'Age of Empires II' HD Remake Coming to Steam

Game Rant

By John Jacques

Published Mar 8, 2013

Fans of 'Age of Empires' will be excited to find out a Steam-exclusive HD remake will be coming to the online digital distributor in April.

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Age of Empires has been a popular real-time strategy series for many years now, and the nostalgia of the aged titles certainly has an alluring factor for plenty of veteran gamers. The team behind Age of Empires 2 had their studio shut down years ago, but Counter-Strike: Global Offensive creator Hidden Path Entertainment has picked up the reins to create an exciting and faithful HD remake of Age of Empires 2. The title will arrive on PCs exclusively for Steam.

While jumping from an FPS to an RTS may sound drastic, the above trailer indicates that Hidden Path seem to have integrated the game into the realm of 1080P visuals with ease. Updated terrain textures and ambient lighting effects allow for the game to flow better on larger displays, and modernized coding finally allows for multi-monitor support.

The game includes the campaign from the base game as well as the Conquerers expansion, which leaves gamers with a grand total of 18 missions in total. With a price point of just $19.99, those looking for an immersive RTS experience - or a trip through nostalgia lane - should look no further.

Perhaps most excitingly, the game will feature full support of user-created content through the Steam Workshop. Players will also be able to utilize Steam to organize matches, use cloud-based game saving, unlock achievements and see online leaderboards, meaning the bulk of Steam's best-selling features will be added to a game designed before the new millennium even hit.

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Here are the system requirements for the game as reported by Microsoft:

Operating System: Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 Pro
Software: Steam Software Platform
Display: 900x600 minimum display resolution
GPU: Direct X 9 Capable GPU
CPU: 1.2GHz CPU
RAM: 1GB RAM
Hard Drive Space: 2GB HDD

Those requirements are ridiculously low for modern gaming rigs - so most parties seeking to head back to the lands of Age of Empires will be able to do so without a hitch.

Gamers can pre-order the title now and receive an additional 10% off, as well as being able to have early-access to play the game starting April 5th.

Age of Empires II: HD will be officially released on April 9th, 2013.

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Source: GameSpot