Age of Empires II

Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings
	PC Box cover
Developer(s)	Ensemble Studios
Publisher(s)	Microsoft
Composer(s)	Stephen Rippy ;
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Apple Macintosh
Release	30 September, 1999
Genre(s)	Real Time Strategy
Mode(s)	Single player, MP over IPX, TCP/IP, Modem, GameSpy Arcade, or GameRanger

Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings is a real-time strategy computer game set in the Middle Ages. It was released in 1999, and it is the second game of the Age of Empires series developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft. Because of its commercial success, an expansion pack was released: Age of Empires II: The Conquerors Expansion, followed by a Gold Edition, which bundling together the game and its expansion, and a true sequel, Age of Empires III. It is also widely regarded as one of the finest Real Time Strategy games ever made.

Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings is sometimes called Age of Kings, or abbreviated as AoK, AOE2, or AOE II.

Gameplay

The player controls a society and guides them through four "ages". The game begins in the Dark Ages, where very few buildings and units are available. After a short time, the user gains the ability to advance to the Feudal Age, where more upgrades, buildings, and units become available. The next age is the Castle Age, and finally the Imperial age, which is reminiscient of the early years of the Renaissance.

The player directly controls the citizens, and can order them to construct buildings, collect resources, and attack.

There are four types of resources, all of which are necessary: Wood, food, gold, and stone. Wood is used for building structures and training archers, stone for defenses like Castles or towers, and gold and food for constructing units and researching technologies. Often, one of the difficulties of a certain scenario or map is that it is short one type of resource, forcing players to adjust to this shortage. This can be avoided by playing in a "Deathmatch" game type, wherein the player is given resource stockpiles in the thousands.

The real-world maps available in the expansion (Scandinavia, Central America, Sea of Japan etc) are small versions of real-world territories, with geography very close to their real-world equivalents.

The original game comes with five campaigns, and the expansion adds three more, all of which reflect some event in history, like Joan of Arc leading the French to battle, or Genghis Khan's invasion of Eurasia. There is also a Standard Game feature, which pits a player against a set number of Computer players for control of a map. The usual goal in standard games is to defeat any enemies and force them to surrender, but other goals like building and protecting a special type of building (called a "Wonder") also exist.

In multiplayer mode, up to eight players compete with other nations for world dominance, online or offline. Microsoft Zone used to be the most popular Internet server for The Conquerors, but the Zone pulled its support of the game June 19th, 2006. After a hiatus, Ensemble Studios established multiplayer support on GameSpy Arcade. There is also an open source multiplayer effort called GTADS that allows 1v1 for Age of Empires and Age of Empires II.

Civilizations

File:Age of kings screenshot.jpg

Age of Kings beta screenshot

In the original Age of Kings, the player can choose from 13 civilizations. Each has a distinct personality, with particular strengths and weaknesses patterned on the real civilizations. Each civilization also has some unique units (ships and warriors) with more-or-less historically accurate names, e.g. longboats and berserks for the Vikings. The game's civilizations are split into four groups which have different architectural styles, each civilization in each group share a building set. The groups and their civilizations are:

Group	Western European	North/East European	East Asian	Middle Eastern
Civilizations	Britons Celts Franks	Goths Teutons Vikings	Chinese Japanese Mongols	Byzantines Persians Saracens Turks

Campaigns

Campaigns consist of a series of scenarios of rising difficulty, depicting major events in the life of a famous historical character, e.g. a famous battle, the building of a famous monument, or some well-known anecdote. Only the William Wallace and Joan of Arc campaigns allow players to control the character itself as a special unit. The campaigns usually start with a range of existing resources, buildings and units already in place, thus avoiding the laborious process of building a nation from nothing, which can become tedious.

The original game's campaigns included:

The Conqueror's Expansion pack adds 4 more campaigns to the game featuring the new civilizations. In the Attila the Hun and El Cid campaigns, the player controls the said character. In the Montezuma [sic] campaign, the player plays as Cuauhtémoc, the last emperor of the Aztec empire. The final campaign recreates various battles in history, such as the spectacular naval Battle of Noryang Point between the Koreans and Japanese, the Battle of Tours fought by the Franks and Moors, and the Battle of Agincourt, in which the player must control Henry V's army through a heavily fortified Northern France.

