Reviews / previews
The Age of Kings is about to get bigger and better thanks to The Conquerors -- the first official expansion to Age of Empires II. Not only is Ensemble enhancing the existing civilizations, units, and game-play elements, but they're also adding new civilizations, units, maps, and game types to help round out your conquering experience. You'll see five new civilizations (The Huns, Spanish, Mayans, Aztecs and Koreans), and new maps such as Ghost Lake, Mongolia, Scandinavia, and Oasis should provide many more hours of enjoyment. There will also be new winter and tropical terrains, as well as new game types, including King of the Hill, Wonder Race, and Defend the Wonder. Age of Empires II: The Conquerors Expansion begins invading hard drives this fall.
-- Craig Eastman / GamePro
What can be said of an expansion pack? In the case of Age of Empires II: The Conquerors Expansion, "Hell, yeah!" comes to mind. With new cultures, maps, units, technologies, and more, The Conquerors manages to enhance one of the best RTS games around.
The Conquerors improves the existing AOE2 gameplay in a number of ways. First of all, villagers are much smarter. Building walls and getting busy (working not dancing) comes much easier for them. Now, after villagers build a resource structure (like a mill or a mine) they'll immediately start gathering the appropriate resource. The Conquerors adds the ability to queue farms for automatic replanting, allowing for quicker and more efficient development. In addition, naval units now follow the same attack formations as ground units. These simple enhancements make a big difference in efficient gameplay.
Five new civilizations have been added to the mix -- the Mayans, Aztecs, Koreans, Spanish, and Huns -- and each comes equipped with a new unique unit or two. The Aztecs and Mayans have a new Eagle Warrior, a fast ground unit that acts as both scout and infantryman. The Mayan Plumed Archers are quick and very effective in battle, not unlike the Chinese Chu Ko Nu. The heavily armored Korean Turtle Ship and War Wagons are great for taking down ships and structures. Another great new unit is the Petard, which all new cultures can create from their castles. These units carry barrels of explosives and cause great damage to large structures.
The new campaigns are both challenging and fun. In the El Cid campaign, you must conquer armies, win a trial by combat, and ally with other cultures to succeed in the final battle. You can now relive the great battles of Atilla the Hun and lead the Huns to victory over the Romans, Scythians, and Persians, and race to capture and protect four ancient shrines in the Montezuma campaign. All of these campaigns are a treat after playing the computer in deathmatches for hours upon hours.
Graphically, The Conquerors Expansion offers new maps, terrain textures, and wildlife to enhance the visual experience. Real world maps such as Texas, Britain, and France are now included and all the maps express regional terrain characteristics. You'll march your troops through snow and ice in the higher elevations and explore tropics at lower altitudes. You can now adjust for full-size map screenshots and customize your own random map script. There's little noticeable difference in the sound, although if you let your villagers stray, you may hear the roar of a Bengal tiger pestering them.
Multiplayer and communication elements have been improved. Chat messages are displayed in the players' colors, and you can record chat logs for future reference. The diplomacy interface allows you to see other players' stances toward you and provides improved trading and tribute actions. All these changes help keep the game's pace up and provide more efficient development time.
All in all, The Conquerors Expansion offers a ton of new elements to keep you glued to your screen for hours. Whether playing against the computer or online, The Conquerors improves an already fantastic game.-- Craig Eastman / GamePro
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