This aspect is more similar to Civilization than its RTS analogues, and in general the AoE series does take more after the 4X title than its closer relatives, with its incredibly expansive tech trees, focus on diplomacy and economy, and a deliberately slower pace. It built itself with an opposing balance sensibility to the other RTS giant, Starcraft, with its factions playing very similar to each other and differing mostly in subtle but important differences in tech tree as well as having subtle bonuses for certain activities. Beginning in 1997 with an eponymous game, the series quickly became a vital piece of the RTS genre with its main conceit of smashing historical societies against each other as if they were action figures. The Age of Empires series is perhaps one of the most ideal subjects for remastering. None of these are an apparent target for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. Meanwhile, games that are much older and were released a generation or more ago tend to have a larger set of goals with their remasters: to bring in nostalgic fans who played the game when it was released to relive the experience on modern machines, to make life easier for lifelong loyalists struggling to keep ancient tech cooperating with their play habits, and to make it accessible to newcomers who know the game only by reputation. Usually, when a game not much older than 2 years is remastered, it’s simply for the benefit of giving it the increased performance and slightly improved looks that it can now enjoy on modern hardware.

In recent years, video game remasters have gone from an odd novelty treatment bestowed upon only the most acclaimed titles to mundane orders of the day.

Age of empires 2 rotate gate