I have only played the first one at school a long time ago and i have heard good things about these games.

I am hearing there bringing out a 4th game and a Remastered Version of the 1st game and i am curious to know if these games are worth the hype?

I am a huge fan of Command and Conquar/Red Alert, Warcraft 3/StarCraft, Total Annihilation games. 

Is Age of Empires a worthy franchise to invest in or are my standards too high from playing those other RTS Masterpieces that these games will fail in comparison?

I am also a huge fan of the Homeworld Series which is considered one of my favourite RTS series of all time and Relic who is making the 4th entry of Age Of Empires made Homeworld 1, 2 and Cataclysm so that has caught my eye.

Any Age Veterans still around with there opinions?

Age of Empires is a fantastic serie. I've played them all - 1,2,3, Online and Mythology, which is my favorite.

Campaign is good in 2 and Mythology, average on the third one. Though, they are so addictive to play online. You can easily lose track of time.

Outstanding music and sound effects. Accurate regarding history at times. You ought to try it, I recommand it strongly.

For my end, I have played the other RTS you mentioned and for me Age of Empires wins hands down, just my absolute favourite RTS series.

Obviously they're probably gonna be a little dated now, but they still have great playability if you ask me, particularly 2 which was recently re-released on Steam, check it out on there I would.

I haven't had a rig capable of running much more than daily internet use for so long now, principally because I'm primarily on the consoles and don't bother with PC, the last time I had a set up that allowed me to though I was still playing AoE2 and AoE3 weekly, and that was only a couple of years ago, now I know they're all getting remastered releases and there's an AoE4 on the way though I'm considering dropping my plan to save and just go out and buy a decent set up to play them all on

Hope you enjoy them man

I own AoE2 HD on Steam i just havent given it a shot yet and same with AoE3. Just too many games to be playing. I heard the Classics were great and i didnt hear much great things about the HD version of AoE2. 

In saying that, i should install them and give them ago. I am alittle excited about AoE1 DE version since thats the one i remember playing and it has been a very long time. Will bring back many memories.

Damn I really want to play Age of Empires now, the last week there's been such a buzz about the series again and it's really refreshing to see (Y)

When Microsoft closed down Ensemble Studios in 2009, I thought it was perhaps the singularly most retarded decision they had made in their history as a games publisher and developer.I still don't understand it to this day.

I've played them all, 1 and 2 where legendarily good age of mythology was also amazing, 3 was a slight stepback but still fun to play.

Cannot wait on the remaster of 1 and the coming of a true 4th part, it will be amazin :)

If you want to know what AoE is all about, play AoE II HD, it's by far the best game of the franchise.

As a longtim player of these games, here are my honest thoughts about them.

Age of Empires - Not worth your time, unless the new remastered version is REALLY well done. Though the first game is not really bad, it is dated. You can't make buildings que multiple units to build at a time, farms had to be manually rebuilt every so often, and the entire game is just full of micromanagement and busywork.

Age of Empires 2 - Though superficially similar to the original, this is arguably the best game in the series, especially the HD version. Most of the archaic BS from the original is cleared out, leaving you with a solid package. The game benefits from having a lot of stuff added in expansions over the years, the latest of which only came out in 2016, so you have have a huge number of factions, scenarios, and so on to play through. The AI is a bit flawed at points, and the differences between the fctions aren't as drastic as in some other RTS games, but this is a good package.

Age of Mythology - Honestly my favorite entry in the series, even though I have basically no experience with the expansions. This game focuses on a few factions that are more distinct and fleshed out, like in other RTS games, but spices things up with the inclusion of mythical beasts and deities. For example, the Greek will have one of three primary gods (Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades) who will grant access to different unique units, techs, and bonuses. Over the course of the game, you'll pick new minor deities as you advance, meaning you can still reinvent yourself as needed for a good portion of the game. And the addition of mythical beasts and heroes creates a new layer of strategy in army building and tactics. Also, this game has the best campaign of the bunch.

Age of Empires 3 - Not the best game in the series, but it benefits from being the most modern. And despite often being overlooked, it has a few fun twists. The focus on the European colonization of America creates an unique dynamic where you can call for aid from your home country in exchange for activities like trading. You can recruit native tribes, which is both useful for your own growth and a new concern, since enemies can recruit them first. Unfortunately, the game's setting and style robs it of some of the epic atmophere in older games.

TLDR: AoE 2 and Mythology are great, AoE3 is good, the original is bleh.

Really enjoyed 1,2 and Mythology. Haven't spent much time on 3 but I'm still interested in 4.

I've been playing Age of Conquerors since I was young and still play it to this day. Now with The Forgotten, I don't see myself stopping any time soon :p

Haven't tried anything outside of Empires 2 though