Not many video games are popular enough to warrant the release of an official expansion nearly a decade and a half after their release. In fact, before last month, possibly NO game could boast such an achievement.

Enter Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings. (AoEII)

Even though its original release was in 1999, Age of Empires II is an incredibly popular real time strategy game. In AoeII, players raise up a medieval civilization and pit their countries in a war with up to seven other players.   Upon its release, the game was widely acclaimed by both critics and players, which quickly prompted an expansion, The Conquers in early 2000. The game lost some momentum after its online play was retired from the MSN Gaming Zone in 2006. But the removal of its online play still wasn’t enough to kill the game; the online matches were later picked up by several third party matchmaking services, and the game once again gained popularity, enough to deserve an unofficial expansion, The Age of Chivalry.

The game’s most recent update was last April, when AoEII was re-released as Age of Empires II: HD Edition on the extremely popular computer gaming client, Steam. AoEII has since experienced another surge of interest, warranting another new official content expansion released Nov. 7, titled The Forgotten Expansion. (AoF)

AoF adds five new civilizations (Italian, Incas, Indians, Slavs and Magyars) to the already existing lineup of eighteen playable countries.  Each one brings new units and upgrades to the table. Even though several units are meant as counters for other already existing units (for example, the Italian Condottieri is more effective when fighting units that use gunpowder), the game is still incredibly balanced, with no civilization having any real advantage over another. Balance is actually arguably improved, with many original playable countries abilities being tweaked. Overall, the computer player’s intelligence has been enhanced as well. Computer strategy is now based off of competitive players, making for more intense single player games.

Many civilizations in the original version of AoEII shared graphics for building and units. AoF adds two new graphic templates, with the Italians having a unique one and the Slavs and Magyars sharing a new one. While the new graphics aren’t very frequent, they do add some life and variations to the battlefield, which is refreshing for any Empires veteran who has spent years tearing apart similar looking cities. The graphics aren’t breathtaking, especially by 2013 standards, but they blend in well with the graphical style of the game.

Along with the graphical and multiplayer updates, four new campaigns are added, rooted in the conquests of historical figures such as the Goth King Alaric I or Dracula and his defense against the Mongol hordes of Genghis Khan. While these campaigns share in all the intensity of the original campaigns, they are lacking in any sort of voice acting, which is highly disappointing. The entire story is conveyed through text, making them far less engaging than the original AoEII campaigns.

For the veteran Age of Empires player, there is no doubt the $10 price tag on this expansion is worth it. However, for the casual player, the amount of content might seem lacking in comparison to the cost, especially considering the entire game with all the content from the original and The  Conquerors expansion is only $20 . For those who decide the price is worth it, there are many new battles to be had and new empires to expand!