Now in 4K, and with four new civs.
Photo Credit: Microsoft
As part of its twentieth anniversary celebrations, Microsoft is releasing a new definitive 4K remaster of Age of Empires 2: The Age of Kings this week. Fittingly, it's called Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition. Since it now supports 4K resolution, that means much better graphics, with improved visuals for troops and buildings, literally from the ground up in the latter case. And for the first time, you can zoom in and out without having to play around with the resolution. How revolutionary is that? Speaking of modern inclusions, it's also getting a spectator mode and native streaming support.
In terms of content, you get everything — including all four expansions — from the original game and the HD Edition with Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition. Plus, there's more content with a new campaign called “The Last Khans” featuring the four new civilisations in Bulgarians, Cumans, Lithuanians, and Tatars. With that, the total has gone up to 35. All put together, Microsoft promises over 200 hours of gameplay across a thousand years of human history. And oh, there's a new advanced AI as well that doesn't need to cheat to compete with humans.
Here's everything you need to know about Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition, from where to download and the full list of civilisations.
The remastered and improved version of Age of Empires 2: The Age of Kings is out Thursday, November 14 worldwide at 9:30pm IST.
You can download Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition on a Windows 10 PC only, either through the Microsoft Store or Steam.
In India, it costs Rs. 529 to buy it. You can also access the game via Xbox Game Pass for PC (Beta), which is currently available at Rs. 329 per month.
Yes, Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition is coming to Steam.
If you need something to further whet your appetite, here's the trailer that Microsoft released at E3 2019 back in June.
Released in 2013, the HD Edition was essentially just a remaster of the original: better graphics and widescreen support — yes, the game is that old.
Thankfully, Microsoft improved Age of Empires 2: HD Edition over the next three years with three new expansions in The Forgotten, The African Kingdoms, and Rise of the Rajas, which added 13 new civilisations in total, in addition to a host of a new features, be it maps, campaigns, units, game modes, or environments.
The Definitive Edition includes everything from the HD Edition and further builds on it in ways we described before. In short, don't bother with the HD Edition, which is also somehow more expensive — at Rs. 565 on Steam, without the three aforementioned expansions — than the Definitive Edition.
Per early access videos, cheats will work in Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition, just as they did on Age of Empires: Definitive Edition.
The full list of civilisations in Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition includes:
There are a bunch of new features and improvements coming to Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition, including those mentioned in the beginning. The best way to understand the gameplay changes is to watch a video, and the one embedded below does a good job of running through most of them.
Lastly, here's the PC rig you'll need to run the remastered version of Age of Empires 2. Common specifications include Windows 10 version 18362.0 (May 2019 Update) 64-bit OS, DirectX 11 compatible video card, and 30GB free hard drive space.
Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition minimum PC requirements
Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition recommended PC requirements
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