Age of Empires 2: The Conquerors Preview

2D real time strategies are still not dead. The two last year's blockbusters Age of Kings and Tiberium Sun only go to prove that. Still as the quality of Westwood's favorite remains highly disputable, there is no doubt that the Age of Kings have all the attributes of a well-rounded project and runner-up for the best game of its genre, ever.

It is a well-known fact that add-ons and expansion packs of the games that sold good, also sell good. Baring this in mind, the Ensemble Studios programmers (the creators of AOE serial) currently work on an add-on called AoE II: The Conquerors. The authors claim that the expansion pack will be much more than a simple bundle of new missions: it will introduce new civilizations and technologies, and it will have some features simplifying microeconomics and the multiplayer mode. They really took the job for serious, so most of the fan sites had best map competitions open since March.

A whole lot of ships...

Snow castle.

The gameplay itself won't change at all, so I'll concentrate on the novelties. The first obvious novelties are the four new campaigns. The history of Age Of Kings will be expanded with story of rise and fall of the empire of Attila the Hun, then the story of the Muslim invasion of Spain and its liberation and unification. There will also be Battles of the Conquerors mode presenting some of the greatest battles through this part of history, and my personal favorite is the campaign depicting the life of Aztec and Maya.

New stories will also require new nations. The original thirteen civilizations got five new adversaries: The Huns, Spaniards, Korean, Aztec and Maya will have to fight for existence with their new units bonuses and technologies.

The Huns have created a vast empire in the V century AD. Age of Kings: The Conquerors deals with a historical period when the peak of their power was long gone, the authors decided to put them into the game because of their specific style of living and fighting. Life in the saddle and a powerful cavalry were a great pattern for creating a virtual civilization pefect for players that prefer strong mobile forces and "blitzkrieg" tactics.

"Unique" unit: - Tarkan (cavalry meant for tearing down buildings)
"Unique" technology: - Atheism (developing atheism prolongs the time needed for a miracle victory for 100 years)
Team bonus: - The cavalry is produced 20% faster.
Other bonuses: - The population limit is always on the maximum, so you don't have to build houses. - Cavalry archers are 25% cheaper in the Castle Age, and 30% cheaper in the imperial age. - Trebuchets are 30% more precise.

It's clear that Huns are meant for "rushing", and the fact they are in no need of houses will make that much easier.

The Spanish have been wrongfully left out of the original Age of Kings, but the authors made up for that by introducing the into two campaigns in the Conquerors. First they appear trying to liberate their homeland from the Muslim, lead by Rodrigo Diaz, aka El Cid, and later, you'll have to fight them off as they try to invade the sacred Aztec grounds. They are good in defense, steadfast attackers with developed economy and a strong navy, and leave a lot of tactical possibilities for victory. They have two unique units.

"Unique" unit: - Cavalry Conquistador (hand cannoneers on horses, fast and destructive, yet imprecise. They easily destroy infantry and monks. Expensive and inefficient against fast moving units.), Missionary (monks on donkeys, lesser conversion range and sigh range, but much faster. They receive all monk upgrades, but they cannot carry relics.)
"Unique" technology: - Supremacy (grants villagers more hit-points and better combat abilities.)
Team bonus: 33% more gold when trading.
Other bonuses: - The builders are 33% faster - blacksmith upgrades require no gold - galleon ballistics is for free.

Fast building is good for building up your forces early in the game. This is applicable both in defensive tactics when you build walls and offensive tactics, when you decide to build barracks near the battlefield. The strong economy and navy will probably make the Spaniards the strongest civilization in the game.