New campaign games are all well and good, but let's face it, they don't add that much longevity. Unfortunately, the actors providing the voice-overs have once again all been hired from the Dick Van Dyke School of Crap Accents. As before, the campaign games are strung together with a series of vignettes outlining the story in a 'Meanwhile, back at the farm.' kind of way. So this time you get to play with the likes of Attila the Hun and EL Cid. While the Age Of Kings campaigns focused very much on the underdog (William Wallace, Joan of Arc, et al), Conquerors turns its attention to some of history's more successful bullies.

The most obvious addition, as you'd expect, is a set of four single-player campaigns. As was the case with the Rise Of Rome expansion for the original Age Of Empires, Ensemble has packaged up a smorgasbord of enhancements and extras that will have seasoned fans salivating from the moment they read the box blurb. It would be wrong though to assume that this expansion CD is just more Age Of Kings campaigns given a bit of spit and polish.

On the evidence of the beta version we received, The Conquerors sticks firmly to that tried and trusted formula. And, unlike some young RTS upstarts I could mention, it still has a healthy dose of resource management, which, believe it or not, some players still enjoy. It might only sport a tired old three-quarter isometric view, but then again you don't have to readapt your old flight-sim keyboard claw just so you can move the game camera and give orders at the same time. But let's face it, that's what gives this series its appeal. Not only does it look just like all the other dogs in the neighbourhood (no fancy 3D shenanigans from this beast), it's also somewhat predictable, and the last thing you'd expect it to do is learn any new tricks. You've enjoyed its company for a few years now and you've grown comfortable with it. The Age Of Empires series is becoming something of a trusty old dog.

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