I've completed all 131 campaign scenarios (and then some) of the official Age of Empires II HD release. Keep in mind, I've not gotten to the Definitive edition yet so I don't know what it changes, but looking back at this HD version: how does it hold up?

Man, there's a lot of jank to AoE2's engine that's hard to go back to and even this HD remaster– it doesn't solve the problem very well. Controlling groups of units is cumbersome and sometimes dysfunctional. I had several times where I would attack move a group of units and they'd just walk past enemies that were attacking them. It can be frustrating to micromanage when the unit AI is stuck back in 2000 with how inconsistent it can be. Compared to Rise of Nations, which even today still controls pretty great.

That said, I still love this game with my whole heart, and I have for over two decades now! Even if I prefer the antiquated historical setting of the first AoE, the realms of this medieval game are still charming. I love the pixel art and overall art direction. The expansions add in a lot of new lands types and civilization aesthetics that fill the game with all sorts of pretty toys.

While I still like the original campaigns (AoK and the Conquerors) for their first brush with scenario triggers, the Forgotten expansion pack (which I played back when it was a mod) pushed scenario design forward with lots of details and quirks even if it could get overabundant with those widgets. The African Kingdoms and Rise of the Rajas don't drastically change the fundamentals of gameplay but the extra civs and rich campaigns were wonderful to experience.

Now done all campaigns, I can put this to rest and be glad that this title has been in my life for so long.

This was my first experience with Age of Empires II, and honestly I'm sad I missed out on it so many years ago. It is possibly the greatest strategy game I have ever played, and the only reason I have not given it a perfect score is because there is a certain RTS series I have yet to sink my teeth into that I feel could potential take that spot.

First let me just talk about the gameplay. It is incredibly deep and skill intensive, yet it is so easy to get into that I casually got a friend who only played FPS games to play with me only for both of us to be hooked for months.

You don't need to have crazy micromanagement skill or APM (actions per minute, or how fast you can do things) in order to have fun here. Amassing huge armies to smash into each other is fun no matter your skill level, and joining in large 4v4 wars will never be anything but utter, brilliant chaos. For me and my friend who was new to the genre, we would do 2v2v2v2 against AI slightly harder than he could manage by himself. This lead to many great games where we had to defend against onslaughts of enemies and claw our way to victory. Were we perfectly collecting resources and upgrading our units in the optimal order? Far from it. We could barely notice though as our armies clashed into each other, only for a third or even forth army to join the fray and completely change the outlook of a battle.

If you do decide to dive into the games strategy a bit more though, it is incredibly easy to get into and begin improving. Something as simple as looking online for tutorials on "build orders", or the general order in which you should take certain actions, will immediately click and improve your gameplay.

Though the original launched with 13 civilizations to play as (a later expansion later brought that number to 18), this HD edition brought this number up to 31 after releasing 3 of its own expansions. Honestly, the 13 civilizations of the base game would still have been enough for me to consider this game one of the all-time greats in the genre, but by more than doubling that number AOE II has made sure that players will never want for variety. There are thousands of variations you can play when factoring in enemy civilizations and maps.

In the end, AoE II provides an incredibly rich and exciting experience for players of all skill levels. Whether you're playing a 3 hour game where armies in the hundreds clash against one another or you are a competitive player who will try and rush your opponent down before they can get out of the bronze age, you'll have a blast playing. If you have even a passing interest in RTS games, this is a must play.