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A remake of a classic strategy and war game. It improves on many of the features the original AOS has such as unit queing (sp?) and waypoints. Definitely enjoyable. However, some civilizations are seriously overpowered... play around and enjoy yourself, but you can get slaughtered in multiplayer. Download the balance patch as soon as you are able.

This game is awesome. I love being able to play other people and demolish there civilizations. I also enjoy playing the campaigns. AWESOME. It can be as easy or as hard as you want. If you want a challenge and love strategy games... This is it!!!!! What is the hardest setting you can get too?!?!

This game is alot of fun and the only thing that would probably make it better would be better graphics. I just bought this game and it's instantly an all-time classic. I noticed right away that it's copyright is 2001 and prior and that there is a new version called III available with an upgrade too. I do plan on checking that one out as well but for the money, you can't go wrong with this title. It's hours and hours of entertainment and my wife and I played it quite a bit. We're still playing it.

In it's own way this game is kind've like Stratego, which I think is an excellent board game. Like Chess it's kind've a perfect game. Chess would be the winner ofcourse but you get the idea. I give Age of Empires II Gold a solid 4.5 stars. I don't want to give it a 5 because there is always room for improvement. The graphics could definitely use a boost into the close to present. But the basics are there and it's alot of fun. It's a little hard making out the character icons sometimes but that could easily be fixed in version III.

The game has never crashed on my computer. And really this is very very similar to early Command and Conquerer as well as an earlier game called Dune. They all use the same gaming engine apparently. The trick is to be able to set up quickly and get a defense or offense going as fast as possible. The more you play it the better you get at that. Also, it's a series of battles that equals the war or objective. It's not usually won in one fell swoop, although sometimes it is.

This game will find itself in my collection from now on. It's just that much fun! And it's history lesson is fun too. I learned new stuff and had a lot of fun.

I've played this game since I was very young, and to be able to take up command of my favorite old armies once again has been truly a fantastic experience. I'm currently in the process of buying two other copies of this game for my friends so we can make use of the multi player function; and I cannot wait to be a part of the age old battles of Age of Empires 2 The Conquerors Gold Edition, once again! A MUST BUY!!!

AOE II is in my opinion way better then the 3rd. Even though the 3rd AOE has better graphics, the gameplay isnt as robust. AOE II gives you so much to play with. It's also amazing that this game is STILL going strong online after all these years. I just got into this game and it is HANDS DOWN the best i've played on and offline and im a huge RTS fan. Pick-up Command and Conquer Generals and Command and Conquer Zero Hour Expansion pack for a complete RTS warfare experience.

First off, Age of Empires is an amazing strategy and war game. I can't even begin to describe how much you should get this game.

However, the version I got didn't come with the owner's manual and history. I owned a version for Mac (this versions pc) but the manuals really add a lot the the game. Make sure the copy you buy includes them. Thats my only complaint.

i love this game, and its a great deal to get 3 other games for free!

Every 'Age of Empires' edition has been great, and now with II and III's enhanced gameplay, graphics and campaigns, it is easy for people to forget the landmark game that started it all - Age of Empires I.

Sure certain qualities of this game are not up to speed nowadays, but that does not mean they are bad, and that this game is still not utterly enjoyable. There are plenty of historical campaigns to try and complete, you can play randoms maps, death matches(pretty much the same as random map,)and you can create and play scenarios and campaigns(my favourite part of the game).

There are plenty of 'hero' characters as they are called, these are just people that lived back then(Hector, Jason, Hannibal etc.) And to accompany these you can create different types of soldiers that can be advanced as you advance through time.

All in all, this game is great to play, educational and voted game of the year

This is one of the most addictive games I have ever played, bar none. Time flies by when I play it, which is not always a good thing (like when studying for tests :-)). The only problem I had with it is that the characters aren't very smart. Sometimes they can get stuck behind something instead of going around it. Overall, a great game. Good job Microsoft!

Age of Empires Gold is simply one of the best RTSes ever made.You begin at the dawn of man. You have your primitive cavemen collect resources such as food, wood, gold, and stone. You advance through the ages and make your tribe into a mighty empire. You can choose a different civ every time you play. The 16 civs are Assyrian, Babylonian, Choson(Korean), Greek, Hittite,Minoan, Persian, Egyptian, Sumerian,Yamato(Japanese), Shang(Chinese),Phoenician, Roman, Palmyran, Carthage, and Macedonian.

You can create multiple units, such as catapults, cataphracts, centurions, and chariots.There are many, many more than this. These are just 4 of the hundreds of units they have.

This game has ultimate replayibility. 5/5

Okay, I'm long in the tooth and can remember sorting keypunch cards and using a hexidecimal slide rule. My computer limits were reached when I would use EDLIN to change the AUTOEXEC.BAT files. After that, I relied on my son to load programs and explain the Internet.

However, AOEII (Mac) fits well with the "old age and treachery" beating youth and strength adage. I play against my son: I use the iMac and he uses his iBook (something about an Airport, LAN, whatever). AOEII provides a very wide range of options for command and control and enables an exciting gameplay. The tutorial campaigns are good - the first time through - and it gives the basic commands. Playing against the computer is also a nice learning path...but the real challenge comes in playing head-to-head against another skilled user: AOEII (Mac) is superb in that category.

