It ain't ideal, but its good enough.
I loved Age of Empires 2, easily my favorite RTS. It improved on it's predecessor and perfected a formula for RTS that seperates Age of Empires from other franchises. I was extremely excited for the sequel. The graphics were amazing and the level of depth was still present from previous games. Training units in groups and Ships that are actually to scale were two of the many small but important additions. I also love haveing an army of musketeers, in any game really. Explorers are excellent units who can turn the tide of a game with their various special abilities but don't feel overpowered in any way.
However the game lost some things that i love. No longer can you fight in historic battles (albeit somewhat dramatized) in the campaign. Instead you get a series of fictional quests that delve into magic and folk tales or at least that is all i can say without spoiling. I liked Age of Mythology with all of its tales of monsters and mythical places. But even that was based on source material that had been around for thousands of years. Also, when i first got this game my computer couldnt run Powerpoint without freezing so the realatively high system requirements caused issues at the time. (ive since upgraded though so yay!)
Overall, it's a well designed game that anyone who is into the series or RTS in general can get into easily. Exciting and beautiful, this game is a worthy succesor to Age of Empires 2! I look forward to Age of Empires 4, World War II anyone?