Technology

Age of Empires II has a much more advanced and varied set of technology trees than the original Age of Empires I. To acquire technology, the player must first construct buildings. Each building offers a range of technology which can be researched, for a price. Technologies build upon each other. As technologies are researched, a wider range of buildings and units become available. Technologies may benefit military units (by perhaps increasing their defense attributes), civil units (villagers can benefit from technologies that make them move faster and therefore collect resources more efficiently, etc), or buildings (e.g. by researching technology that allows castles and towers to fire at units at their base). Technologies vary greatly in benefits and costs.

In the game, technology plays a central role. Early in the game, players must constantly assess priorities and allocate scarce resources between creating new units, upgrading existing units, and researching to upgrade to the next Age. Too much emphasis on researching technology and moving through the Ages without creating military can leave a nation all but defenseless. On the other hand, putting resources into a large population at the expense of progress can lead to defeat if the enemy has progressed and is able to field a small but more powerful attack force.

The cost and number of technologies increase through the Ages. For example, the technologies of the feudal age cost about 100-150 resources while those of the Imperial Age cost between 700 and 1500 resources.

A special part of the game that was added in the expansion is that each civilization gets a unique technology in the castle when it goes into the imperial age. This technology generally benefits the unique units of the civilization or enable some special upgrade which is not avaiable to other civilizations. In addition to this, some civilizations also have some inbuilt technologies or upgrades, for example, the buildings of the Byzantines automaticially get more hit points as they progress into the next age. The Franks can build castles for much less than other civilizations.

Wonders and relics

Relics are special unique items that are scattered around the map, and can only be picked up by monks. Once placed within a monastery, a relic steadily generates free gold for the civilization that holds it (this reflects the historical realities of the power and influence that possessing famous relics brought to a church). To capture a relic from an enemy monastery, the monastery must be destroyed. The relic will then be expelled so that a player may capture it with a monk.

Monks are vulnerable units (they can only defend themselves by converting their assailant, which takes time). A monk carrying a relic will quickly attract enemy units, so strategies are needed to protect him (e.g. researching faster conversion, sending monks in convoy so one can heal the other, protecting the monk with a military escort, etc).

It is possible to set the game such that victory is achieved by collecting all available relics, or building a Wonder. This is the case in several campaign scenarios. To win, all the relics must be held for a specific uninterrupted period of time, depending on the size of the map.

Wonders are massive structures that require large amounts of resources and time to build. If a player completes a Wonder, and it stands intact for an uninterrupted period of time, they win. If a Wonder is destroyed before the countdown is finished, the countdown resets. Each civilization has their own Wonder, typically a famous work of historical architecture, as opposed to the original Age of Empires, where each civilization's Wonder was based on their generic architecture. The wonders that appears in the game are:

In addition, the Dome of the Rock appears as a decorative building in Saladin's campaign, but cannot be built by any civilization. Another decorative gothic cathedral shown in Joan of Arc and Barbarossa's campaigns appears to be also based on the Aachen Cathedral. Finally, in Gengis Khan's campaign the Great Wall of China is present, "portrayed" by several blocks of conventional walls united.

Scenario editor

Age of Kings also includes a built-in scenario editor. It's similar to the one from Age of Empires, where players can make custom missions and series of missions. The largest difference from the design of the editor of the first game is the use of "triggers". These are a sequence of actions that occur when certain conditions are met.

For example, a player can create a trigger to declare victory as soon as a building or unit is visible. A player can create triggers with multiple requirements or results. Killing certain soldiers can change the ownership of a building to another player as well as increase the health of the building. There is a huge abundance of possibilities. If multiple triggers interfere with each other, the game crashes.

To use the triggers in the scenario editor, create a new trigger and assign a condition and effect from the list. Occasionally there are variations to how many soldiers can be assigned triggers to. For example, if a player wants to make 6 soldiers patrol, at times they can only select the trigger for one, and six individual triggers must be made, while other times six can be selected at once.

In the expansion there is an addition of a few triggers. Units and buildings can have their names changed, their health increased, and attack increased just to name a few.

Soundtrack

The CD itself is actually 2 audio CD tracks. Track 1 appears as the data track, and track 2 is the soundtrack of the game as a Red Book audio track.