The only downside was intially getting a number of "out of sync" errors that would collapse the game. However, an online patch fixed it and we've been game error free since then.

I have tried "World of Warcraft" and found it to have marvelous graphics and storyline, but AOEII (Mac) is absolutely great for a good two-to-three hour campaign that is just plain fun...and at my age that's saying a lot.

Like all the Age of Empires games, this one has its flaws- however, it is without a doubrt the best title in the AoE series. The addition of walls and garrisoning puts it far above the originals, the several added civilizations puts it above Age of Empire II, Not Gold Edition, and the simplicity and attractiveness puts it above Age of Mythology. If you're looking for a MAC RTS game, buy this one. Then buy Command and Conquer, Generals. You'll love them both.

I'm not that much of a gamer. I mean, I had Sims 2, but that was about it. My friend then told me about a game that was "really fun", Age of Empires 2.
I decided to buy it, thinking that it would be a history lesson type game.

When it came, I installed it, and was surprised at how quickly everything loaded. (Sims 2 takes so long to load I can do all my homework while waiting for it)

You first start out with the William Wallace campaign, which is a tutorial. It was pretty fun.

There are 18 civilizations:
Aztecs
Britons
Byzantines
Celts
Chinese
Franks
Goths
Huns
Japenese
Koreans
Mayans
Mongols
Persians
Saracens
Spanish
Teutons
Turks
Vikings

Each civilization has their own unique attribute. The Koreans, Spanish and Vikings each have two.

There are three different games in AOE2. You can go on a campaign, which basically a historically based story of which you have to finish. Then there is a regular single player mode in which you pick a civilization to be, and then you try to defeat your enemies. There are a lot of sub-categories of this game as well, but the one I play is the Random Map one.
Then there is multi player, in which you play against other people. Unfortunetly, it's impossible to play between Mac and PC.

The bad thing about this game is that it is that it is extremely addicting, even for bad players like me. I heard about a kid who played for 20 hours without sleeping or eating. Only buy this game if you have A LOT of spare time!

Age Of Empires 2 is a masterpiece. Regardless of any complaints anyone has made about this game, there is no arguing. This one of the most fun, addictive, and satisfying games ever made.

You can play it for months. I played it for over a year, then came back and played it for another year. It's probably the most addictive game I've ever played. Not Mario, not Zelda, not the great Doom, not Quake or Half-life or Warcraft or even Grand Theft Auto has ever had me as hooked as this game. Microsoft and Ensemble Studios hit the nail on the head with AOE 2.

The sequel to Age Of Empires keeps everything that made the first one great, throws away almost everything that made it bad, and throws an amazing, revamped user interface that gives the player god-like power if used expertly.

The different civilizations are fantastic. The advantages and disadvantages of each one make the game interesting and balanced, although some civilizations are better (overall) than others. I mean, really, who doesn't love (and equally hate) the Longbowmen? The War Elephants? The Woad Raiders? The Throwing Axeman?

The units are the best part of the game. Except for the paladin and scorpion wipeout trick, the unit balance is superb. The naval battles are amazing, with fireships, ballista ships, and even ships that launch cannonballs.

There are more buildings, tons more upgrades, and a brand-new unit I like to call the x-factor: the trebuchet. This is one of the units that makes AOE 2 a true delight. As built up as a city can become, it can be destroyed in minutes with enough trebuchets.

The multiplayer aspect of this game is what solidifies AOE 2's standing as one of the best games ever made. It is surreal. I've had 12-hour multiplayer sessions many times. You just don't want to stop. It's so fun!!! It's madness!

As far as challenge goes, you'll get all you want. Just try beating the entire game on the hardest difficulty and see the headache you get. And if you get through with that, buy the expansion pack and eat your heart out.

Buy this game! Play it until you're sick of it! That probably won't happen, but even if it does, when you come back from your break you'll be twice as hooked.

Ha!!! The memories I have of this game! Man, this is the best!

I own a LOT of computer games(including madden 2006) and this by far is my favorite. There is a huge variety of charecters,Ships,war machines,and Buildings, that inclued monks that can convert the oposing militarys men to your team color, technologys that you can upgrade as you advance through the ages,(such as adavanced buildings and upgraded armys), and villagers that can mine for gold and stone, collect and hunt for food such as berries and deer, and build castles houses and many other buildings. This game would most likely be too advanced for youger children, but for older kids and teens it's perfect. If you buy it (which I certainly think you should), then get the Gold edition and not the regular edition because it includes an expansion where you can play as aztecs, huns, koreans, mayans, and the spanish. OR instead of starting out small with a few people and some sheep or turkey, you can create a scenario where you create your own map ,choose your army, select heroes like robin hood, and construct huge castles and wonders. I reccomend this game to anyone smart enough to lead an army, and would pay over $100 dollars for it.

Fun and entertaining as well as informative. This game keeps my attention for an hour or two every time I sit down to play it. It also made me so intrigued about the historical events surrounding the premise of the game that i bought a World History book and have been reading that as well. This is a great strategy game which explores many of the different elements of civilization(s) making for a truly interesting experience throughout.

Age of Empires is about empire building. It isice to take part in actual historical events that happened a long time ago and build your empire. The game play is nice but the computer always tries to overwhelm the player into loosing so quickly. If the gameplay was a little easier, that would be nice.

