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

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  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. 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
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. Melgacius
    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!    … Expand
  5. ql1m4x
    Mar 11, 2014
    10
    Age of Empires II HD is a fantastic game. The best RTS ever created. I give 10 for graphics 10 for gameplay 10 for fun. I love this game ...............................................................................................................................................................................................
  6. GutiOut
    Nov 2, 2016
    8
    Aoe2 was my favourite game for many years, the hd edition is a poor work and the on-line SUCKS. However is a great game to play in single player or multiplayer without using steam.
  7. SL539
    Dec 26, 2015
    8
    A very good RTS/City Building/Human Management game. You have wide selection of start-up nations/groups to pick from and are not restricted doing anything you can have a huge population, city, etc. If it goes on sale again for a few dollars it's worth it. Also it has a lot of mod support which is a huge plus.
  8. ChrisRockwell
    Jul 1, 2014
    10
    Nice HD version of one of the best games ever. Still enjoyable today. Multiplayer games are laggy sometimes, if one of the clients has a bad Internet connection.
  9. 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
  10. Distrex
    Oct 6, 2014
    10
    Great game, Age of Empires ll HD repack is one of the most memorable and best strategy games available, this repack allows for HD resoloutons such as 1920x1080 for users in which were unable to obtain it in the first version of the game, hence the name "HD Edition" This game also has an exception ally fun multiplayer whether playing with friends or on Game ranger it always producesGreat game, Age of Empires ll HD repack is one of the most memorable and best strategy games available, this repack allows for HD resoloutons such as 1920x1080 for users in which were unable to obtain it in the first version of the game, hence the name "HD Edition" This game also has an exception ally fun multiplayer whether playing with friends or on Game ranger it always produces exhilarating action and fast paced action, definitely recommend to the lovers of the strategy category. Well done Ensemble Studios and Microsoft Games for a great series!… Expand
  11. laingjscott
    Jul 2, 2015
    10
    I'm not one who writes tons of reviews but after seeing some of the negative reviews here I had to give my two cents. Age of Empires II is my absolute favorite game to play. I started playing the original Age of Empires and Age of Empires II soon after they first came out and have loved them ever since. It has been sold in Walmart stores until recently and there is a good reason. It''s aI'm not one who writes tons of reviews but after seeing some of the negative reviews here I had to give my two cents. Age of Empires II is my absolute favorite game to play. I started playing the original Age of Empires and Age of Empires II soon after they first came out and have loved them ever since. It has been sold in Walmart stores until recently and there is a good reason. It''s a classic! Anyone who likes strategy and matching their wits against a computer or multiple computer players should give this game a shot. The updated HD version is just that... High Definition. It is nothing less than what it claims to be. So for those who have given poor reviews to the game, I would look at the original intent that was behind releasing Age of Empires ii HD. I personally was delighted to see that there was a new version that was more compatible with current operating systems and was capable of running at a much higher resolution than the original. As a Huge added bonus Steam servers allow online game play for your multi-player games which is nice since the original games no longer had online servers for multiplayer games.
    Despite what some may say about no updates to the game besides better graphics, I would say look again. While staying true to the original game play for the most part, the creators of this HD version have made a few great enhancements to the game such as being able to put farms in queue so you don't have to keep replanting your farms every five minutes. There are other slight modifications similar to that. For those who wanted to revisit a classic game this is for you. For those who want more updates I think you're really wanting a completely different game and you should probably look elsewhere. Just another example of how awesome this game is... My wife and my sister who are not into video games at all were finally persuaded to give this game a try and after playing a couple of times they have both fallen in love with it and I have even come home from work or school to find out that my wife was playing it while the kids napped. This game has the power to convert people to it. Give it a shot!    … Expand
  12. smilfit
    Jul 27, 2015
    10
    It's exactly as one would expect - AoE II gameplay with updates, and a user-friendly multiplayer lobby. Hotkeys are improved, and all bugs have been fixed. This is a game that doesn't get old.
  13. 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
  14. druout1944
    Feb 12, 2016
    9
    Still holds up well and a blast to play, even 16 years later. Factions are varied and the diversity in playstyles is great. Still looks decent graphically. My favorite of the series.
  15. 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
  16. debigman
    May 16, 2014
    10
    An epic collection of epicness. PLAY THIS GAME! It has everything the first one did, along with some glitch fixes and improved AI. Most of the ppl who rate this game poorly did so before the game left Beta.
  17. 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
  18. IcedCoffee
    Mar 11, 2014
    8
    An underwhelming re-release of a fantastic game. Whilst there is nothing fundamentally wrong with the game, it's the 'HD Edition' tacked on at the end of the title which serves as misleading. It appears to be nothing more than the same game released back in '99 with two different display settings and a fancy new title. However, despite this it is still an incredibly fun and satisfyingAn underwhelming re-release of a fantastic game. Whilst there is nothing fundamentally wrong with the game, it's the 'HD Edition' tacked on at the end of the title which serves as misleading. It appears to be nothing more than the same game released back in '99 with two different display settings and a fancy new title. However, despite this it is still an incredibly fun and satisfying RTS, that holds up nicely in 2014.… Expand
  19. DrToenail
    Mar 13, 2014
    10
    I don't know what people were expecting. It's an HD port of the greatest game of all time. They didn't add anything new (initially) because there was nothing that had to be added. With the Forgotten, easier matchmaking, and wider screen sizes: the game has surpassed its original. Now that we're a year past the release, they've fixed virtually every crippling bug and even released anI don't know what people were expecting. It's an HD port of the greatest game of all time. They didn't add anything new (initially) because there was nothing that had to be added. With the Forgotten, easier matchmaking, and wider screen sizes: the game has surpassed its original. Now that we're a year past the release, they've fixed virtually every crippling bug and even released an exclusive scenario.

