Age of Empires 2: The Conquerors Preview

The Aztec are the most famous of the central American civilizations. They have been introduced both because the author s wanted to present the less known historical data and because the new graphical sts had to be somehow justified. If you need someone who lives in rain forests and jungles, Aztec and Maya are your people. This ancient civilization far from reach of Europe and its traditions grew under strong religious influences. Their firm belief in the descent of the Sun God was the main reason of their disappearance, not that the undeveloped state of their weapons didn't help. Still, to create certain balance, the Aztec got several specific units, which compensate for their lack of iron and horses.

"Unique" unit: - Jaguar Warrior (elite infantry, good at destroying enemy infantry.)
"Unique" technology: - Garland Wars (+4 infantry attacks.)
Team bonus: - 33% more relic gold.
Other bonuses: - villagers carry +5 resources - Military units build 15% faster - Monks receive additional +5HP for each technology researched, with a maximum of 95.

Average naval power and lack of cavalry will make Aztec leaders concentrate on fast building and infantry upgrades, and land battles only. Strong monks should prove to be an important asset.

The Maya are the second representatives of Central American culture in the game. They are quite similar o their Aztec neighbors, but they also have some specific features that will make strategists ponder their strategies most carefully. While the Aztecs are primarily offensive, the Maya are a defensive nation concentrated on long-range combat.

Hifty map!

Jungle terrain

"Unique" unit: - Plumbed Archer (a stronger and better armored unit than the common archer.)
"Unique" technology: - El Dorado (+40 HP for Eagle Warriors)
Team bonus: - Walls are 50% cheaper.
Other bonuses: - one extra villager and 50 food less in the beginning of the game - archers cheaper 10% in feudal, 20% in castle and 30% in imperial age - the resources last 20% longer (for instance, if you have 1000 gold and spend 100, you will be left 920)

The lack of powder and cavalry should be compensated by strong economy, which should be capable of producing numerous armies. The defensive power of walls and strong archers should also not be neglected.

The Korean civilization from Far East has been described as the most defensive of all nations. Using gunpowder and first armored ships makes them dominant on water. Their siege equipment is also noteworthy.

"Unique" unit: - War Wagon (Cavalry Archer), Turtle Ship (armored war ship, ruler of the sea)
"Unique" technology: - Shinkichon (+2 range mangonels, onagers)
Team bonus: - Mangonels, onagers +1 range
Other bonuses: - villagers have +2 line of sight - stone miners carry 20% more - tower upgrades are free - tower range increases by +1 in castle and +1 more in imperial age.

The efficient stone exploitation and hence sufficient resources for walls and towers suggest effective strategies for the Korean leader, leaving sea invasions as a probable option.

Apart from these unique units, the expansion pack will also contain units from the original game. Besides those I already mentioned, the game would feature Hussar Cavalry, Halberdier (lethal for paladins, yet weak against infantry), Eagle Men (fast infantry used by Central Americans instead of cavalry) and Petard - explosive kamikaze siege unit.

The tech tree will receive 26 new nods, some unique, some omnipresent.

The authors did not concentrate on quantity only - they paid much heed to player feedback and made some improvements in the gameplay as well. Farm Cues should relieve us of the irritating necessity to build farms over and over again. If you paid for it in advance, the villager will automatically start building a new farm as soon as the old one got spent. The peasants will also try to seek out abandoned farms rather than gathering on one and doing practically nothing. If you order a lumber or mine camp to be built, as soon as the builder finishes his (or indeed her) job, he (or, again, she) will start harvesting the required resource.