wanted a 1080p version of my favorite RTS game. Worth every penny.    … Expand
  40. 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 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'tI 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)    … Expand
  41. armchairjerk
    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.
  42. BudSpencer
    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
  43. Lasekx
    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.    … Expand
  44. Parab0la
    Apr 15, 2013
    10
    Age of Empires 2 was my favorite game growing up as a kid. I was so excited when I heard that it was coming to Steam with modern resolution support, matchmaking multiplayer, and steam achievements. $20 may seem like a lot because the game came out a long time ago, but it was updated and had a lot of work done to work on modern computers. $20 is nothing and seems like a fair price. I loveAge of Empires 2 was my favorite game growing up as a kid. I was so excited when I heard that it was coming to Steam with modern resolution support, matchmaking multiplayer, and steam achievements. $20 may seem like a lot because the game came out a long time ago, but it was updated and had a lot of work done to work on modern computers. $20 is nothing and seems like a fair price. I love this game, already dumped 50+ hours into it in the last 2-3 weeks.… Expand
  45. 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 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
  46. 10k_Volts
    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.    … Expand
  47. Anchorhead
    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.    … Expand
  48. Detinator73
    Apr 10, 2013
    10
    Well This game deserves to be a 9/10. Why? Lets go over with the basics: Age of Empires II was at a score of 92% while the Conquerors expansion is about 88% in total reviews. This game includes the actual Ages of Kings as well as the Conquerors. The gameplay in fact is the same as having those two games (nothing new except for the 500 population cap, widescreen support, Steam Workshop,Well This game deserves to be a 9/10. Why? Lets go over with the basics: Age of Empires II was at a score of 92% while the Conquerors expansion is about 88% in total reviews. This game includes the actual Ages of Kings as well as the Conquerors. The gameplay in fact is the same as having those two games (nothing new except for the 500 population cap, widescreen support, Steam Workshop, Steam servers and leaderboard). The water, fire, cliffs, trees and effects have changed in order to make the game more HD. Single player is still the same but for the multiplayer, it was fixed before (last time, the players were out of sync). Well, this game deserves a gold.… Expand
  49. gia
    Apr 10, 2013
    1
    I can give aoe2 tc a 100, but aoe2 hd gets a 0. Too lazy. Nothing that was added works at all. They even took away from things that worked.
    New art is bad (water is ok), other users already have put (much) better texture packs thanks to workshop which shoul dhave been used more.
    Changed the order of display of the resources on the screen, bad decision since it doesn't give any benefit.    I can give aoe2 tc a 100, but aoe2 hd gets a 0. Too lazy. Nothing that was added works at all. They even took away from things that worked.
    New art is bad (water is ok), other users already have put (much) better texture packs thanks to workshop which shoul dhave been used more.
    Changed the order of display of the resources on the screen, bad decision since it doesn't give any benefit.
    The game would probably need a source code release to fix completely.
    Did they update for modern systems? Five or four days before release their game only ran out of the box on win7 32bits, all the others had problems, win8 had a white screen if 32bit, black screen if 64, or something like that. They along with win7 64bits had to do some trickery to get their game to launch. Poor XP users couldn't launch at all because the game was not compiled for their system, Hidden Path managed to get the game to run on XP right before the official launch, but XP users couldn't benefit from the early release for pre-purchases that HP had offered.
    Not like that would have mattered much, players that could play complained then and still wait for a patch that will fix the "awful lag issue" where the fps of the game will drop like a brick if the game has any minimal amount of units running around (the sure fix is to play 1v1 with only 100 units), so upping the maximum unit count to 500, or even 1000 isn't of much practical use (also, the AI won't use over 200 units even if the game is set to 500, and according to HP it is expected behavior). There are desynchs too, with no fix. Saving and restoring a game doesn't work.
    Achievements are broken and random.
    Matchmaking is region-locked (some regions are empty), you must have players on your steam friend list or change your steam region settings. Friend or private only lobbies are in fact, public. So ready yourself to start kicking people left and right.
    The ladder system includes ALL game modes in the same ladder. RM, DM, you name it, despite some modes being able to complete games at a much faster rate. The ladder system is not very intuitive at best or broken at worst, win 15 games and get awarded 20, win three games and have a 3/2 record. The stats include any and all games played, so if you load a game with a friend for fooling around or test something, it will count too. The matchmaking is not very good on top so you have to first have people on your region, then get lucky the player doesn't rage quit early, then get lucky the game doesn't desynch, get lucky the player, whom didn't quit, was actually good at the game, meaning 30 minutes in they should have gone past dark age already!
    HP REMOVED the ping display, so you can't tell who is lagging in a game.
    The AI is the dumb AI, and will forfeit the game unless its played on anything but standard mode.
    Trebuchets will unpack one step before reaching their attack range, so they'll unpack and not fire at all.
    Hotkey changes don't load properly, you must, once in the game, load the hotkey menu for the hotkeys to load.
    Save game defaults to F12 but also Take screenshot.
    The mouse is not locked to the game screen so if you happen to move your mouse too much to the side you'll have problems with multiple monitors. HP claims this behavior was chosen by design.
    To change resolution you must change your Windows resolution (no ingame menu).
    Parts of the game load links on your default browser, others on Internet Explorer.
    "Portuguese, Chinese & Russian translation is very wrong"
    If your Steam name is too long the game will crash, you must shorten it.
    On the scenario editor when choosing exit to main menu, it will ask to save or not, if you choose no, it goes back and you are stuck in a loop. You need to save or force quit.
    Does not have version check, players with different patch versions can play a game, only for it to crash of course. Steam allows practically infinite patches.
    When playing "competitively", the game doesn't seem to care about workshop changes.
    A developer has stated the "beta testing" the community has done so far is easily worth 100k$ when hiring private entities.
    The developers are lucky they are getting 70s.    … Expand
  50. aca121
    Apr 10, 2013
    0
    First of all, it's not HD, it's literally the same. The game itself has a lot of issues and many are complaining about it at Steam forum already. Multiplay is heavily bugged, just unplayable and the dev team has not said a word about it since. Don't buy this game.
  51. AloneBit
    Apr 10, 2013
    8
    Run on Windows 8
    + Full HD