This is good. It probably woud have been better if I hadn't played and LOVED the sequel first, but it's still good. Pretty good graphical effort, and cool units, but I couldn't identify all the things that you could get because no civilization has everything and there isn't a technology line (meaning you can't see all technologies and units. I couldn't figure out how to get a chariot before I realized I had to research something.) It was a letdown that they didn't have a history guide because I'm really interested in that sort of history.

Overall thought:
Buy this but only if you don't have the sequel, and if you like this get the sequel. ;)

This gam,e is awsome, no comparison, because is not only a game it's also an guide for study and lerning experience, I am not the only one who played at my house , my son had learned a lot using it too. Thanks for this to amamzon.com

Age of Empires is for me, very special. It was the first video game I had ever played, and I must say, for a first, it was pretty damn cool. I marveled at this game for hours, and indeed, still do today. I recommend this game to anyone who is just getting used to computer games simply because it is really simple, but by no means is it easy....

Age of Empires was the first RTS (Real Time Strategy). This game took the world by storm, and infact is the best selling PC game of ALL time! The reason for this, I think, is the playablility. The random map engine allows players to have tens of thousands of maps, not to mention that the computer AI reacts differently in every game, and there for plays differently, leaving the player with nearly infinate different games.

Basically, this game is really good for the gaming newbie, and will serve as a great tutorial on how computer games work and how to beat them. Its almost like if you play these new games like Halo and Medal of Honor and such, and then you go to play Mario, and its hard as hell. In Mario, you dont have all those little things to make your life easier, its all skill. The very same can be said for this game. Its still fun for me to come back to it every now and then, and I find that as I get older, i appreciate it more and more. I strongly reccomend you give this game a try.

While I am a fan of Thibaudet in general, he just seems lost here. Satie is deceptively difficult to judge as a performer, the music is at times mercurial or static, profound or frivolous, or all of the above. Yet one hardly needs to underline the oddness, it's perfectly revealed if you play it straight.
While some misread notes suggest he may not really know these pieces, Thibaudet manages to project something less than a competent sight reading. In such an endeavor he would certainly get the right feel occasionally by accident. Instead, he regularly puts the wrong foot forward, with odd accents and effects getting in the way, perhaps trying too hard to add spin to music whose mysteries refuse to unfold under such duress.
I would recommend collecting a number of different performers: Reinbert DeLeeuw, Pascal Roge, Anne Queffelec, JoAnna MacGregor and Michel Legrand have all made worthy contributions to the recent discography and their combined recordings would make a pretty-near complete survey.

I jumped at the chance to buy this set; a new digital recording of Satie's complete solo piano music. I had admired Jean-Yves Thibaudet in the past and had seen him perform Messiaen's "Turangalila Symphony"; a great performance. However, after listening to this set for three straight months, I'm rather frustrated with it, mostly on aesthetic grounds, since I can't deny Thibaudet's talents; I just disagree with some of his interpretations.

To start, most of the shorter, "lite" pieces are performed very well on disc 4. Even the most popular, (Gymnopedies, Gnossiennes) are excellent. I am also thankful I now have performances of "Uspud" and many of Satie's conservatory assignments, played expertly and with good humor. For these, the set is worth having.

But now, the bad news. As I have complained about in the past with Thibaudet's Ravel discs, I'm frankly rather put-off by his inexplicable, pointless staccato in many of the pieces. "Petite Overture a la Danser" is one of my favorite Satie miniatures, and here Thibaudet botches it by playing it way too fast with no pedal. It sounds like a joke, and I think he totally misses the point of the piece. In the "Nazareen" preludes, he adds his own extreme dynamics which are not indicated in the original scores, and the effect seems like a cheap attempt to add "spice" to what are supposed to be meditative sound constructions, based on poetry forms rather than classical forms.

"Prelude to the Heroic Gate of Heaven" is taken far too slow, and Thibaudet completely cuts out the "Curtain" coda in the original Salabert edition for no apparent reason; he seems determined to give the piece a more "proper" ending, and for this listener, it's a terrible, narcissistic, and disrespectful miscalculation.

I will keep this set since it is a complete document, flawed though it may be. But I still must insist that the best living interpreter of Satie's piano music is the ever-underrated Reinbert DeLeeuw, who is completely in-tune with Satie's sly magic. His tempos may be slow, his dynamics few, but that's the whole point; this is highly personal music, and DeLeeuw has an aesthetic I can personally agree with. For an audible explanation of what I'm talking about, compare the performances of "Petite Overture a la Danser" by DeLeeuw and Thibaudet, and you'll see what I mean.

Each disc averages about 75 minutes of music. Over six hours of Satie? Definitely yes. If you have an affinity for Satie's classic pieces you should not pass up this set. There are so many standout pieces in so many wonderful styles you can only leave this set with wonder. And Thibaudet seems made for this music. The best interpreter of Satie that I've heard. His technique is amazing with such a range of subtle fingering tempo and dynamics. Its as though I've heard some of these for the first time with new shocks of emotion I hadn't experienced before. Not to be missed.

This is one awesome addictive game. I love it. Girl or Boy. 10 or 35. Its a great game period. The storyline kepts you playing forever and you cant stop. The graphics are fine...they dont bother me...I like them better than the 3rd one...I just like them overall.

