Big But Cheap DLC Adds Almost All of AoE 1 Into Age of Empires 2

Yesterday Steam (PC) and MS Store (PC, XOne and XSX/S) saw the release of the Return of Rome DLC for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. Although it is "only" an expansion, its content is on par with a full-fledged game - the first Age of Empires, to be specific.

Return of Rome, or AoE 1 in AoE 2

As part of the Return of Rome DLC all sixteen nations available in the first game have been added to the sequel, namely:

1. Assyrians;
2. Babylonians;
3. Carthaginians;
4. Choson (Korean dynasty founded in 1392);
5. Egyptians;
6. Greeks;
7. Hittites;
8. Macedonians;
9. Minoans;
10. Palmyra (a self-proclaimed empire located in the eastern part of the Roman Empire, within modern-day Syria);
11. Persians;
12. Phoenicians;
13. Romans;
14. Shang (a royal dynasty from China);
15. Sumerians;
16. Yamato (ancient Japanese kingdom).

Age of Empires 2 "in Vietnamese."

However, this is not the end of attractions. The expansion also introduces:

1. three new campaigns;
2. previously unavailable, seventeenth nation - Lac Viet - Southeast Asian tribes from the late Neolithic period.

It is directly related to the D3 rulebook added to second game, invented by Vietnamese Age of Empires players. It introduces the limitation of having a maximum of one military unit until the Bronze Age, which has kept players at a similar level for quite a long time.

Until now, it was only possible to play this way as part of a gentleman's agreement - now such a mode is officially available. The developers hope that it will become popular internationally.

Rome times 2

It is worth adding that the Return of Rome DLC is not fully compatible with the rest of the content of Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. The expansion has a separate menu and is, so to speak, a closed whole, which means, among other things, that units from first and second installment will not meet in a single game..

Nevertheless, there is one exception - the title Rome. This nation has been added twice:

1. As part of the DLC, we will play an Empire based on earlier periods of history;
2. in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition as such, however, a later version of the Roman Empire appeared - roughly from 395 AD, when it was considered a shadow of its former glory.

Return of Rome - price

So, as you can see, the Return of Rome DLC offers quite a lot of content. However, its price is relatively low for what we get in it. Both on Steam, as well as MS Store the DLC costs $15.

1. Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition Review – Old But Solid Gold

Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition

November 14, 2019

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