Units

The following units can be created at various buildings:

File:Complete Map.jpg

Age of Kings Complete Map screenshot

Barracks
Age	Unit	Annotations
Dark	Militia	The initial military unit. Its only improvement from a villager without the Loom upgrade is that it has 1 more attack point and 15 more HP. With Loom, it only has 1 more attack point.
Feudal	Man-at-Arms	Upgraded from the Militia, they defeat spearmen and skirmishers, but are vulnerable to massed archers. They have a small attack bonus versus buildings, but are vulnerable to arrow fire, particularly from the town center.
Feudal	Spearman	A cheap infantry unit that counters cavalry. Its weak attack is made up for by a large attack bonus against mounted units.
Castle	Long Swordsman	Upgraded from the Man-at-Arms, the Long Swordsman is often considered pale in comparison to the Knight; the Long Swordsman has an edge in cost effectiveness, but cannot compete with knights in any other area.
Castle	Pikeman	Upgraded from the Spearman, this is the main unit for most civilizations to combat mounted units.
Imperial	Two-Handed Swordsman	Upgraded from the Long Swordsman, all civilizations, except the Persians, get this and the Champion upgrade. The Two-Handed Swordsman has the same role, but looks different from its previous forms; like its name, it wields a very long sword with two hands and no shield. It is also slower than the Long Swordsman.
Imperial	Champion	Upgraded from the Two-Handed Swordsman, this is the ultimate upgrade for the militia line. The Champion is easy to mass and can easily defeat counterunits (pikemen, skirmishers, and camels) as well as destroy buildings with its high attack and attack bonuses.

Stable
Age	Unit	Annotations
Feudal	Scout Cavalry	This is the first military unit a player gets in most games. Scout cavalry are used in the Dark Age to search the map for resources and enemy players. They can also be used for minor skirmishes. Scouts (and their upgraded counterparts) benefit from enhanced resistance to monk conversion. If a player loses their Scout Cavalry in the Dark Age, they must wait until the Feudal Age before they produce another one.
Castle	Light Cavalry	Upgraded from the Scout Cavalry, the Light Cavalry is much stronger than the Scout Cavalry. They are used for reconnaissance, raiding, skirmishing, and as a counter-unit against monks and siege weapons. Only the Teutons do not have access to this unit.
	Knight	This is the strongest unit in the Castle Age; it has speed, high hit points and armor, and high attack. In exchange, it is very expensive to mass in contrast to the noticeably weaker Long Swordsman. Knights can be employed in the same vein as light cavalry, except that its line-of-sight is much smaller in comparison.
	Camel	Only the Byzantine, Persian, Saracen, Turk, Chinese and Mongol civs can use this unit. This is a mounted unit with no armor and weak attack, but receives attack bonuses against other cavalry. The Camel is almost as fast as the Light Cavalry with more hit points, so it can be used for raiding, but also has a diminished line-of-sight like the Knight. Camels are quite expensive, but are cheaper than knights. Camels are less vulnerable to pikemen than other cavalry.
Imperial	Cavalier	Upgraded from the Knight and in place between the Knight and Paladin, most civs can use the Cavalier except for the Saracens.
	Paladin	Upgraded from the Cavalier and the strongest unit on paper for any civilization, the Paladin cannot be used by many civilizations.
	Heavy Camel	Upgraded from the Camel, this is the strongest anti-cavalry unit. It is available to any civilization that has the Camel.

Archery range
Age	Unit	Annotations
Feudal	Archer	This is the basic ranged unit. Archers are most effective when massed, but they are more gold-intensive than infantry units.
Feudal	Skirmisher	This is a cheap ranged unit specialized for killing other Archers. It has piercing armor that reduces arrow attacks and an attack bonus against them. Its base attack is very small, however. Skirmishers have a minimum range, which means they cannot fire at enemies too close to them.
Castle	Crossbowman	Upgraded from the Archer, this unit is designed to kill slow units such as infantry and Monks. When employed en masse, they can be highly destructive, but they are highly vulnerable to siege attack and to massed cavalry. Once again, they are very useful when defending, as they greatly increase the attack power of towers, town centers, or castles when garrisoned within them.
	Elite Skirmisher	Upgraded from the Skirmisher, Elite skirmishers can slay large numbers of Archers, Crossbowmen, and Cavalry Archers, except when the latter retreats out of the Skirmisher's range.
	Cavalry archer	Analogous to the archer as the Knight is to the long swordsman, the cavalry archer has a shorter range than the crossbowman, but has higher hit points, attack, and speed. Cavalry archers are less useful in defense because of their short range and inability to garrison inside town centers or towers, but can garrison inside castles. This unit is vulnerable to the spearman line, camel line, and the skirmisher line.Light Cavalry
Imperial	Arbalest	Upgraded from the Crossbowman, this is a strong unit that is designed to be used in mass formations. Similar to crossbowmen from the previous age, they have no added abilities, but they are an upgrade of an already important role on the battlefield.
	Heavy Cavalry Archer	Upgraded from the Cavalry Archer, this is a stronger version of the cavalry archer. Despite its name and manual description, the heavy cavalry archer does not receive a speed reduction from its previous form.
	Hand Cannoneer	Primitive gunpowder unit. Hand cannoneers have much stronger attack and a bonus against infantry, but their range and attack cannot be upgraded like other archers. A fully upgraded arbalest will have longer range than a hand cannoneer. The firing rate of a hand cannoneer is slow and they are inaccurate at long range.

Siege workshop

Siege weapons have a devastating effect on their target, but can be quickly destroyed by a unit attacking them at close range (e.g. a swordsman or cavalry, or even a villager). They are quite expensive and must be guarded closely. They are repaired by villagers.

Siege workshop
Age	Unit	Annotations
Castle	Battering Ram	It has a small, unranged attack, but has a huge attack bonus against buildings and siege weapons.
	Mangonel	Mangonels cause "splash damage," which means they can hit multiple units. Units in the middle of the splash receive the most damage, while units on the edges receive less. They carry a large attack and a bonus against buildings.
	Scorpion	A light artillery siege weapon resembling a large crossbow that is very useful in defense. Scorpion bolts damage units that they pass through.
Imperial	Capped Ram	Upgrade from battering ram. In the Imperial Age, the trebuchet firing from long range becomes the building destroyer of choice, but the ram can still demolish buildings quickly. Capped rams gain splash damage, and they damage other buildings adjacent to them.
	Siege Ram	Upgrade from capped ram. The strongest version of the ram with even more splash damage.
	Onager	Upgraded from the Mangonel, this is a bigger, stronger mangonel. They do more damage and have a bigger splash damage.
	Siege Onager	Upgraded from the Onager, this is an even bigger onager. The significant improvement is to the attack and range. This weapon can also destroy masses of trees, clearing paths through forests; very useful in the Black Forest map.
	Heavy Scorpion	Upgraded from the Scorpion, this is a stronger scorpion. Its upgrade is gold-free.
	Bombard Cannon	A long-range gunpowder weapon used to destroy enemy buildings from long range. The downside is low hit points and lower range than a trebuchet, along with higher cost. When attacking enemy units, the bombard cannon has similar effects to that of a mangonel, albeit having a much smaller splash damage radius. The bombard cannon is also useful for dismantling siege weapons and ships.Arbalest

Castle
Age	Unit	Annotations
Castle	Unique Units	I.e. units unique to a civilization. See Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings==Unique Units==.
Imperial	Elite Unique Unit	Upgraded from Unique Unit)
Imperial	Trebuchet	The trebuchet has the longest range of any unit in the game and is so powerful that it must be anchored to the ground before firing. The trebuchet must be moved in a vulnerable and mobile packed form, then unpacked to attack. The high arc of the trebuchet makes its shots inaccurate and slow, and therefore best suited to destroying buildings rather than mobile units. When unpacked, the trebuchet cannot move, and it must be packed to move again. Trebuchets are very expensive and require escort to justify their cost. They can also knock down trees, although only one at a time.Capped Ram

Dock
Age	Unit	Annotations
Feudal	Fishing Ship	A ship that is available starting from the Dark Age. Fishes shore fish and deep-sea fish. It can also build fish traps that are similar to farms.
	Transport Ship	The only way to move an army or civilians across a body of water. Units garrison inside its hull for transport across a sea or river. Transport ships have no attack and are vulnerable to other ships. Upgrades can allow the transport ship to carry even more units. Transport ships that are destroyed sink with the units they were carrying, killing them all. When a transport is converted, the ship is converted and not the inhabitants, who are then completely vulnerable to deletion or drop off on to a random island.
	Trade Cog	This ship is only meant for trading with other civilizations. When a trade cog goes to a dock other than one's own, it receives gold. The dock can belong to friendly or unfriendly players. Neither player has to give up resources, and the player whose dock is being used receives 10% of the Gold. The further both docks are from each other, the more gold is generated.
	Galley	The basic warship for the Feudal Age. In the Feudal Age naval battles, it comes down to logistics in sea battles, whoever has more ships. Later in-game, more warships become available.
Castle	War Galley	Upgraded from the Galley and designed to be the main warship of any battle in the Castle Age, the War Galley is good for coastal raids and protecting fishing or trading fleets. They are easily defeated by Fire Ships.
	Fire Ship	These ships do not have ranged attack like the war galley, but they are fast and are strong against war galley attack. Fire Ships spew fire at enemy ships at a very fast rate, causing heavy damage. They have high attack bonus versus all ships, but are defeated by demolition ships. These are representative of Greek fire.
	Demolition Ship	These ships are floating bombs. Inexpensive and very fast, they are designed to sail right up to a ship and explode. They can destroy transport ships quickly, repelling an enemy landing. They also destroy Fire Ships, because their low range prevents them from destroying demolition ships before they explode. Galleys, on the other hand, have high attack and range, destroying Demolition Ships before they can even get close. Demolition Ships can also destroy coastal buildings.
Imperial	Galleon	Upgraded from the War Galley, this is the strongest of the galley line with improved range, hit points, and attack. They still have the same place in the rock-paper-scissors match up between warships.
	Fast Fire Ship	Upgraded from the Fire Ship, this is even stronger than a Galleon, the Fast Fire Ship is the ultimate defensive ship when being supported by fortifications.
	Heavy Demolition Ship	Upgraded from the Demolition Ship, these ships carry much more powerful explosive and do splash damage to ships near the explosion they cause. Heavy Demolition Ships are usually a last ditch effort to ward off an enemy sea attack.
	Cannon Galleon	A very interesting kind of ship, they are the trebuchets of the seas. Cannon galleons have enough range to stay out of the reach of most towers and castles. They have the same strengths and weaknesses of the trebuchet, except that the cannon galleon possesses mobility, however slow it may be. Cannon galleons are weak against all ships. They do not benefit from ballistics technology, except for the Spanish.
	Elite Cannon Galleon	Upgraded from the Cannon Galleon, this is the stronger version of the cannon galleon. Not completely intended for ship to ship combat, the elite cannon galleon destroys enemy fortifications. If needed, the cannon galleon can engage enemy ships. Their shots can distract other ships and keep them occupied while they dodge the cannon galleon, being fired at from other ships all the while.

Other Units

King - A unit found only in regicide games. Players have only one king at the beginning of the game, until the end. The point of regicide games is to protect one's king while killing one's enemies' kings. The king can garrison inside town centers, towers, or the castle that is usually provided for the player at the beginning of the game. Kings lack attack, defense, and have low hit points, but are very fast.
Sheep - Found on most maps. By moving a unit close to them, players can control sheep. Its real use is for villagers to herd it and kill it for food early in the game. Sheep are the easiest food source in the game; they can be moved to the proximity of a town center and easily harvested. They have also become an important part of early scouting in the game, particularly on the Land Nomad map where players begin without a Scout Cavalry. However this scouting is risky, as sheeps' succeptability to conversion may provide enemies with an extra source of food. In some settings in the Conquerors Expansion (particularly Yucatan) they are substituted with turkeys.
Deer, Wild Boar and Javelina - These animals can be hunted by villagers as a food resource. They cannot be herded (though some experts do utilize techniques to force deer to run closer towards a gathering point, such as a mill, in order to limit villager walking distance and hence limit wasted time), although they will move around a small range as they graze or forage. Wild boar and javelina (in Meso American maps) will counter-attack hunters.
Horse - This unit does nothing. It has low health, no attack, and produces no food. They only appear in campaigns.
Wolf and Jaguar - The wolf and jaguar (in Meso American maps) will attack most units, (notably not scout cavalry, as this would provide a great risk to early game scouting), but are easily defeated. Villagers are the most succeptible to their attacks, as a villager without the loom technology does not have enough hitpoints to sustain a fight against a wolf or jaguar. Some maps feature increased numbers of wolves, such as Gold Rush and ES@Paradise Island. They do not provide food.
Hunting Wolf - In popular history, hunting dogs were more common, though they weren't used to fight in battles. The hunting wolf, however, was used for both hunting and occasionally used for battles. They are heroes, found only in campaigns.
Stormy Dog - A generally useless unit, as they are only created through cheating. They can scout. They are controlled by Player 0.
Cobra Car - Another unit achievable only by cheating, this unit has decent range and a rapid-fire area attack.
Saboteur - A hero that can be gained by cheating. It does a large amount of damage, destroying itself in the process. In the expansion pack, a similar, but less powerful unit (called a petard)can be trained at the castle.
Furious the Monkey Boy - A ridiculously strong unit, available only through cheating or through the scenario editor. He has huge attack, armour, and pierce armour, and a ridiculous bonus against buildings, but barely any HP.
Pavilion and Yurt - Similar to houses, they cannot be built and are found only in campaign games. They have less hitpoints than houses, so it makes no sense to build them.
Ornlu the Wolf - A rather strong hero, found in many campaigns. He is strong against most units, except for pikemen, that recieve their cavalry bonus aganist him. He can only be accessed through the scenario editor.
Dark Age
- Villager, at the town center - The building block of a civilization, villagers gather resources with which players train soldiers and raise buildings. They create buildings by themselves and can repair those same structures, as well as siege weapons and ships. Villagers can even be pressed into combat if absolutely necessary. They are the cheapest unit at 50 food.
Feudal Age
- Trade Cart, at market - Trade carts are used to trade with other markets across land and obtain gold. When a trade cart comes into contact with a market belonging to another player, they can generate gold for the player. Neither player loses resources when a trade cart travels in between their markets, and the player with the trade cart receives gold in proportion to the distance between the markets. The player with the market gets 10% of the gold that the other player gets. Trade carts can become extremely important in the late game when gold reserves are running low, they can keep a player in the fight. Trade carts have no attack and are vulnerable to all other units.
Castle Age
- Monk, at monastery - The monk is used to heal friendly units, convert enemy units, and carry relics. Monks are very useful to an army in battle, being able to keep friendly units in the fight and replenish the army by stealing soldiers from the opposing army. Relic victories require the monk. A monk can grab a relic, and bring it back to their monastery. The relic generates free gold for the player with the monastery at a very slow rate. In standard victory conditions, when a player or a team of allies has all the relics on the map, a countdown begins. When the countdown is up, the player or team with the relics wins. If any one of the relics is lost or an alliance with another relic holder is broken, the countdown ends and a new one appears when a player or team gains all the relics, or a broken alliance is reconstituted.
Imperial Age
- Wonder - This building is extremely costly, and takes a lot of time to complete. They have different appearances for every civilization. They have about as much health as castles, though they occupy a larger area. Players will have this as one of their main targets, as when they exist for 200 years, the owner's team wins.

Unique units

One of the key features in Age of Kings was the introduction of one or two unique units for each civilization. These troops are usually created at the Castle (see above) but the (Viking) longboat is constructed at the dock.