    I can understand the metacritic rating at the terrible half-assed release, but the team has fixed all those errors at this point. AoE2 has truly aged like fine wine. And with beautiful 2D graphics, a top tier soundtrack, a wonderful comfy feel, and infinite replayability: Even the HD version can't ruin the king's spot at the top of all games.    … Expand
  20. HewFoE
    May 31, 2014
    10
    It is AoE2.. so it gets a 10. The price tag is not crazy... you are basically paying for ease of service for Multiplayer. Those complaining about no LAN can just purchase a cheap copy of the original game to use. People pay a monthly service fee for this kind of service for other platforms/games.

    AoE2 is what RTS should be and is. New RTS games are so simplistic with no real micro/macro    It is AoE2.. so it gets a 10. The price tag is not crazy... you are basically paying for ease of service for Multiplayer. Those complaining about no LAN can just purchase a cheap copy of the original game to use. People pay a monthly service fee for this kind of service for other platforms/games.

    AoE2 is what RTS should be and is. New RTS games are so simplistic with no real micro/macro skills required. I am ecstatic that they put this on steam to allow easy multiplayer games a reality once again.

    The expansion that came from a modding community is nothing new. I am not sure why people are shocked/upset.    … Expand
  21. and0r
    Aug 2, 2014
    10
    What they did with the HD edition is great. It's a simple refresh to a timeless classic. There is not much room for improvement on such a well crafted masterpiece, the higher resolution support is really all this game needed, and I look at the rest of the improvements as added bonuses. These negative reviewers are insane! Game is worth every penny.
  22. Detraxxx
    Mar 23, 2016
    8
    HD remake of the best strategic game ever. There are not many major changes, just addition of HD resolution and few civilisations. There are some bugs and framedrops. Finally there is a large online community and you can easily find players online. In overall I am satisfied with this game.
  23. 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
  24. 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
  25. 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
  26. 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.
  27. 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
  28. 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.
  29. 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.
  30. 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€
prev
Page:

Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
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.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »