Last year, Microsoft released a remaster of the original Age of Empires from seemingly nowhere. Titled the “Definitive Edition,” the port scaled the graphics up to 4K resolution, included every campaign ever created for the title, and cleaned up some rough edges to make for a smoother experience in the modern era. I don’t think anyone expected the same treatment for Age of Empires II, if only because an HD version has been on Steam for close to six years now. While rumored for months and seemingly confirmed through press releases, Age of Empires II Definitive Edition got formally unveiled during Microsoft’s E3 2019 conference, to the delight of fans the world over.
While a cause for celebration, the existence of this new version brought up a few questions. How would this improve over the HD version? Would all of the new content created for HD be brought into Definitive Edition? Would you still be able to wololo on command? In a behind-closed-doors demo, I met with Adam Isgreen (creative director at Microsoft Game Studios) and Bert Beeckman (project lead for Age of Empires) and got answers to all of those questions and more.
Source: Destructoid Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition lives up to its title