This is an awesome game. Get it.

This is, quite simply, an addictive game. It's not one of those games where you stick your head around the corner and BAM you're dead because the enemy blasted your head off with an AK-47. It's one of those games where you start out about as weak as you can be without actually being dead and you have to build up to the point where the enemy cant get three steps into your city because they were hit by a cannonball from your strategically placed bombard tower.

You start out with three villagers, who do all the work, one guy on a horse who explores the map, and resources minimal to the point where you can create almost nothing with what you have to start with. You have to gather enough resources to get to the next age. Every age grants new buildings, units, and technologies to aid your civilization on its way to greatness. When you get to the castle age, you can build castles, which fire arrows at enemies near them and allow you to create unique units such Persian War Elephants, which have incredible HP and attack but move slower than your average dial-up connection, or my favorites, Gothic Huskarls, which are the bane of any archer that doesn't have a horse on which to run away. And then there is the Infantry-Cavalry-Archer triangle, in which archers are effective against infantry which are too slow to get to them without sustaining lots of damage, infantry are effective against cavalry, and cavalry are good at charging down archers without taking much damage due to high speed.

A lot of people complain that the game gets monotonous after a long time, but that's why Microsoft gives you thirteen civs to play as (eighteen with the expansion), each very different from the rest. For example, the Teutons get the best of everything defensively, from fortified walls to bombard towers, but their unique unit, the teutonic knight, is a lot like the elephants. The Goths have the worst defense in the game, but pack an incredible offense due to huskarls and a great economy lets them advance to the next age faster than the rest, meaning that they can strike before stricken.

One thing I like about unique units is that they really distinguish one civilization from another. In AOE, one civilization might get faster chariots but no centurions while another gets no legions but extra armor for the elite infantry, but it's still hard to prefer one civ over the rest due to lack of differences.

Multiplayer is LOADS better than single player, because you can formulate strategies with your teammate to use against the computer (I'll blow open the left wall with petards, then you flood the gate right there (insert notification signal) with your champions to get their army to that side, then I'll send in the trebuchets through the gap in the wall to destroy the wonder). You can also tell your allies when you are under great distress (I could use some help over here!!!) or if you need resources (I need 200 more stone for murder holes, can you send me some?).

There are also historically accurate campaigns, like Joan of Arc and Frederick Barbarrosa, along with single scenarios in the expansion such as The Battle of Hastings. All campaigns and scenarios are historically accurate, meaning that you mom can't yell at you for learning nothing because you're sitting in front of the computer all day. There's also a library with loads of historical stuff about all the civs along with info about the rennaissance, feudalism, the fall of rome, etc.

There is also a scenario builder in which you can create your own campaigns and historical scenarios,or just amuse yourself for hours watching a huge army throw themselves against the walls of a heavily fortified city.

Despite the fact that the graphics are outdated and multiplayer saving is a bit shaky, this game is infinitely worth buying.

hey guys i have been playing this for 7 yrs lots of fun still i first started playing this at my uncles after that i was hooked now i play online very very fun bottom line is if you want a good pc game that you will have fun for years and years buy age of empires 2 and its expansion, i have both, very fun i like the brits or mayans thats cause archers r sweet really you will have years of fun my uncle still plays it with me and he's been playing for 20 some yrs gl all

I went to my cousins' house and I got bored so I started to play on the computer. They had Age of Empires II. I played that game for six hours for like three days and still wanted to play more. Here are the features (I played this game a year ago so this might not be that detailed):

Campaigns: A lot better than Age of Empires III campaigns. Those were just... let's use an appropriate word... prejudiced. These were clever and fun and not prejudiced.

Single Player: A lot less tiring than Age of Empires III, for some reason, maybe because of that darn home city in that darn new game. The cheats were also very clever for example:
Robin hood: more gold
Lumberjack: more wood
How do I turn this on: a car that acts like a cannon
Marco polo: The whole map is revealed
The cheats are a lot more fun than the Age of Empires III ones and somehow cheating is just as fun as not cheating here, unlike in Age of Empires III.

Multiplayer: My mom doesn't let me so I don't know how it is.

Graphics: I really don't care about graphics, as long as you can see without being confused about what's what. To me, the graphics were fine.

I will regret forever that I bought Age of Empires III instead of this. NOw my mom won't buy the good one: AGE OF EMPIRES II!!!!!!!!!

Even though it's a bit old, I still prefer AOE2 and the Conquerors expansion to most games on the market. Even more than AOE3. Why? It's challenging and yet possible to play a game in a single sitting. The campaigns are well-designed, educational (to some extent) and sometimes thrilling.

Unit balance is well-done and I enjoy playing as most civs, but my favorite is the Saracen. In a random game, I can use Mamelukes vs. any cavalry and most infantry and win easily. Against Teutonic Knights, though, the Heavy Cavalry Archer is the choice. It's fun to play the original AOE2 using the patches and interface of the expansion, it makes the missions very challenging. The Teutons were made weaker in the expansion so winning the original campaign under the new rules is much harder and hence more gratifying.

Newer games have come and gone but this has always had a place on my hard drive. It still looks good and overall it just can't be beat in this category.

