Platform: PC
Genre: Sid Meier’s Civ + Command & Conquer + 2019 spit & shine = this

The second Age of Empire is being repackaged once again, but at least there’s a few new things added to make its price justifiable.

The Definitive Edition straddles between being a remaster and a remake. Its art and AI has been polished and revved up, while gameplay-wise it has three new campaigns and four more civilizations for hardcore history-savvy strategy fans to play around with.

The Mother Of All Crusades

For those not in the know, the Age of Empire series attempt to meld real-time strategy and city-building-slash-Sid-Meier’s-Civilization-management gameplay. While the first game was alright, Age of Empire 2 was simply the better and richer game.

Hence the main reason why the Definitive Edition made its logical updates and changes: to enlighten newer players why this was the “hot s***” 20 years ago. This version of Age of Empires 2 introduces some much-needed quality-of-life and AI changes, like villagers automatically reseeding farms and subsequently cutting out needless micromanagement. Large armies this time are easier to manage thanks to formations and improved pathfinding. The new campaigns, The Last Khans, are a joy for veterans to get the hang of the new factions while still reusing old Age of Empires 2 tactics in different ways.

Just don’t expect a huge overhaul of the game’s tried-and-true attrition-heavy and strategic-laden battle system. Instead, enjoy the meaningful changes, be it the flashy 4K art to the reworked UI and controls.

Khan You Dig It?

This definitive edition is one for the ages and will remind you why the 1999 classic was heralded as one the best history-based RTSs of all time. It takes a few extra steps in making itself more relevant than the HD version did, though it won’t change the minds of players already knee-deep in the nuances and updates of RTSs like StarCraft II.

Still, it’s the best Age of Empires game to come out in a long while; lord knows how part 4 will turn out. So best you enjoy this version to the fullest for your historical bloodletting.

Final Score: 70/100