Age of Empires II (2013): The African Kingdoms Review Summary

Four unique new civilizations make this highly recommended for AoE2 fans, but frequent crashes, short lackluster campaigns, and poor voice localization hold it back.

New civilizations added: The expansion introduces new civilizations that are interesting and welcome additions. They include Berbers, Malians, Ethiopians, and Portuguese.

Four new campaigns added: The expansion adds four new campaigns, each with multiple missions, providing hours of gameplay. Campaigns are generally well-built and interesting.

New civilizations feel unique: The four new civilizations are considered fresh, different, and fun to play with. They are described as unique and amazing.

Crashes and stability problems: Frequent crashes occur during campaigns, saving, loading, and multiplayer mission creation. Some players also experience the game closing by itself or crashing on startup.

Campaign lackluster and short: Only four campaigns are included, which feels disappointing, and completing them took significantly less time than in The Forgotten. Campaign design is considered mediocre and nothing special.

Voice acting and localization: The Forgotten Dynasties campaign lacks story voice acting, and voice acting is hit and miss. Campaigns are in Japanese but voice acting is English only, and the language civilizations speak is shoddy in places.

Unit balance issues: Several new units are underpowered: Malian Gbeto is slow and fragile, Berber camel archer is weak, and Genitours are just expensive skirmishers. Portuguese Feitoria and palisades/arrow slits were nerfed.

Campaign bugs and desyncs: Various bugs affect campaign missions, such as progress not counting in the Berber campaign and infinite units spawning in the Malian campaign. These errors force replays and disrupt the experience.

Four new civilizations added: The expansion introduces four new civilizations: Berbers, Malians, Ethiopians, and Portuguese. Each brings unique bonuses, strategies, and architectural styles to the game.

New campaigns with voice acting: The expansion adds four fully voiced campaigns, each with five to six scenarios. Campaigns cover historical figures like Tariq ibn Ziyad, Sundiata, Francisco de Almeida, and Queen Yodit.

New units and technologies: New military units, technologies, and buildings are introduced, including siege towers, fire galleys, and unique units for each civilization. These additions expand strategic options in siege, defense, and naval combat.

Civilization-specific unique units: Each new civilization has distinct unique units and technologies. For example, Berbers get camel archers, Ethiopians have the Shotel Warrior, Malians receive pierce armor bonuses, and Portuguese have the Feitoria building.

New maps and game modes: The expansion includes new maps for random map play and additional game modes. It also adds new single-player scenarios and multiplayer options.

Frequent crashes and instability: Players report frequent crashes during saving, campaign, multiplayer missions, and loading. The issue spans multiple modes and severely disrupts gameplay.

Multiplayer lag and choppiness: Multiplayer experiences lag and choppy performance, with matches sometimes experiencing lag at start. This affects online play quality.

Launcher and installer failures: Players encounter launcher startup failures related to VC2015 and the provided installer does not work. These installation issues prevent access to the game.

Sound playback sequencing issue: Sound does not play until the previous sound finishes, causing audio delays. This affects the overall audio experience during gameplay.

Slow loading times: The game loads slowly when starting, delaying player entry into the game. This can be frustrating for players.

Highly Recommended for AoE2 Fans: Many reviewers strongly recommend this expansion to fans of Age of Empires II, calling it a must-have for players who love the series. It is particularly praised for offering more of the classic gameplay and content that longtime players enjoy.

Great for Singleplayer and Campaigns: Players highlight the additional singleplayer content and new scenarios as strong reasons to buy, especially for those who enjoy the campaign modes. It is also recommended for history enthusiasts and medievalists.

Technical Issues and Negative Reviews: Some reviewers report that the DLC does not work as intended, leading to buyer-beware warnings and negative reviews. Others advise waiting for official fixes before purchasing, citing unresolved problems.

Not Worth Full Price: A few reviewers feel the expansion is not worth buying at full price, suggesting waiting for a sale or skipping it unless bundled. One specifically recommends buying another AoE2 DLC first due to better quality.

Cautious Approach for Chinese Players: A Chinese-speaking reviewer suggests that others may want to wait before buying this DLC, possibly due to language support or regional issues. This is a niche but specific recommendation.

Community fair range: $10.00 - $20.00.

Game completion: 35.0h.

Story completion: 30.0h.

Players report immediate enjoyment, especially in multiplayer with friends, while acknowledging multiplayer lag and crashes as friction. Additional modes and improved water battles add variety, but no review ties enjoyment to a specific unlock time.

Friction: Multiplayer lag; Choppy multiplayer with frequent crashes; Water battles were boring before the expansion; No easy way to see where the host is located in the lobby.

Unlock drivers: Patches released soon after launch addressed multiplayer problems; Additional game modes and map types spice up single-player and multiplayer gameplay; Water battles became more interesting.

Campaign Story Enthusiast: Single-player campaigns, listening to narrators, exploring new civilizations and scenarios. Motivation: To experience new historical campaigns and narrated single-player content. Stance: buy.

Competitive Water Meta Player: Competitive multiplayer, water maps, analyzing balance changes and new civilizations. Motivation: To master new competitive strategies and explore a richer water combat meta. Stance: buy.

Social Multiplayer Clan Player: Multiplayer matches with friends, LAN parties, clan games, casual online play. Motivation: To have fun playing multiplayer with friends and clanmates. Stance: buy.

Monetization: The audit found only paid DLC activity: players discuss buying and comparing expansion packs, with one compatibility issue requiring a prior DLC and mixed price/value opinions. There is no direct evidence of in-game microtransactions, real-money gacha, loot boxes, premium currency, paid power, or a cash shop. Under the scoring rules, traditional DLC and price complaints cap the score at 20, so the game is rated as fair with low monetization concern.

Improvement over The Forgotten: Many reviewers consider this expansion a major improvement over The Forgotten DLC, citing better polish, fewer bugs, and more inspired design. It is seen as a big step up despite similar pricing.

African theme and history: The expansion is thematically focused on Africa, covering often-neglected African history and Portuguese influence. It includes appropriate flora, fauna, landscapes, and new architecture.

Integrated experience with updates: The expansion feels like an integrated experience and feels right at home, even though it came out many years after the original campaigns. The game receives updates and hotfixes to please older players.

Comparison with other expansions: Compared to The Conquerors and The Forgotten, the campaigns are considered better than The Conquerors and less drawn out than The Forgotten. It is also compared to Rise of the Rajas, with Rise of the Rajas considered the strongest of the three.

Substantial singleplayer content: Completing all campaigns on standard difficulty takes about 30 hours, offering 30 to 40 hours of additional singleplayer content. The campaigns are more accessible and have full voice acting like the original game.