The expansion pack contains the Conquerors version which was a welcome addition to the Age of Kings version.

On top of the other civilizations which were available in the original, Ensemble studios added 5 interesting civilizations in the expansion pack: The Mayans, The Huns, The Koreans, The Spanish, and last but not the least, The Aztecs. Again, each of the civilization has its own uniqueness.

Another added feature (and a favorite to many), is the option to choose your map style - standard, or Real world. Real world map style has real world like maps of Britain, Byzantium, Central America, France, Iberia, Italy, Mideast, Norse Lands, Sea of Japan, and Texas. They offer a different kind of gaming experience along with their challenges and peculiarities.

In addition to all the adorable features of the game, here are some additional changes which are worthy of mentioning in this review:

a. The villagers have AI coded into them - in the sense, they start gathering a nearby resource, when they are asked to build a corresponding 'collection building' (lumberjack for wood, mining camp for gold/stone etc).

b. The new unique features of each new civilization -
1. The Mayans have plumed archers; the eagle warriors have +40 hit points after Eldora do research, and as a team bonus, all the team members' walls cost 50% less.
2. The Huns have the tarkans, who have attack bonus against buildings; the stables work 20% faster (that's the team bonus), the trebuchets fire with 30 % more accuracy and the relic/wonder victories for the enemies take 100 more years (after Atheism); Spies/Treason research cost 50% lesser resources.
3. The Koreans are characterized by their heavily armored War-wagon; and the fast-moving Turtle ship (there is a history behind the turtle ships), and unique technologies to increase the effectiveness of their siege weapons, not only for themselves, but for their allies also (team bonus)
4. The Spanish have their cavalry mounted hand cannoneers called Conquistadors, and as a team bonus trading brings 33% more profit. Another feature is that the villagers can cause more damage in combat after Supremacy research. Their missionaries are mounted monks, who can travel faster, and do everything a monk does (except that a missionary cannot carry relics)
5. The Aztecs have their Jaguar warriors, who are very effective against other infantry, but what makes the Aztec civilization attractive is their ability to create Eagle warriors. After all the blacksmith and barracks researches are done, along with the 'Garland Wars' research, a group of eagle warriors is unstoppable (there are ways to effectively handle them, but without knowing that, the eagle warriors can make the enemies life tough). And then, we have the Aztec monks. The Aztecs had very high regard and respect for their monks and this game reflects this fact - for each research in the monastery, the monks life is increased by 5 - which means, a group of monks is as devastating a force as a group of any other infantry. Try playing the monks against a group of elephants and within minutes, you could have converted a herd of elephants to your side, and send them back to the enemy territory. Another feature to encourage the allies is that relics stored in the monastery generate 33% more gold.

c. Some really cool features - Goths, for instance can have +10 more than the population limit, and backed with their conscription research which allows for creating their huskarls, is a formidable team to play with (barring the fact that they cannot build walls). After Anarchy research (huskarls can be created in barracks in addition to castles), creating huskarls from barracks and castles is the most productive way to burn your gold and food. After conscription research (army produced 33% faster) and Perfusion (barrack units created 50 % faster), creating an army of huskarls is the fastest thing you can do when you play the Goths.

In addition to these, it includes 4 Conquerors campaigns (Attila The Hun El Cid, Montezuma, and the Conquerors campaigns), 5 Age of kings campaigns (from the previous version), and multiplayer options.

If you are a fan of strategy games, and particularly the AoE franchise, here is a fantastic game for you; with detailed graphics, wonderful features, and promises of numerous fun-filled hours of reckless (albeit planning-required) game-play, all with the great dollar value - a total package you would hardly want to miss.

I have been playing this game since 4 months and its a great game. This game is nothing but reality.

First of all you have to start from the core. You will be given few villagers and a town center. You need to assign the villagers to collect food, gold, wood and stone. Collecting the food helps you in creating more villagers who build houses,castles, do farming etc. The new villagers come from the town center. Wood is needed to build houses and some other military equipment. When you fall short of food or stone you can buy them by exchanging the gold from the market. Stone is used to construct castles and gates for your empire.

when you start the game you will be in the Dark age, where you have to gather the minimum requirements like farm and houses to the villagers. You can build barracks from where the army comes.

In the next age (Feudal age)you need to build a market where the exchange can be done and a black smith. These are known as feudal age buildings, you need to build atleast 2 feudal age buildings to go in to the next age.
You can even build an archery or a stable. Bowman and other archers come from the archery and horsemen and other cavalry come from the stable. You need to start building your militray units slowly. If you are playing in a map where there is water you can build a dock to produce food boats and war ships.

In the next age which is known as castle age you need to build a castle and an university. The castle acts as a protection. If an enemy comes near it he will be shot with the arrows. You need to do lot of researches in the black smith and university to upgrade your army units.
The more researches you do the more powerful your army units become. You need to build a monastry in this age, the monks come from the monastry. These monks are helpful in getting the relics which yield a lot of gold and they also help in healing your wounded military units and villagers. They can even convert the enemy villagers and military units in to yours, but you need to do some researches.

The final level is the imperial age where you attack the enemies with your army which includes trebuchets (these are specially designed for damaging the castles), bowman, cavalry units and other swordsmen and expand your empire.

