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News video games 17 May 2023, 11:13

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

The Return of Rome DLC is quite a treat for Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition players. It introduces all 16 factions from the first game and much more.

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

Hubert Sledziewski

Hubert Sledziewski

Has been writing professionally since 2016. He joined Gamepressure.com five years later - although he has known the service since he had access to the internet - to combine his love for words and games. Deals mainly with news and journalism. A sociologist by education, a gamer by passion. He started his gaming adventure at the age of four - with a Pegasus. Currently, prefers PC and demanding RPGs, but does not shy away from consoles or other genres. When he's not playing or writing, he enjoys reading, watching series (less often movies) and Premier League matches, listening to heavy music, and also walking the dog. Almost uncritically loves the work of Stephen King. Does not abandon plans to follow in his footsteps. However, he keeps his first "literary achievements" locked away deep in a drawer.

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