Good graphics update, but scenarios are straight off the cookie cutter, and online play is very limited.
The graphics are really good, and the naval battles are brutal, but I didn't make it through the scenarios before I began feeling the 'been there, done that' that has cursed my AOE experience.
I do really enjoy the Home City deliveries, and the gatherer update that no longer requires the gather to have to return home before their riches can be spent... Very nice updates.
Nice is about all I can say about this title.
Ok, I do have a gripe with online play, and the lack of options and custom map playing. I spent some time researching how to build a good scenario/map, and I got it working great with trade routes, scripts, and triggers... It was only then I realized that I couldn't jump online and start sharing my map.
In this day and Age, the developer should have put more thought into online playability. I do not want to go to a million private run websites to download files to manually plug in, only to find out that I need to host a LAN party to get real interaction.