The speciality of this game is you are given several civilizations. Each civilization has its own specialities. Like in BRITONS civilization the long bowmen are unique, the aztecs are famous with their eagle warriors etc. You can choose whatever civilization you want before starting the game.

One more good feature of this game is, the villagers are given independence, for example if a villager has finished collecting stone at one place, he automatically moves in to another place to collect the stone.

Thus overall this game is an excellent game. You dunno the time while playing this game.

Age of Empires II was already a very well done game and The Conquerors expansion fixes almost all of the few problems that The Age of kings had. A very welcome upgrade is that your villagers are much more independent. If you get some of your villagers to build a lumber camp, you don't have to tell them to start gathering wood when they finish. Right when they finish building it, they'll head for the nearest trees and start cutting them down. The same goes with mines and farms, giving you more time to tend to other matters. You can also set farms to automatically replant themselves. There are five new civilizations you can use ( Aztecs, Huns, Koreans, Mayans and Spanish). The Aztecs and the Mayans have buildings look very unique, but the other three are pretty much the same as the civilizations in The Age of Kings. As for new units, there are Eagle Warriors, Jaguar Warriors, Plumed Archers, Conquistadors, Tarkan, Petards, Missionary, War Wagons, halberdiers and hussar. There is also a new Korean unique unit, the Turtle Ship. There are some new powerful technology upgrades. There are also three new game types such as king of the hill, wonder race and defend the wonder. Other than that, the only real change in the overall game is the music and the little street that makes up the main menu, which is now covered with snow. The random map is still as good as ever and will keep you busy for a long time (at least it has for me). The new civilizations don't add a whole lot of new content and aren't much different then the ones that are already in The Age of Kings. Overall, I wish that the new civilizations had a more unique feel to them, but the new units and gameplay patches are worth it.

I think that this expansion pack for Age of Kings was a great expansion. I only feel that this doesn't keep your attention enough, despite what other reviews said. When I first played the trial version for Age of Kings, I was hooked. The music was great, the graphics were beautiful, and the gameplay was realistic. When I got the full version, I still liked it, despite the music in the game sounded like screeching metal compare to the trial version's. When I got The Conquerers expansion, the music was better, but still not as good as the trials. Anyhow, I bet you are fed up with me talking about the game's music.Here are cons(this should be quick) and the pros.(I hope you have some time on your hands.)
Cons:The music isn't as good as the trial's,but better than AOK.(don't kill me)

No new buildings,except wonders for new civs.

Many new units,but no new types of units. I wish they would have spies or something. This might not seem like such a big flaw, but I like variety.

Pros:Farm replanting is extremely useful.
The new units are strong and quick.
The Eagle Warrior proves that infantry can be as fast as calvary.
Petards.I don't use them very often, but they can be useful.
Unique technologies. The Aztec technology makes the Eagle Warrior a strong,quick attacker,thus making it indestructable almost.
Villagers are smarter. I counted on this many times when I first got this game.
New civs.These are the bread & butter of this expansion pack. This is what makes it sell. I like the Aztecs' unique tech and the Koreans' unique units.
New map types,including real world maps such as England and Byzantium.England is my favorite because of that isolated cliff area at the top of the screen.
New campaigns.These are fun to play around with to test AOK skills and to learn about the Middle Ages.
New cheat codes.(Please don't kill me)I like testing with Furious the Monkey Boy.
Other stuff I haven't mentioned.

Overall,this is a great expansion to a great game.Makes a great gift.

this game is the most awsome game ever. it is sort of realistic the civilizations are real civilizations. it isnt that easy either i hate games that are too easy it has diffulculty levels. with the level diffulculty you can make it too easy too hard and just right. you can play in real places that are on earth. the places are never the same (except the real world places in the game) for example if you did rivers as a place and did it again the rivers would be different the trees would be moved etc.

Age of Empires-Conquerors trial, did all things that were missing with the earlier AOE-2. With more than 10,000 hours of playing, the most important upgrade from the earlier AOE was villagers behaved more intelligently. They reassigned themselves when their farms were empty. There was the introduction of a much needed farm queue that helped when one was in the end-game phase when more importance is to wars, and one can easily forget about economy then. The newer civilization were fun to play with. Specially the awesome Spanish armada and the Powerful Aztec monks. The Spanish priests who rode donkeys were original and contributed much to the gmaeplay and the story. Added bonuses to the game were the Quests of El-cid, Motezuma etc. which are very good, and which will engross you for sometimes days... And to top that off there is the notion of unique units like the teutonic knights that have the highest hit points in the whole game(17+4=21) to the regenerating berserkers!!!

AOE-CT is a must buy for all AOE players and even strategy players. Playing it on a LAN increases the fun!!!The only "Slight" disadvatages of the game i think is the Unit balance. Sometimes a huge army of Paladins can run through a whole city, cos there are almost unstoppable, unless the defender possess such an army. But sadly not all civilization have the ability to have a horse army ;-(. Cheers, but it is easy to set a civilization to use all the possible technologies.

With all the better unit advancement and better gameplay it has from its predecessor, its worth the upgrade.
AOE-CT gets a 5 star because of the excellent gameplay, in both single player and multi-player version, it features and its value for money!!!

