AoE2 > everything else

I have been playing AoM and AoE3 again the last couple of weeks (So time consuming) and they are better then i remembered, Still AoE2>AoE>AoM>AoE3. Have yet to Try AoEo.

I just looked up AoEO - 3 (THREE) playable civs! Unless you buy the premium package, then you get an additional 2 civs... Dafuq? really? I wanna be able to choose from a variety of civs!!

1000% only this. Anything else is wrong.

AoM was also a genius and objectively great game, and if you didn't like it you're wrong. There were also four civilizations, with the quite cheap and easily obtained expansion. You can't have a dozen civilizations in a game about well-known mythology. It just wouldn't have worked out right, and would have been too convoluted and complicated.

Anyways, AoE Online returns to the gameplay of AoEII for the most part, with a simplified selection of civilizations like in AoM and AoEIII. It works fine for Online, though I'm not quite fond of the way Online works in a few other ways.


The better question for the thread is what the hell did they do to Rise of Nations? RoN was echelons above AoE in depth, quality, content, and IMO, fun, but RoN: Rise of Legends sucked Quetzalcoatl balls.

Microsoft still owns the IP (Ensemble was a subsidiary of Microsoft), and recently they've made Age of Empires Online, which I've never played but which looks positively dire. So, again, I'm not getting my hopes up.

I think our next chance for an early-2000s style RPG is Warcraft 4 if Blizzard can ever spare a team from their RPGs and Starcraft.

It's different from AoE 1/2 in that rather than having a lot of civs that have some minor differences, you build your civ up as you level to add bonuses and special abilities. I know it sounds counter-intuitive but it's actually a lot of fun. Try it and report back.

I might just do that - but why only 3 playable civs?! damn...

I've only played AoE3 and the warchiefs expansion in the aoe series, but they were great games. I never even figured people played the SP in these sort of games. The game was great for any level of players and the maps were great, and some of the best battles out of any strategy game i've ever played.

The gameplay is actually pretty good. It can take a bit of time to build up your civ though. It takes the home city idea from AoEIII but leaves you to completely customise your civ over multiple scenarios/games. It's good fun though and worth trying... it's free after all.

It's because each civ is completely customisable and you have to build them up yourself. Essentially, you control how your civ develops. One player playing as the Greeks could have a very different civ in terms of bonuses, techs and units then somone else playing as Greek. Plus, because you have to build up a single civ, it takes ages to get them up to lvl 40, so you'll have a tough time playing all of them to a competitive level.