    Good old game.
  52. Pessimissed
    Apr 9, 2013
    9
    This was amazing at the time the original released. The thing is, that hasn't changed. The game-play is that of a classic, simple RTS. Yes there are bugs, but the game isn't out yet, and they are being fixed.

    The title is a bit misleading however. I would recommend it be changed to AoE Steam Edition, because the steam functionality is much sweeter than the improved graphics, but    This was amazing at the time the original released. The thing is, that hasn't changed. The game-play is that of a classic, simple RTS. Yes there are bugs, but the game isn't out yet, and they are being fixed.

    The title is a bit misleading however. I would recommend it be changed to AoE Steam Edition, because the steam functionality is much sweeter than the improved graphics, but that's just my opinion.

    If you are just looking for a fun game to play with friends, or a competitive RTS that isn't a Starcraft title, I would recommend this.    … Expand
  53. endriofelipe
    Apr 9, 2013
    10
    Great game since 1999. ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
  54. Amathev
    Apr 9, 2013
    0
    Age of Empires 2 is a great game, but not a lot has changed.
    To call this "HD Edition" is seemingly confusing, from that you'd imagine that a lot more has changed.
  55. AshleyAllWays
    Apr 9, 2013
    9
    The Little Mod That Could.
    A Franchise Refurbished, Yet a Missed Opportunity.
    The age of empires series is one of fame. After 13 years it can still be purchased (along with its expansion, The Conquerors) at Wal-Mart and Office Depot. This "new" title is an attempt at sprucing up one of the most beloved games of the franchise. It is amazingly rare to see an old property being brought    The Little Mod That Could.
    A Franchise Refurbished, Yet a Missed Opportunity.

