I got into AoE2 really late. I mean, really late. I first played it on the PS2. In 2006. Then I played the DS version and finally, around 2011 that was when I got around to buying the Gold Edition on PC but due to some technical issue, I didn’t play it for long. I loved it, sure, though…
In between all that, I was very excited for AoE3. Indeed, I remember playing the demo and I just wanted more. Wish came true and two expansions followed. Again, I loved it but I also played it MORE during the time period when I was also playing around with AoE2 as well. I probably played it more because asymmetric civilisation design was the selling point. I like the Age-Up, treasures, trade posts, and card mechanics very much.
So yes, I could say that AoE3 is “best” in my opinion but I won’t deny that AoE2 is also a much loved classic. One cannot deny that AoE2 gets the attention it deserves because it was a masterpiece back then and it remains to this day as evident with the player numbers.
What let’s AoE3 down is the lack of proper campaigns, maps in general, the shakey balance (but that was always going to happen), and ultimately, its failure to grab the attention of those who enjoy(ed) AoE2 more.
Bad argument, both are old games taht have been recently remastered, and AoE2 DE still has more than 4 times the playerbase.
I like AoE3 too, but am completely comfortable with the idea that AoE2 is in every way, the superior game.
AoE2 will always be what people think of, when they think of Age of Empires, it is the very hallmark of the series.
Because the resurrection of the WHOLE series, came at the hands of AoE2, and it did so, because AoE2 is just the better game, and has much greater market appeal.
I mean, you admitted yourself not playing online, so I don’t think you can really argue on how the gameplay is better in a game or another. As everybody can 1v7 ai without being an harcore gamer.
So we should all just play FPS and Battle royal. Because all games united the AOE series don’t even pick 40K players a day. While FPS have several dozens millions players each day.
FPS is so superior to RTS game, by thousands time right ? Numbers can’t be wrong.
Just read my other post about AOE2 just having tons on commercial support for 10 years and still not doing 10x the AOE3 playerbase nobody hears about.
Whataboutism.
The discussion is not about what you prefer.
The market has spoken, more people prefer AoE2, by a WIDE margin. Why is that? It is because it is the more entertaining of the series.
Have you ever though that AoE3 did so bad, and still does, because it tried so hard? It is very much a game of Rushing and tryharding itself, which makes it even more amazing that it has the smallest competitive scene, and very low prize pools.
No matter your preferences or reasonings, you have to face the reality of the world, and that is that AoE2 is eternal, and resurrected the whole franchise BY ITSELF.
It IS the better game, and that is uncontestable right now, because even with the USA drop, people still prefer playing AoE2, both competitively, and otherwise.
It did so, because it was VIABLE to do it. Because it is the Age of Empires game taht everyone really wants to play.
Objectivity left the tchat apparently, but I wonder why you spend all your day just crying over AOE3 on that forum for months as you apparently don’t like that game. And why you just speak about the gameplay while you don’t even play it online ?
Seems strange man. Both games are great, go have fun on AOE2 and let us enjoy AOE3. You know we play it for 15 years, nobody will change his mind because you writte long post here.
there’s no behalf, you just spreed your opinions as fact as if nothing else than the playerbase matter, just reread my points about singers.
it’s not like there’s an international consensus about what makes a good and a bad game, it’s about everyone’s feeling. Nobody’s right or wrong, go play more the one you like instead of posting on the forum of the one you dislike man.
And now you are attacking me because the facts do not agree with you.
No, it is a marketeable product, so customer adoption and engagement is LITERALLY what defines success, and everyone agrees on this, internationally.
More people play AoE2, even though both games are over a decade old, which means AoE2 is just the better game.
AoE2 HD edition came out in 2012. AoE3 had from 2005 to 2012 the opportunity to migrate the playerbase from AoE2 and attract new players. But it didn’t happen. Guess why? Because people didn’t enjoy it that much and it was just a worse game.(still a great game, but just worse in comparision). You had a fantasy scenario campain, a setting that people didn’t really enjoy that much and a overall dumbed down(more beginner friendly) gameplay. Of course nobody organizes big tournaments for a game that has only a small playerbase. AoE2 got huge tournaments in the recent years because people still play it.
With your opinion i can’t compare games of the same franchise and pick whats better? Lets say you ask 100 people about a movie, 90 say its garbage and 10 say its good. Is the movie good if you enjoyed it then? For you it could be a good movie, but generally people dont think it is good. The same holds for AoE2 vs AoE3 - there are people that enjoy AoE3 more and say it’s better, however overall people agree that AoE2 is just the better game. This has nothing to do with subjective opinions, its a fact. That doesn’t mean its a bad game, or that you can’t enjoy it more.
Can we speak about big playerbase for tournaments when AOE2HD had like 2000-4000 players at time until what, 2015 ? And 2/3 of them playing solo ?
there was a lot of tournaments in AOE3, just wasn’t known outside the community.
+, it’s not 90/10. It’s more 25/75. + I wonder how many of the 75 ever played AOE3, you will find here a lot of players that went to AOE2 to AOE3 for exemple. I’m sure they were saying it’s a bad game before just by follwing the group…
I nearly didn’t play AoE2 until DE came. I played AoE3 & Stronghold as my RTS games. I didn’t play AoE2 because i didn’t like the graphics (not even in HD).
But doesn’t this exactly tell you the story. How can a 20 year old game with a new update go from 2000-4000 player to 16-18k on average? And how does a game that came out 2005 and got a new update can’t compete with it? Because AoE2 is just better.
Yea a lot of tournaments with very low pricepools. ESOC has a list which containts some of these.
Content that gets created by the community. Content that gets added because people play the game. Companies don’t advertise a nearly dead game.
Of course not, but we have a modern AoE2 and a modern AoE3 and we can compare them - yet still more people play AoE2.If AoE3 is so much better, how do people not make the switch? Strange.
