Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition
Excellent strategic historic battler adds gamepad controls.
Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this game.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition is a downloadable real-time strategy game focused on famous historical military campaigns for Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, and Windows PCs. Players take command of various armies within dozens of empires, ranging from the Vikings and Incas to the Turks and Vietnamese. Along the way, kids will likely learn a little bit about famous figures within these civilizations -- such as Joan of Arc, Saladin, and Montezuma -- as well as their politics and military tactics, which could spark an interest in learning more outside the game. The action is focused largely on combat, but battles are viewed from a raised perspective and feature no blood or gore, just clanging metal and yelps of pain. Units simply disappear from the map once defeated. This version of the game was designed for gamepads (rather than keyboards and mice), which should make it easier to learn for players new to the genre. Plenty of tutorials cover all key control elements, and multiple difficulty levels allow players to set their own challenge.
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What’s It About?
AGE OF EMPIRES II: DEFINITIVE EDITION for Xbox brings the real-time strategy game originally released in 2002 (remastered and rebranded as the "Definitive Edition" for PC in 2019) to Microsoft consoles with support for traditional gamepads. Long considered one of the very best entries in the genre, the second game in Ensemble Studios' beloved series provides players with dozens of authentic civilizations -- Mongols, Lithuanians, Dravidians, and more -- and associated campaigns. Each civilization has a unique story, historical figures, and military units based on what researchers have discovered about them through documents, accounts, and artifacts. Players typically begin missions by having units explore the countryside and set up towns and bases. Then they assign villagers to harvest resources as needed to construct units and buildings as well as advance to new "Ages" in order to unlock powerful new technologies to research and apply. Multiplayer modes allow players to compete against each other in pursuit of various objectives or work together to complete campaigns. This version of the game includes all official downloadable content released for earlier versions, providing players with more than 80 maps and 34 solo campaigns. The interface has also been completely redesigned to make the game playable using a standard gamepad, and includes many lengthy in-game tutorials to teach old and new players the refreshed control scheme.
Is It Any Good?
Anyone skeptical of the idea that real-time strategy games can be fun on consoles needs to give this one a try. The Xbox release of Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition is designed to create an intuitive gamepad experience, and while it still has a bit of a learning curve, the results are terrific. Players are provided a variety of simple tap or tap-and-hold shortcuts for things like selecting all military units or units of a specific type, and army AI is smart enough to do things like attack enemies in range while traveling rather than simply ignore them. Radial menus, meanwhile, make it easy to see what options are available for units and buildings, then quickly select them. And the stress of village management is eased by behavior presets that allow players to speedily set priorities for villagers harvesting resources. Indeed, this may be the best gamepad control scheme yet devised for a real-time strategy game.
As for the game itself, it continues to age extremely well. The tried-and-true military tactics remain both logical and challenging, with campaign missions designed to force players to experiment with and take advantage of specific types of units in order to succeed, cleverly mimicking how military commanders through the ages needed to gradually adapt as technology evolved. And with most campaigns composed of just a handful of missions, it's almost impossible to get bored before it's time to move on to a new civilization with its own set of unique cultural bonuses, technologies, and units to learn and master. The developers occasionally play a little fast and loose with history, favoring fun over factual accuracy, but that's forgivable in a game designed first and foremost to entertain. Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition for Xbox consoles is about as much fun as you can have playing real-time strategy from the comfort of your couch.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about screen time. Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition has missions that can last minutes or hours, so how does your family determine the right amount of time to spend playing a game?
Do you think the tides of history are determined primarily by political reform or military campaigns? Why do people continue to be fascinated by ancient military tactics?
Game Details
- Platforms: Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Windows
- Subjects: Social Studies: historical figures, history, the economy, timelines
- Skills: Thinking & Reasoning: decision-making, strategy, Self-Direction: time management
- Pricing structure: Paid ($19.99)
- Available online?: Available online
- Publisher: Microsoft
- Release date: February 3, 2023
- Genre: Strategy
- Topics: History, Wild Animals
- Character Strengths: Teamwork
- ESRB rating: T for Mild Blood, Mild Language, Violence
- Last updated: February 10, 2023
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