A great return for the series, after so many years. Clearly heavily inspired by how Age II operated rather than III, but still with a strong overall production value. The game is quite solid overall; the cutscenes are all very well done with excellent visual clarity and many aesthetically pleasing moments.
The Mongol campaign is clearly the highlight here, where you are incredibly powerful and leave an incredible trail of devastation. One of the best and most enjoyable moments in the entire Age of Empires history is the mission to create a super-trebuchet to destroy the walls of Xiangjiang.
Another incredibly fun mission is defending against the Mongols on the Ugra River.
That said, the pathfinding isn't as good, and the UI options aren't as robust as in previous games, making you struggle quite a bit with the keyboard and mouse. Just for that reason, it possibly ranks as the least enjoyable among the three good games in the series (the first one is easily ignorable), but still something entirely worth playing.
The Mongol campaign is clearly the highlight here, where you are incredibly powerful and leave an incredible trail of devastation. One of the best and most enjoyable moments in the entire Age of Empires history is the mission to create a super-trebuchet to destroy the walls of Xiangjiang.
Another incredibly fun mission is defending against the Mongols on the Ugra River.
That said, the pathfinding isn't as good, and the UI options aren't as robust as in previous games, making you struggle quite a bit with the keyboard and mouse. Just for that reason, it possibly ranks as the least enjoyable among the three good games in the series (the first one is easily ignorable), but still something entirely worth playing.