I've logged hundreds of hours playing every campaign and every conceivable custom scenario of Age of Empires, the Rise of Rome, and Age of Kings. Yet, I almost didn't buy this final expansion. That would have been a mistake. This add-on is definately worth the money for the dedicated AOE gamer.

First of all, you get three new six campaign scenarios (Attilla the Hun, El Cid, and Montezuma.) The sixth campaign of Attilla (the invasion of the Italian penninsula, is the one of the toughest to beat I've ever seen.) The real fun, however, are the separate great battles that you can fight as single stand alone sessions: Tours (732), Hastings (1066), Manzikert (1071), Lepanto (1571), etc.

The other great thing about this expansion are the great new units that you get. The Spanish finally have mounted musketeers and priests- it is amusing to use them in custom scenarios against the formerly "invincible" units like the Teutonic Knights and the Turks. Plus you get to fight New World campaigns against the Aztecs and Mayans. You can also finally shelter your men inside the seige rams- which makes much more sense than having them wail away on a stone wall in the open....

I know that it is advertised that the villagers are "smarter" than in the past. While they do repair breaches in the walls faster, they unfortunately seem to still chop through defensive screens if you don't keep an eye on them.

I've already stayed up to three in the morning, twice, playing this game, so I'd say that it will probably hold your interest for awhile.

This game is Much Better than AOK (Age Of Kings). The villagers are smarter and work more intelligently. Five more civilizations-Huns,Spanish,Aztecs,Mayans,and Koreans. Plus 26 new technologies,
and 11 new units. New game typs and maps. Overall this is a great game and you must get it!!

I'm a big fan of Age of Empires, and it's a real time strategy worth playing. Great design, great historical bits at the start and end of levels, great soundtrack too, and the multiplayers always fun, especially on custom made scenarios. You get to play one of twelve ancient races, (Choson, Shang, Yamato, Babylonian, Hittite, Persian, Assyrian, Egyptians, Sumerian, Greek, Minoan & Phoenicians), pick berries, build houses, hunt animals, pay tribute to allies and fight enemies on foot, horse and elephant. The campaigns are fun too. The Egpytian campaign is a great introduction to the game for beginners, a great introduction to real time strategies, in fact. The other campaigns (for Babylonian, Greek and Yamato) are varied and fun. My favorites would have to be "Holy Man", where you have to convert yourself a civilization with a priest and "The Great Hunt", where you have to lead some warriors past all sorts of obstacles and suprises to an artifact. You can make your own campaigns, and download them online, so there's always new levels to play if you're interested. The cheats are also pretty funny, rocket launcher men in the stone age, cars, getting to "be" the animals, etc.

Definitely worth a look.

This is one of the best classics game I've ever had. This game is released years ago, yet this game is still a fun game to play today.

This game's requirements are not high and this game can be installed on slower PCs or laptops. If you like this game, you may want to add the expansion pack available to enhance the features on this game.

I have had this game for 4 years.My dad brought it from America and I started playing it when I was 6.First it seemed to be boring but once I got older it got more fun.Now all of my friends are playing it and we all love it.It's the best game ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have had AOE for over a year now, and it is still the only computer game I ever play. I'm not going to spend an hour explaining what you can do with this game, because from what you've read from the other reviews, it would be redundant. But, even if AOE isn't as complicated and doesn't have the 3D graphics, when compared to the Sims in hours of fun and price, who wouldn't want a game that's just if not more fun and $30-$40 less expensive? Buy it now, you won't regret it! (Even though it IS a Microsoft game)

This is a great game. It's going for $9.99 now, damn good deal. A lot of fun. Well worth ten bucks. Plays on lap tops. So you can have something to do at work. Wyatt Kaldenberg

We really used to enjoy this game when we had our old Windows 98 system, but since we upgraded to XP, we can't get Risk to run, even after reinstalling. It just doesn't work, which is a shame....

The games are fun, but of course, not up to more recent graphical standards. A good set of strategy games for fans of classics.

All of these titles are great fun! I have had these for a year now, and I still enjoy them.

Majesty is a fun game where you run your own kingdom. The graphics and sound are great. You start out with a castle and have to do different levels. You can constuct many different buildings like guard towers, archery camps, knight's camps, etc. The way to win the level is to accomplish the objective whatever it may be. It might be destroying a building(s), protecting something, or find someone. You accomplish this with heroes. Some heroes are achers, knights, and gnomes. You don't order your heroes to attack something, but persuade them with gold. You also may persuade them to scout with gold. Your heroes go up levels from combat. This is a fun game.

Civilization 2 is fun game also. The graphics are O.K. and the sound is great. The little movies after you discover a wonder are cool. This was my favorite out of the whole pack. You run your own civilization. You need to consider the economy, your government, you military, and the people's welfare. You start out waaaaay back in the game. You discover civilization advances with your scientists, build wonders, and more. You can expand your civilzation with settlers. They may build roads, railroads, irrigation, farmland, mines, fortresses, and more. You also have to buy buildings for your cities. This is a great game too.

Age of Empires: Gold is a great game too. The graphics are O.K. and the sound is good. I thought it was a little confusing. As many of us know, you start out in the stone man's time. You have to build many building to acquire new buildings and units. There are naval units and land units. You have to build a wonder to win or defeat the other teams completely. This is fun.

