Age of Empires 2 was released on Gamepass, making it essentially free for anyone with a subscription to play. As far as I'm concerned this is great to see, I've always thought that the one thing missing from consoles was real-time strategy games, and with this game coming out, it's a step in the right direction for the consoles. Who knows, maybe they might even consider some of the old classics for a remaster and re-design. Fingers crossed for Rise of Nations.
Current RTS Games on Console
One game that I have always enjoyed playing on console was Halo Wars and Halo Wars 2, these games were created with controllers in mind, and they are such easy games to play once you get to grips with the shortcuts on the controller. Halo Wars has always been a very fast-paced game however, a typical multiplayer match usually takes 20-30 minutes, they can go longer than this and sometimes even shorter. But, sometimes, fast-paced action isn't exactly what I'd be looking for with RTS games. I enjoy the long-haul games, campaigns, and online matches which can take a bit of time and plenty of thought when dealing with the enemy team. Games like Total War for example would be my strategy game of choice, with its RTS battles and Turn Based campaigns. AoE however, is fully RTS; in each match, you will build your settlement and economy to afford troops to send into battle to take out the enemy settlements.
From playing AoE on the PC I'm aware that a typical online match can take upwards of 60 minutes, maybe even longer. Obviously, there are plenty of choices while playing games like this, some people like to rush, by spawning in a bunch of weak units to swarm the enemy bases. This tactic in Halo Wars, for example, can be very annoying, and sometimes it's easy to counter, especially if it's only one person doing it. Coupling a rush with another player though, can easily take out one of the opposing team members early into the game, and with one down, it's really only a matter of time before a victory, (or defeat) happens. Which, I have been on the receiving end of both. I'm not a fan of rush attacks, as I would rather have a proper game, rather than using cheap tricks. I have used rush tactics in Halo Wars though, specifically because, in a 3v3 match, each member has a maximum unit count of 120 and the bigger army typically wins. There have been games where one of my team hasn't been playing or disconnected early. If that happens the only choice is to rush and try to take out one of the enemy team members. It can be a fairly thrilling experience when it happens, especially if you succeed. But, I'm not a fan of doing it.
Age of Empires 2
After loading up the game, I played the tutorial level, where you are instantly dropped into the game upon loading up, playing as William Wallace as he rounds up support to fight for Scottish independence against Edward I'st - Longshanks.
It's cool, and I like that you're thrown into the tutorial instantly. With me, I usually like to figure things out on my own and just jump right into it, and to be honest, if the tutorial didn't instantly come up, I would have switched it off because it is very difficult.
The button mapping is a bit strange, and while I was able to get the hang of it after completing the tutorial, I think it still has a few kinks to work out. Either the developers need to patch it a bit more, or I need to work a bit more on getting the hang of it.
The Campaign
The story of this game follows multiple historical figures and their struggle through real-world wars, which make up the main single-player campaign and you can even do the scenarios in Co-op with a friend. The tutorial is William Wallace as he rallies people to fight for Scottish independence, as mentioned before. There is also a campaign following Joan of Ark during the Hundred Years War between France and England, there is also a Saracen campaign featuring Saladin as he defends against the crusades. You can also play as Genghis Kahn, and Frederick Barbarossa's campaign as the Holy Roman Empire. The story missions alone will give a lot of gameplay for anyone looking to pick this game up. But, there are even historical battles you can play, and the game as a whole is fairly immense, I haven't been able to really skim the surface of it.
Multiplayer
Needless to say, there are a lot of factions to choose from and a plethora of different maps, which will keep each game feeling fresh for a long time. I haven't had a chance to play any of the multiplayer however, as I don't want to jump into it unless I know that I have a grasp of the controls. I'd hate to join some games and let my team down by being slow and learning as I play. I will, however, do some private matches against friends and together we'll be able to pick it up before jumping headfirst into some proper games.
Gameplay
It looks great, I mean, for a game that is almost as old as I am lol, it came out in 1999, and with the redone graphics it does look great and that alone would be worth the money for anyone looking to pick it up, who never had a chance to play it back in the day.
By the time you complete a few campaigns, you'll have a good grasp of the controls, each campaign seems to start out slow and ramp up, and I think learning like this is the best way. You'll only have limited access to units and buildings so the battles won't really have a chance to get too big until you really get into the storyline missions. This is why I haven't dived into multiplayer yet, as once you're in multiplayer, everything will be open to you at once and I can imagine that being overwhelming, especially if you haven't even learned how to produce villagers yet.
Back In The Day
I played this before on the pc, back in the day, but I never had any of the DLC of which there are many. So, being able to fully experience this game with everything included in the definitive edition is really exciting and is almost like playing a brand-new game than the one I remember years ago.