Age of Empires II HD: The African Kingdoms expansion released on Steam

Fans of classic PC RTS games have something new to play from Microsoft. The company has now released the Age of Empires II HD: The African Kingdoms expansion on Steam. Developed by Skybox Labs and Forgotten Empires, this is the second new expansion released for the remastered version of Age of Empires II, which was created by the now-defunct Ensemble Studios.

As you might guess from the title, the expansion pack adds a number of historical African content to the game. It brings four new civilizations, (Berbers, Malians, Ethiopians and Portuguese) along with four new single-player campaigns with full voice acting.

Here's what else is included in The African Kingdoms expansion

  • New Generic Units and Technologies
    • Arrowslits – Increase the power of your Towers and Keeps as they hail arrows down upon your foes.
    • Arson – Help your melee units burn enemy buildings to the ground with this new Castle Age research.
    • Fire Galley – Bring fires to the attack earlier in the game with this new Feudal Age ship.
    • Siege Tower – Hide units inside the tower and help them scale your opponents walls.
  • Sudden Death Game Mode - Be prepared to defend your town center in this new game mode. Each player only gets one, and if you lose it, it's game over!
  • Improved AI
  • 10 New Special Maps
  • 8 New Real World Maps
  • 5 New Random Maps
  • 10 New terrains
  • New Scenario Editor Objects
  • Twitch.tv Streaming Integration
  • Spectator Mode

Normally the The African Kingdoms expansion is priced at $9.99, but from now until November 9 it will be 20 percent off at just $7.99. In addition, Microsoft is holding a special Steam sale of all of its classic RTS games, including the main Age of Empires II HD game priced at just $3.99 and the game's first new expansion The Forgotten for $1.99.

Buy Age of Empires II HD: The African Kingdoms on Steam / $7.99 until Nov. 9

Source: Age of Empires blog

John Callaham