    The age of empires series is one of fame. After 13 years it can still be purchased (along with its expansion, The Conquerors) at Wal-Mart and Office Depot. This "new" title is an attempt at sprucing up one of the most beloved games of the franchise. It is amazingly rare to see an old property being brought back to life and updated, especially by a parent company that is only looking forward to the next big buck, and are willing to drop any title not making 500% profit (AOE Online was scrapped after a year in the wild, and much needed updates to many games still hang in limbo at EA). Only the bigwigs know what made them bring this one back, but we are glad to see some dust wiped off of our past every once in a while. Developer "Hidden Path" was contracted to shine up the series fav and bring it into the new age of gaming, they fixed important things and they didn't fiddle around where it wasn't needed, but they missed a couple of points that would have made it into a new age RTS diamond.

    First of all, I must thank hidden path for finally raising the unit cap, but why only 500? While it is a good 2.5x higher than before, our machines are 250x more powerful than the Pentium II 200mhz it was originally designed for. I can only guess that much of the core engine remains as it was, and 500 was the highest they could go without breaking it. Even though the cap has been raised, you can still only select 20 units at a time. Was it something that was overlooked? not likely. Here is another notch in the theory of a stretched engine. They just couldn't do more without overhauling the back end.

    While we are on the graphics, The reason it has HD in the title is the ability to hit 1920x1080, (and beyond for multi monitor rigs) whereas the original topped out at 1024x768. I agree with the general consensus in that the overhauled building and unit models are amazing, but once again the elderly engine comes through showing us no shadows, no zoom, and no visual effect updates. These are an almost standard feature of today's even bargain bin games that they missed completely. Does it detract from gameplay? Not really. Could they have spent a little more time bringing the graphics engine into this decade without effecting gameplay? yes.

    The multiplayer. What can I say here? Game Zone worked (kinda) back in the day, but thankfully we have learned from those early days and have integrated the game wholly into Steam's online network with only a few launch bugs and some early lag issues (to be continued). What this means is a front row ticket to a beautifully seamless multiplayer before-game matching experience, but completely removes the LAN option that, like me, so many young geeks had permanently set up in their basements just for this. Inclusion with the Workshop will make mod and map finding a breeze, and I believe the good outweighs the bad here, but somehow there is still a bad taste somewhere in my mind from losing our offline multiplayer. (single play is still allowed offline).

    The music score has been redone, but I can still pound the number keys for WOLOLOOO and "I Need Wood". No complaints there.

    All-in-all it was well worth the $12 preorder, and it is the authentic Age Of Kings/Conquerors experience, but the lack of improvements to the gameplay, and the surface improvement to the graphics makes this game feel more like a decent mod than a blockbuster.

    (For further fiddling- the mod "Forgotten Empires" does everything this HD remake does, plus adds hours of single player campaigns, and a good dozen fixes)    … Expand
  56. 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. 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 meanTo 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
  57. BrewskiBruce
    Apr 9, 2013
    8
    AoE2 HD is AoE2 with a few updates. It's AoE2. Shall I repeat that? When I first played the original, which is essentially the same, I rated the game a 10/10. With the new updates, the "HD", and the few bugs it has at intial launch, I would rate it about a 8/10. Why?

    Like some have already stated there could have been a lot more done to the game to enhance it visually. Also there is/was    AoE2 HD is AoE2 with a few updates. It's AoE2. Shall I repeat that? When I first played the original, which is essentially the same, I rated the game a 10/10. With the new updates, the "HD", and the few bugs it has at intial launch, I would rate it about a 8/10. Why?

    Like some have already stated there could have been a lot more done to the game to enhance it visually. Also there is/was a bug at intial release that gave XP users problems with playing at all. Lastly, in multiplayer there seems to be a bit of a lag issue, almost seems like video lag, but it doesn't make the game unplayable. Seeing how it's only been released a few days now (if you pre-ordered), I would assume a patch is coming. So I wouldn't take anyone seriously yet about the bugs in the game. Most every game these days has bugs at release, and for every game there's users on Metcritic that will just give a game a 0 because they are whining about bugs.

    If your new to AoE2, and into the RTS genre i'd check it out. Maybe find a friend that has it, and see if you can't play a bit. It has always been an awesome RTS. Don't expect new cutting edge graphics. This is an older game. Then again if graphics are what you base your gaming experience on... well..    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

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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. 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. Gamer.nl
    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.
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