Age of History II
" Accessible grand strategy with deep gameplay and creative freedom but clunky UI and frequent bugs "
Age of History II Review
Age of History II is a turn-based grand strategy game that offers a deep and engaging experience for players interested in world conquest and historical scenarios. Players appreciate its strategic depth and creative freedom, allowing for unique alternate history scenarios and empire-building challenges. The game is praised for being accessible to newcomers while still providing complexity akin to Risk but with more nuanced mechanics. However, the learning curve can be steep due to a lack of an effective tutorial and unclear UI elements, which often leaves players relying on trial and error.
While the core gameplay is solid and satisfying, common issues such as bugs, crashes, lag, and a clunky user interface detract from the overall experience. Some players also report AI inconsistencies and frustrating diplomacy mechanics. Despite these flaws, the game remains a favorite among strategy enthusiasts looking for a simpler alternative to more complex grand strategy titles like Paradox games.
Highlights
Players praise the game's strategic depth and creative freedom, highlighting the ability to create custom scenarios and focus trees.
The gameplay mechanics are considered robust and enjoyable, offering a satisfying mix of economic and military strategy.
Its accessibility for beginners and fans of Risk-style games is also noted, along with the game's potential for long play sessions and mod support.
Many appreciate it as a good substitute for more complex grand strategy games, especially for those who prefer a simpler interface.
Criticisms
Common criticisms include a clunky and unintuitive user interface, with slow zooming and poor map navigation controls.
Bugs and crashes, especially when loading saved games or playing in fullscreen, are frequently reported.
Players find the AI sometimes erratic and diplomacy mechanics frustrating, such as unclear peace treaty terms and unpredictable war declarations.
The tutorial is minimal and text-heavy, leaving new players confused.
Some also mention lag issues and lack of fundamental options like disabling edge scrolling, which impact gameplay enjoyment.
Pros
- • Deep strategic gameplay with creative freedom for custom scenarios and empire building.
- • Accessible for beginners while offering complexity for experienced players.
- • Robust economic and military mechanics that provide satisfying challenges.
- • Good alternative to complex grand strategy games like Paradox titles.
- • Supports long play sessions and has active modding community.
- • Accurate historical stats add educational value to gameplay.
- • Allows players to rewrite history with alternate scenarios.
Cons
- • User interface is clunky, unintuitive, and lacks key navigation features.
- • Game suffers from frequent bugs, crashes, and lag issues.
- • Minimal tutorial leaves new players confused about mechanics.
- • AI behavior can be unpredictable and frustrating during diplomacy.
- • Peace treaty system is unclear and sometimes breaks gameplay flow.
- • Lack of options like disabling edge scrolling frustrates players.
- • War declarations are quiet and hard to anticipate.
Rating Criteria
Age of History II is a grand strategy wargame that is simple to learn yet hard to master.Your objective is to use military tactics and cunning diplomacy to either unify the world, or conquer it.Will the world bleed out or bow before you? The choice is yours..