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Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings

199980/100
Real Time Strategy (RTS)Strategy

Historical · Military

Age of Empires II's enduring appeal stems from its intricate blend of strategic depth and historical flavor. Players build sprawling empires, gathering resources, constructing bases, and training diverse units across distinct civilizations. The game's campaigns, featuring pivotal moments from history, and its robust multiplayer options, offering both casual skirmishes and competitive ranked matches, provide endless replayability.

About Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings

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Age of Empires II is a real-time strategy game that focuses on building towns, gathering resources, and creating armies to defeat opponents. Players conquer rival towns and empires as they advance one of 13 civilizations through four "Ages": the Dark Age, the Feudal Age, the Castle Age (being the High Middle Ages), and the Imperial Age, reminiscent of the Renaissance—a 1000-year timeframe. Advancing to a new Age unlocks new units, structures, and technologies, but players must first build certain buildings from their current age and then pay a sum of resources (typically food and gold).

Top 5 Alternatives to Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings

1
Rating
Critic & community
93
Match
Recommendation strength
88%

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

2010 · Real-time Strategy

Fans of Age of Empires II's competitive real-time strategy and distinct faction play will find a challenging and rewarding experience in StarCraft II's sci-fi universe.

Why recommended

  • Features complex build orders, unit counters, and tactical map control, demanding deep strategic thinking to outmaneuver opponents.
  • Gameplay is fast-paced and requires constant micro-management of units in real-time combat scenarios, making it highly action-oriented.
  • Renowned for its robust and highly competitive multiplayer ladder, supporting 1v1 up to 4v4 matches with a massive global player base.
2
Rating
Critic & community
89
Match
Recommendation strength
87%

For those who enjoy Age of Empires II's historical progression and nation-building, Rise of Nations expands on these concepts with a broader scope, allowing players to advance from the Ancient Age to the Information Age.

Why recommended

  • Offers deep strategic choices in city placement, territory expansion, resource management, and a vast technology tree spanning multiple historical eras.
  • Involves real-time military engagements with diverse unit types across land, sea, and air, demanding tactical combat decisions.
  • Includes robust multiplayer options for competitive or cooperative play, supporting custom matches and online skirmishes.
3
Rating
Critic & community
92
Match
Recommendation strength
85%

This fantasy RTS offers a similar blend of base building, resource management, and real-time combat as Age of Empires II, but with the added depth of powerful hero units and RPG elements.

Why recommended

  • Players must strategically manage resources, develop technology, and utilize unique hero abilities and unit compositions to achieve victory.
  • Engages players with dynamic real-time battles, requiring quick reflexes and tactical positioning of diverse units and spells.
  • Features a highly popular competitive multiplayer mode with distinct factions, custom game support, and a vibrant online community.
4
Rating
Critic & community
78
Match
Recommendation strength
78%

If you appreciate the medieval setting and defensive aspects of Age of Empires II, Stronghold Crusader offers an intense focus on castle building, siege warfare, and economic management in the desert.

Why recommended

  • Central to gameplay is the strategic design and defense of castles, as well as planning offensive sieges against enemy fortifications.
  • Features real-time combat involving large armies, requiring players to manage unit positioning, special abilities, and siege equipment during battles.
  • Supports competitive and cooperative multiplayer modes where players can build and defend their strongholds against human opponents.
5
Rating
Critic & community
86
Match
Recommendation strength
75%

Fans of Age of Empires II's classic RTS feel will enjoy Red Alert 2's faster-paced, over-the-top real-time strategy combat, complete with distinct factions and memorable units in an alternate history setting.

Why recommended

  • Requires strategic planning for base expansion, resource defense, and unit composition to counter enemy forces in dynamic real-time engagements.
  • Gameplay is characterized by rapid-fire unit production and intense, explosive real-time battles, demanding quick tactical decisions.
  • Offers a highly engaging competitive multiplayer mode, allowing players to battle each other across various maps with unique faction strengths.

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