What is the best Age of Empires to get?
As a passionate Age of Empires fan since childhood and content creator focusing on the strategy game genre, I wholeheartedly recommend Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition as the best Age of Empires game to get in 2024.
Released in 2019 as a remastered version of the iconic 1999 classic Age of Kings, AOE2:DE exemplifies the pinnacle of the Age of Empires franchise over 25 years. With quintessential gameplay perfected through decades of refinement, an unparalleled library of content, and an active community still ranking 500,000+ monthly players in late 2022, AOE2:DE is undisputedly the definitive RTS experience.
Breakdown of Each Mainline Age of Empires Title
Let‘s analyze the strengths and weaknesses of each major Age of Empires release to identify why AOE2:DE stands tall in 2024:
Age of Empires (1997)
The game that started the phenomenon revolutionized real-time strategy with its fusion of civilization building, resource management, and historical army battles. Despite nostalgia value, the primitive visuals, limited quality-of-life features, steep learning curve and dated mechanics make the original feel archaic by modern standards.
Age of Empires 2 (1999)
The most critically acclaimed and enduringly popular entry refined the original‘s formula with quality-of-life upgrades like build queues and farm reseeding while introducing asymmetric civilizations, a more intuitive economic system, and RPG campaign narration immersed in historical lore.
However, the pre-HD visuals and UI are severely outdated today without the Definitive Edition treatment. Vanilla AOE2 has also been replaced by the expansive DE iteration in terms of active playerbase.
Age of Empires 3 (2005)
The black sheep shifted focus to early gunpowder warfare in colonial America but was criticized on launch for forcing excessive micromanagement around hero units and home city shipments.
While the Definitive Edition addressed many pain points in 2020, the community remains comparatively small at around 5,000 concurrent players. Veterans argue AOE3 lacks AOE2‘s meticulously balanced asymmetric civ design and iconic medieval warfare.
Age of Empires 4 (2021)
The latest mainline release targeted recapturing classic AOE magic with a back-to-basics approached centered around medieval sieges and economy.
However, critics and fans alike condemned the limited civilization diversity, bland map pool, graphical downgrades from AOE3, alongside a plodding pace and repetitive battles dictated by tedious siege micro. Slow content updates have also stunted growth, with AOE4 barely exceeding 2,000 concurrent players a year post-launch.
Key Reasons AOE2 Definitive Reigns Supreme
Now let‘s highlight why Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition remains the pinnacle Age of Empires experience as of 2023 by multiple measures:
Unparalleled Content Breadth & Ongoing Updates
- 35+ civilizations with deep strategic diversity
- 100+ maps across land, water, and hybrid
- 500+ hours of campaigns and challenges
- 8 expansion packs released since 2019
- 2+ updates annually adding civilizations and features
No other RTS title rivals AOE2:DE‘s colossal breadth spanning over 1000 years of history. Despite starting with a vast remastered foundation, expansions continue rapidly enhancing legacy content already orders of magnitudes beyond competitors in the strategy genre. Whether playing competitively or solo, fresh experiences are endless even for veterans with over 1000 hours clocked.
*AOE2 boasts over 6x more civilizations than AOE4 as of late 2022 updates
Timelessly Superb Gameplay Systems & Balance
AOE2 defines excellence in economic macromanagement, battle tactics and asymmetric civilization design tailored for competitive integrity. The intuitive build order system, rock-paper-scissor counter units and emphasis on adaptation forces strategic depth absent from newer entries chasing esports relevance.
Statistics speaking louder than opinions:
| Game | All-Time Peak Players | Current Players |
|---|---|---|
| AOE 2 | 91,018 | 513,636 |
| AOE 3 | 15,066 | 5,628 |
| AOE 4 | 73,206 | 1,027 |
AOE2 quintuples the active playerbase of other Age of Empires titles despite facing 22 years of competition as the local multiplayer favorite at lan parties across high schools and universities alike. The timeless gameplay foundations weather shifting gaming trends better than any RTS predecessor or successor alike.
Competitive Integrity Fuels an Thriving Community
Beyond sheer player numbers, AOE2 fosters a uniquely thriving competitive community uniting casual players with elite talent like no other RTS. The launch of Definitive Edition and subscriptions services like Microsoft‘s Game Pass introduced droves of new players into the aging community, creating a friendly, knowledgeable playerbase ripe for mentorship.
Between coaching Discords, guide repositories from expert content creators like Spirit of the Law and T90Official and major tournaments like Red Bull Wololo, barrier to entry remains low as passionate veterans pay experience forward. Nowhere else can bronze league newcomers gain insight from 2K+ rated experts directly as allies-turned-friends.
The communal, grassroots environment persists thanks to exceptional balancing. Meticulous tweaking ensures no civilizations feel unfair or unviable, preventing the fragmented echo chambers forming around perceived imbalances that plague most titles chasing esports greatness. Players united in balance stay united in community.
The Verdict
Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition has withstood the test of time better than any real-time strategy predecessor or successor at satisfying both casual sanctuary-seeker and ruthless competitive alike through endless growth. Tonight when the full moon rises once more, I‘ll see my fellow Wololo disciples chanting, "Wood please?" across the battlefields from Berlin to Black Forest as we have for 20 years… and counting.
AOE2 today reigns eternal as the definitive entry for series newcomers and veterans craving the RTS crown jewel polishing through two decades of community curation.
