Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings vs Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings is a strategy game from Hidden Path Entertainment (1999) while Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition is a strategy game from World's Edge (2020).
Quick answer: Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings has the higher Metacritic, 92 to 75.
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings
What each one is
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings is filed under Strategy. In contrast, Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition under Strategy.
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings is a real-time strategy video game developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft. Released in 1999 for Microsoft Windows and Macintosh in 2001, it is the second game in the Age of Empires series. The Age of Kings is set in the Middle Ages and contains 13 playable civilizations. Players aim to gather resources, which they use to build towns, create armies, and defeat their enemies. There are 5 historically based campaigns, which conscript the player to specialized and story-backed conditions, and 3 additional single-player game modes; multiplayer is also supported.
Lead powerful civilizations across the globe, master strategies and tactics, and relive history in co op battles—now remastered in stunning 4K and modernized gameplay.
Story, characters and reception
Reception
Sales In January 2000, three months after its release, Microsoft had shipped two million copies of The Age of Kings . The game topped sales charts in the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Australia, and South Korea. It spent the next two and a half years on top 20 sales lists. (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition received "generally favorable" reviews according to review aggregator Metacritic with a score of 75/100 from 46 reviews. Fellow review aggregator OpenCritic assessed that the game received strong approval, being recommended by 71% of critics. Windows Central s Samuel Tolbert praised the new graphics and campaign changes but criticized the AI path finding . (Wikipedia)
At a glance
| Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings | Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | — | 7.6/10 |
| Steam rating | — | Very Positive (86%, 54,770) |
| Critic aggregate | 92/100 | 75/100 |
| Price | Unknown | $34.99 |
| Install size | — | 42 GB |
| Steam Deck | Untested | playable |
| Released | 1999 | 2020 |
| Developer | Hidden Path Entertainment | World's Edge |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings vs Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Age of Empires II: The Age of KingsStrategy gameAge of Empires III: Definitive EditionStrategy gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Age of Empires II: The Age of KingsNo descriptive tagsAge of Empires III: Definitive EditionStrategy, Base-Building, RTSThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings ✓Metacritic 92Age of Empires III: Definitive EditionMetacritic 75Metacritic's critic aggregate, from the game's Wikipedia reception where it was never on Steam.
Content and scale
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings—Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition54,770 reviews · 10 add-ons · 42 GBReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Age of Empires II: The Age of KingsUnknownAge of Empires III: Definitive Edition$34.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings takes 1 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The better reviewed of the two: Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings (Metacritic 92)
Where they differ
StrategyBase-BuildingRTSMultiplayerMilitaryCity Builder
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
System requirements, side by side
| Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings | Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | — | GeForce GT 430 |
| Minimum CPU | — | Intel i3-2105 @ 3.1GHz |
| Minimum RAM | — | 8 GB |
| Install size | — | 42 GB |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings · Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 0 accessibility features for Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings and 0 for Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings and Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition in scope?
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings lists little scope data. Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition has drawn 54,770 Steam reviews, ships 10 add-ons and installs in 42 GB.
Is Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings or Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition better?
Neither carries enough reviews for us to score it reliably, so we do not call a winner. The table above shows what each does have.
Which is cheaper, Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings or Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition?
One or both do not have a current listed price, so a straight comparison is not possible. See the table above.
Should I get Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings or Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition?
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings has the higher Metacritic, 92 to 75. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
All comparisonsHow we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.