Particularly healthy today even after its original release in 1999, Age of Empires 2 has nothing but good news for its unwavering fanbase. Over 20 years later and DLC is still being produced and released for the real time strategy classic, this time in the form of Lords of the West, focusing on the geography and medieval kingdoms surrounding the Mediterranean.
Post Definitive Edition graphical update as recently as 2019, Age of Empires 2 boasted as many as 35 unique playable civilizations, with Lords of the West bringing the total to 37 with the additions of both the Burgundians and Sicilians.
Fans of the robust campaign experience will be pleased to know that the three new stories being added with this DLC are fully voiced in the tradition of each campaign before it. Both new civilizations will of course feature corresponding campaigns, with the third being an all new campaign scenario for the Britons following the story of the rise of Edward Longshanks. Additionally, a slew of new researchable in-game technologies will freshen up how several existing civilizations play, possibly breathing new life into old favorites.
One of the key elements that differentiate each playable civilization are their unique military units. Besides the common pool of troops shared between all civilizations comprised of swordsmen and archers, Age of Empires 2's diverse roster permits recruitment of knights, samurai, jaguar warriors, and many more. The Burgundians bring a unique shock cavalry unit, the Coustillier, to their army while the Sicilians are capable of recruiting the hard-to-kill Serjeant infantry unit.
Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition is available now on PC.