AoE III vs AoE II HD, which is better for me?

[Vulture]

Which is better for me? AoE III or AoE II HD?
I prefer slower more buildy type games. Not a fan of zergs/rushes.
I also picked up C&C Red Alert before AoE II went on sale, how it is by comparison?

[Laptop]

AOE is somewhat similar to C&C, build up a base, gather resources, research improvements and then go kick the ememy bases' ass :p

It depends what you're looking for exactly. They are both very good games. Personally I prefer AOE2, but this is my personal preference only.

[Vulture]

Which of the three puts the most emphasis on base building?
Also, I'll probably be playing mostly singleplayer.

[Laptop]

Originalmente postado por Call Me Drew:

Which of the three puts the most emphasis on base building?
Also, I'll probably be playing mostly singleplayer.

For base building? Hard to say...

There's also Age of Mythology: Exended Edition, which is now out on Steam also. It was made by the same people who made AOE and a lot of people like that one too.

To answer your question, that's tricky to do. They all involve in-depth and strategic base building. I would say possibly AOE2.

[Vulture]

Let me put it another way: I'm kind of a turtler.

[olmo14]

AoE II HD is the game of every child childhood, i remember those matches 1 hour long... completely recommended

[Vulture]

I played Civilization as a kid. As I said, I like it slow.

[mik | あなたのお母さん]

You just need to buy AoE 2, enter in a lobby and spam the ♥♥♥♥♥♥ laught (11)

[Cysion]

If you like it slow, I guess AoE2 is more for you, mainly because the buildings are a lot stronger in the game, so your fortifications will last a lot longer against early computer attacks. On the easiest levels, the AI is more or less a sandbox mode.

[Lantea]

I prefer AOE 3, love the single player; I am not much for multiplayer.
In play style, i.e. base building, etc. they are both similar. Tha main difference is the much better visuals of AOE 3, and the era in which the game is set. Do you prefer swords fighting or muskets and cannons?
For me visuals play an important role and on this point AOE 3 is the clear winner.

[André]

Originalmente postado por Cysion:

If you like it slow, I guess AoE2 is more for you, mainly because the buildings are a lot stronger in the game, so your fortifications will last a lot longer against early computer attacks. On the easiest levels, the AI is more or less a sandbox mode.

i have to agree, AOE2 buildings last longer than AOE3 and walls make a huge difference

[An1MuS]

Concerning popularity, AoE2 was far more popular than AoE3.

In 3 months after its release, 2 million copies of AoE2 (Age of Kings) had been shipped.
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Empires_II:_The_Age_of_Kings

It took AoE3 3 years to reach that number
"Age of Empires III has sold over 2 million copies as of May 2008"
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Empires_III

Personaly, having played all of AoE's my preferences would be:

1. AoE2
best: General gameplay. It's just... fun. The strategies you can do are fun. Playing with your friends you can do so much crazy things.
worst: a bit slow to get going, if you like very competitive play. I used to practice 10mins+ build orders. I hated the part where i had to use 6 simultneous sheep + scout to scout the map... But this is about the only negative of this game.

2. AoE1
best: units (does anyone remember the phalanx and the chariots? really awesome units!), sounds (this was where monks did use "wololo" when converting units, and god was it fun!), civilizations (those civilizations have a very big appeal for me personally);
worst: graphics and unit pathing

3. AoE3
best: graphics.
worst: gameplay. Decks, and all those funny businesses going on in the maps, don't belong in this game in my opinion. For me it ruined a lot of the fun i had playing the series.
This was the only one i didn't buy, only tried the demo (many times to make sure i wasn't mistaken in not liking it :/)


You said you don't like rushes. In AoE2 it really depends on the map... More open maps like arabia are harder to defend so people tend to rush. In more closed maps, like black forest, you don't get rushed at all. But since you can chose what maps you play on... you're in control :). And on top of this, there are some strategies more focused on defending, that allow you to make games go much longer, and be more buildy like you said.

So in conclusion, I would go for AoE2 :D (but watch some videos to make sure ;) )

[Big Beto]

Good points, An1MuS. The only things I disagree are: AOE3 also have awesome sound effects and very good official campaigns (better than the AOK ones IMO, because its great cinematics and the new stuff at every mission (cool caves, 'boss ships', explosives, etc)). And AOE2 also have a strong point - Scenario editing. You can do almost everything with it, and the results are very funny to play. BTW, AOE1 official campaigns are very funny too.

[Batman]

Don't buy 2 till they fix it.

[John Fish]

If you don't like hasty gameplay then I'd recommend AOM:EE instead of AOE2. If you want to be any good at AOE2, you have to micro your balls off. Trust me, playing some AOM after a long while of playing AOE2 feels like a gentle stroll in the park on a sunny afternoon after a bare-chested cage fight with a bear.
Why? Because AOM allows you an autoqueue button to continually create villagers and troops so you don't have to micro all your buildings at all times. Still, the rest of the game is at least as complicated as AOE2.

AOE3 made the same mistake LoL did by giving players 'customization' (hometown decks in AOE3, runes/masteries in LoL) but in reality it just means that everyone googles 'best deck aoe3' and just picks that. So everyone will have the same deck since that deck is the most useful. So much for customization.

[Rob]

Lol I had the same q. Thanks guys!