Civilization	Unit	Annotations
Britons	Longbowman	An archer with much greater range and attack than a regular archer. It is a translation of the historic Welsh longbowman, utilized heavily in the Hundred Year's War. The longbowman is one of the most powerful archers in the game in terms of armor, range, and attack when fully upgraded. Massed together, they become more powerful, especially if protected from massed cavalry with pikemen and from mangonels/onagers with cavalry.
Franks	Throwing Axeman	An infantry unit that throws an axe at a small range. Their attack affects the enemy's normal armor, not the pierce armor. The throwing axeman is based off accounts of Frankish foot soldiers throwing their axes in battle.
Goths	Huskarl	This infantry unit is highly resistant to arrows and gets a high attack bonus against archers. This unit is apt for the Goths, because they were known as raiders, able to blow down enemy fortifications. They are based on the professional fighters that many Germanic tribes kept on retinue.
Teutons	Teutonic Knight	A slow, but powerful infantry unit. It's almost impervious to melee attacks, and it has high hit points and attack power. They are based on the warrior monk order who went to the Holy Land and, later, Eastern Europe. Its only weakness is its slow movement speed. They are very powerful against other melee units, both infantry and cavalry, but very weak against archers, monks and defensive buildings.
Celts	Woad Raider	Very fast infantry. With their speed, woad raiders can take on siege weapons, monks, and archers without being vulnerable to the Knight's weakness, pikemen. Based loosely on the Scottish resistance fighters who battled the English invaders.
Vikings	Berserk and Longboat	The berserk is an infantry unit that slowly regenerates health. Berserks are based on accounts of Viking Warriors who raised themselves into a fury before battle to the point where they became wild, fearsome and seemingly impervious to harm. Longboats are a unique Viking naval unit; a fast ship that fires multiple arrows.
Byzantines	Cataphract	A cavalry unit with an attack bonus vs. infantry. The cataphract is based on real cataphracts used since Ancient times. They represent the fact that the Byzantines continued to utilize old and powerful military tactics against their less organized enemies, such as the Goths. Outnumbered Byzantine soldiers were able to defend their empire for many centuries, just like the cataphract. The cataphract gets the trample ability after the Byzatines' unique technology is researched. Cataphracts can excel at any kinds of battles, even when outnumbered.
Turks	Janissary	A hand cannoneer with longer range and better attack. The Janissaries were a warrior caste of slaves who composed an elite battalion in the Ottoman Turk army as it swept through Asia and Europe. Though they used various weapons, they eventually favored gunpowder, and were famous for their role in the capture of Constantinople.
Saracens	Mameluke	The most gold intensive non-siege land unit in the game, aside from the monk. A ranged cavalry unit that is strong against other cavalry. The Mameluke is based on the slave warriors unique to the Egyptian empire; soldiers who eventually became so powerful they overthrew the ruling caliph and stopped the Mongol advance at Ain Jalut. Arab camel units performed very well against the less agile European heavy cavalry.
Persians	War elephant	A slow, but immensely powerful cavalry unit that deals trample damage (damages adjacent enemy units). They are not historically accurate, but are a fun unit to use and an even better target for upgraded Monks. Spearman, Pikemen and Halbediers receive an highly augmented attack bonus against them, even more than the bonus they receive against all other cavalry units. Ensemble Studios mentioned on their Gamespot showcase that the War Elephants were not extensively used in the Middle Ages by the Persians.
Mongols	Mangudai	A cavalry archer with an attack bonus against siege weapons and 100% accuracy against non-moving units. The real Mongol mangudai were able to decimate their opponents with feinted retreats along with hit-and-run tactics. The mangudai technically have no weaknesses; they are stronger than other archers and very fast (only second in speed to the light cavalry units), thus being able to hit-and-run cavalry and infantry. Many consider them one of the best units in the game due to their speed and firing rate.
Chinese	Chu Ko Nu	A crossbowman that can shoot bolts rapidly which also deal a high amount of damage although they have low range compared to other archers. Deals the most damage of archers in the game. The chu ko nu crossbow has been used for hundreds of years in China, where the emphasis has been rapid fire rather than firepower.
Japanese	Samurai	An infantry unit with an attack bonus against other unique units. The samurai always sought to attack the strongest warriors in the enemy army while on the battlefield. They have a very fast attack, and in addition the Japanese receive a bonus which increases the attack speed of all infantry. This increase in attack speed added to their bonus against unique units make them the best infantry in the game.

Modifications

Many modifications (mods) are available online, as it has basic data files which (with proper programs) can be easily customized and tweaked. Websites such as Age of Kings Heaven offer mods, utility programs, maps, and scenarios created by and/or found by its members.

Other platforms

PlayStation 2. The PlayStation 2 version was released only in Europe and published by Konami.

Nintendo DS. The Nintendo DS version of was released in the US on February 15, 2006. It features a turn based battle mode rather than real time strategy genre used in the PC version.

Pocket PC. A Windows Mobile version exists.

Mobile Phone. A version for Mobile Phones exists (Subjected to country).

Dreamcast. A version of this game was set for Sega Dreamcast but with the lack of popularity and sales of the console, the game was canned with only a demo existing.

External links

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