E3 2019 - Hands on with Age of Empires 2 Definitive Edition
Each year, it seems that more and more games are being remastered, with some developers doing the bare minimum, in order to get the game out as quickly as they can. Then there are some studios like Xbox Game Studios (PlayStation is the same), that take all the time they need, in order to ensure that a remaster is done properly and Age of Empires 2, is one of those games.
If you have played the excellent Age of Empires Definitive Edition, then you will know what to expect here, when it comes to the quality and care that the team have given to this years effort, but it is not just overhauled visuals, the entire game feels fresh. Of course, the games visuals are the first thing you will notice about it, as they look amazing, sporting assets that scale up to 4K, which means anyone with the right setup, will be able to take control of their army and enjoy all the conquering they want, without any visual issues. But it is not just the visuals, the audio has also been redone, meaning that all the sounds of the battlefield are now clearer than ever and yes that means, that the priest is easier to hear.
Playing the game though, is as simple as ever, but there are a few new options for the game, giving newcomers a chance to learn the simple, yet demanding controls and skills. The build at E3 had a specific mission to undertake, basically, just to be at the top of the leaderboards of the all the civilizations listed, by the end of the timer. After taking a few minutes to move my general from outside of town, back in and allowing him to join up with his army, then once back together, the conquest began in earnest. It helped that the few moments of peace, of moving around and getting used to the controls again, were provided, as the battles kicked up almost right outside the city walls.
Once in battle, I found myself constantly telling the army to attack, but they would only ever attack a singular target at once, rather than anyone in range, that is because I had made the mistake of not giving them the instruction to do so, which, once I turned that on, helped immensely. After taking out two groups, destroying their towns and moving to the top of the leaderboards, I headed south, in order to take out the next one, however that proved to be a mistake, as I was too cocky, the result was, that I almost wiped. Turns out, attempting to take down a stone tower, some bowman and an arrow launcher, with only a handful of soldiers and one horse mounted soldier, was not smart at all. With them all wiped out, I sent in the pachyderm soldier that I had converted earlier, however it barely got near them, before it two was defeated.
I had little time remaining, but I quick smart started to train up new soldiers and with the new dozen that I had, I sent them off to battle, but they two were killed with minimal effort of the enemy. My time with the game, brought back some fond memories of playing with friends years ago, even when one friend destroyed me in minutes, countless times. Fans of the series will be hard pressed to ignore it, and form what I saw, the developers are capturing that same fun the original release had, now there is just the matter of waiting.
