Age of Empires II: HD Edition Review (Củ Riềng)
A simple but detailed explanation of why, after having played both versions, I prefer Definitive Edition (DE) instead of 2013 Edition:
-2013 Edition's farms don't automatically re-seed, forcing you to either order your villagers to re-seed them, or to mash the "queue re-seed" button in the mill. In DE, you can set the mills to automatically re-seed.
-Definitive Edition lets you shift-click construction orders just like in 2013 Edition, but in the latter, the villager will move to build the last building you placed down. If you order several buildings, they will stop constructing the building they're already working on to go build the new one. In DE they will wait to finish the first building before starting on the next one.
-2013 Edition's unit sprites are very pixelly and hard to distinguish one type of infantry unit from another, and to a lesser extent, one team from another. DE's graphics are much clearer so it is very easy to distinguish unit type/team.
-Definitive Edition is far, FAR more customizable than 2013 Edition. Not just with the settings (graphics, UI, and controls are much more changeable) but especially with creating a game, namely win conditions, starting conditions, map sizes, unit restrictions, etc. You can adjust many more settings to make a new game into whatever kind of scenario you want. Also you can see what the map types actually look like in DE.
-Definitive Edition has noticeably better pathfinding than 2013 Edition.
-In DE you can zoom in and out. In 2013 Edition you can't.
-In DE you can queue build orders while simultaneously upgrading the building. In 2013 Edition you can't even see any build options while a building is in the middle of upgrading.
-In DE you can tell scouts to automatically scout out the map.
-In DE the HUD shows you how many villagers are working on each resource. 2013 Edition does not do this, you have to play hide and seek with each one to count them.
-The soundtrack for DE has more faction-specific songs, as well as less repetitive music. Both game's soundtracks are good, but I find having the DE soundtrack playing in the background to be more enjoyable. This point is pure preference.
-2013 Edition's graphics are nice if you enjoy the old-school style, but DE's graphics are significantly easier on the eyes and prettier.
-Definitive Edition has more civilizations.
-Definitive Edition is just as moddable and has a very passionate modding community.
-Definitive Edition seems to have more balanced gameplay.