| Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings
|
Microsoft-age-of-kings.png
PC Box cover
|
| Developer:
| Ensemble Studios
|
| Publisher:
| Microsoft
|
| Release date:
| 1999, 2001
|
| Genre:
| RTS
|
| Game modes:
| Single player, MP over IPX, TCP/IP, Modem, Microsoft Gaming Zone, or GameRanger.
|
| ESRB rating:
| Teen
|
| Platform:
| Windows, ported to PS2 and Macintosh
|
| Size:
| 1 CD
|
| System requirements:
| P166 mhz CPU, 32MB RAM, 200 MB HD
|
| Input:
| Keyboard, mouse
|
|
|
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings (or simply Age of Kings) is a real-time strategy game set in the middle ages, released in 1999. It was developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft, following the success of Age of Empires.
Overview
The player controls the fortunes of a medieval nation from the dark ages up to the beginnings of the renaissance. As in most RTS games, the player directly controls villagers who can be sent to gather resources or build various buildings, which can in turn be used to develop advanced technologies and train military units. The objective of the game is to defeat competing nations on the battlefield. The game's combat system features an elaborate Rock, Paper, Scissors system of counterunits and balances which ensures that no single unit can be massed to win a battle. In single player mode, players can either fight a quick battle against computer opponents or follow the life of historical personalities through a series of campaigns of rising difficulty, interspersed with cutscenes. In multiplayer mode, up to eight players compete with their nations for world dominance.
Civilizations
In the original game, the player could choose from 13 civilizations, each having some distinct advantages and disadvantages in line with the historical civilizations they were modeled after. Each civilization has a very distinct personality that is enhanced by a region-specific building set, unique units like longboats and berserks for the Vikings, and more-or-less historically correct language for the civilizations' units. The game's civilizations include:
Campaigns
The game features several campaigns where the player can follow the life of a historical personality. Campaigns consist of a series of several scenarios that are linked by cutscenes; each scenario might depict a famous battle, the building of a famous monument, or some well-known anecdote from the personality's life. The original game's campaigns included:
Units
The following units can be created at the Barracks;
- Militia (Dark Age)
- Man-at-Arms (Feudal Age)
- Spearman (Feudal Age)
- Long Swordsman (Castle Age)
- Pikeman (Castle Age)
- Eagle Warrior (Castle Age) (XP)
- Two-Handed Swordsman (Imperial Age)
- Champion (Imperial Age)
- Halberdier (Imperial Age) (XP)
- Elite Eagle Warrior (Imperial Age) (XP)
Stable;
- Scout Cavalry (Feudal Age)
- Light Cavalry (Castle Age)
- Knight (Castle Age)
- Camel (Castle Age)
- Hussar (Imperial Age) (XP)
- Cavalier (Imperial Age)
- Paladin (Imperial Age)
- Heavy Camel (Imperial Age)
Archery Range;
- Archer (Feudal Age)
- Skirmisher (Feudal Age)
- Crossbowman (Castle Age)
- Elite Skirmisher (Castle Age)
- Cavalry Archer (Castle Age)
- Arbalest (Imperial Age)
- Heavy Cavalry Archer (Imperial Age)
- Hand Cannonner (Imperial Age) (requires Chemistry)
Siege Workshop;
- Battering Ram (Castle Age)
- Mangonel (Castle Age)
- Scorpion (Castle Age)
- Capped Ram (Imperial Age)
- Siege Ram (Imperial Age)
- Onager (Imperial Age)
- Siege Onager (Imperial Age)
- Heavy Scorpion (Imperial Age)
- Bombard Cannon (Imperial Age) (requires Chemistry)
Castle;
- Unique Unit (Castle Age)
- Elite Unique Unit (Imperial Age)
- Trebuchet (Imperial Age)
- Petard (Imperial Age) (XP)
Dock;
- Fishing Ship (Dark Age)
- Transport Ship (Feudal Age)
- Trade Cog (Feudal Age)
- Galley (Feudal Age)
- War Galley (Castle Age)
- Fire Ship (Castle Age)
- Demolition Ship (Castle Age)
- Galleon (Imperial Age)
- Fast Fire Ship (Imperial Age)
- Heavy Demolition Ship (Imperial Age)
- Cannon Galleon (Imperial Age) (requires Chemistry)
- Elite Cannon Galleon (Imperial Age) (requires Chemistry)
- Longboat/Turtle Ship (Castle Age) (if Vikings/Koreans)
- Elite Longboat/Elite Turtle Ship (if Vikings/Koreans)
Other Units;
- Villager, at Town Center (Dark Age)
- Trade Cart, at Market (Feudal Age)
- Monk, at Monastery (Castle Age)
- Missionary, at Monastery (Castle Age) (if Spanish) (XP)
- King (only in Regicide games)
- Sheep (can be converted by any unit)
Unique Units
One of the key ideas in Age of Kings was to give each civilisation one or two unique units that can be made only by that particular civ. They are usually created at the Castle, (see above) but the Longboat, Turtle Ship and Missionary are made elsewhere.
- Britons = Longbowman
- Franks = Throwing Axeman
- Goths = Huskarl
- Teutons = Teutonic Knight
- Celts = Woad Raider
- Vikings = Longboat + Berserk
- Spanish (XP) = Conquistador + Missionary
- Huns (XP) = Tarkan
- Byzantines = Cataphract
- Turks = Janissary
- Saracens = Mameluke
- Persians = War Elephant
- Mongols = Mangudai
- Koreans (XP) = War Wagon + Turtle Ship
- Chinese = Chu Ko Nu
- Japanese = Samurai
- Aztecs (XP) = Jaguar Warrior
- Mayans (XP) = Plumed Archer
The Conquerors expansion
The expansion pack (The Conquerors) added 11 new units, 26 unique techonolgies for each civilization, new map types, automatized villagers and farms and garrisonable battering rams, plus 5 new civilizations: the Aztecs, the Huns, the Koreans, the Mayans, and the Spanish, and four new Campaigns:
See also
External links
|