Risk 2 is a fun game also. The graphics and sound are great. This game is just like the board game Risk on classic mode. You have to have at least three players to play a game. On LAN, You can't even put computer players. There are other modes too. This is game is fun too.

I would recommend this game to just about anyone. I highly recommend it too.

I love playing startegy games and i thought this was the best ever! you have to get this game! + they have really cool cheats on it.

Wow. I only have the demo, but it's still incredibly popular in my school, where we play it at lunchtime every single day. Even in the demo, the gameplay is awesome, so I'd say buy it if you have the chance.

Boring, tedious, and pointless. A mere shadow of the far superior Civilization (pick any incarnation). Why would anyone want to sit and watch people chop wood and carry carcass meat around the screen? Why does this game freeze my computer? Why do foreign civilizations appear from nowhere (always with better weaponry) and bombard me for no reason-with no hope of diplomatic recourse? I realize that with diligence, this game may be playable, but I was already spoiled by years of playing-you know.

This is probably the best civilazation game ever!! Even though it sometimes crashes on IMac's, In aoe you can choose from random map games to scenario builder to death match to playing ageanst other people in multi player. After about a month or two of playing you end up likeing one army over others and liking different warriors. THe only real dissapointment is that there is no aoe 2 for mac's yet. THe first time I played this game I sat down at about 9a.m. and didn't get up until about 3pm later that afternoon, this game is very addicting and time flys when you play it. HINT: STAY AWAY FROM THE CHEATS!!!! they end up completely ruining your playing experience and make the game so much easier. So if you want a real challenge stay away from the cheats!! THis game is deffinately worth the money and is good to play when you want to waste time or when you are really bored. The combat in this game is amazing sence every army is very different and even though it takes a little while to get to the combat part. In random map you start out with very few resources and only three villagers that you have to put to work to gathering wood, food, gold, and stone to build a strong civilazation and advance through the ages. In death match you start with a ton of resources that will almost allways last you through the game. In this you also start out with only three villagers but you don't need to gather resources and you can more easily get to the later ages. In death match the combat is hard late in the game and it gets almost impossible if you run out of any of the resources. If you are in a rush for somthing and you have 15 minutes to kill this is not somthing you would want to do because chances are you wont stop playing for another hour or two. SO OVER ALL THIS IS DEFINITELY THE BEST GAME EVER!!

when is it going to be in stock i want to buy it now

Wanting at least one game for my Pocket PC, I bought this package based on reviews and awards naming it the best game currently available for PDA's. Never having played the full PC version, I can't comment how faithful an adaptation it is of the original title. However, if this was `the greatest RTS ever' that would say very little for the genre. And, if this is the best game to be expected for pocket pc's, buy a GameBoy. Technically, despite the PPC's limitations the programmers did a good job simulating detail in the characters and objects and, though moderately clumsy, navigation is acceptable. But the game itself is, unfortunately, neither interesting, challenging nor possessed of any degree of historical verisimilitude. In the absence of a competent AI, victory for the player is inevitable and obvious early in any campaign. So, the only value in playing this game is to pass time which would otherwise be spent staring absently into space. Perhaps I've been spoiled by the Dune games, Battlezone, the Total War series or any number of other resource management and historical simulation titles. And it's certainly not fair to expect the same level of sophistication in a PPC game as that found in titles for desktops, laptops or handhelds. In any case, mature players who enjoy real-time strategy, historical simulation or action gaming will not find this a worthwhile purchase.

This is a fantastic game. i am an video game vetren, and this geame may very well be the greatest RTS of all time. And now, u are no longer limited by the bonds of portability. This a near perfect port of the PC classic, and it rocks. Every unit is displayed with crisp graphics. The booming soundtrack kepps the tempo up. THis game never ends because of limitlesss senarious. U can download a demo to try at www.handago.com. Buy this masterpiece and have fun!!!

Amazon sells this game for about $30 cheaper plus eligble for Free Shipping!

I had been looking at the Age of Empires series for a long time, and when I saw this game was XP compatible, I got it. And WOW, am I having a blast with this game. It includes Age of Empires 1 and it's expansion back Rise of Rome. Age of Empires 2 (Age of Kings) and it's expansion pack The Conquerors.

I can only speak now of the original Age of Empires game, because that's all I've played so far (probably 20 hours, so far). And the reason I haven't played any of it's expansion pack or AOE2, is because I'm having so much fun. I love the "real-time stategy" part of the game, it really keeps you on your toes.

I can easily sit down and play for an hour or 2 and not even realize what time it is.

I have experienced no problems with the game, and highly recommend it! Especially to anyone like me who realizes that Age of Empires 3 and many of the other newer PC games with their high graphics and such are just a bit too much for our computer (and our computer is not like a dinosaur either). BESIDES, these games should be all about the experience and gameplay, NOT eyecandy.

I'll add more about the other games when i try them

this game is awesome i mean itjust rocks you get so many different units and buildings not to mention the create-a-scenario option it is so much fun you get to choose where your units and your opponents units start out it is just awesome

i am a 46 yr. old female and i love to play the expansion part of the game. it is the best computer game that i have ever played since my girls got me hooked on it. recently my step kids broke my disk...very mad about it. so i have to get a new one. i am now playing the empires in my head without the disk and can't wait to get the new one. this time it will stay in my room and i will be the ONLY one playing it.