Age of Empires 2 vs 3. Which One is better?

The world of gaming has never seen such a franchise that has defined a genre such as Age of Empires. It may not have invented the Real Time Strategy genre per se, but it is one of the most iconic of the bunch. Personally, I have played every single game of the franchise (except for the original AoE, it is the most dated of the bunch for good reasons), and I have enjoyed every second of it. However, I must say that, even amongst the favorite games of my childhood and youth, there is a clear hierarchy in the Age of Empires franchise. However, the debate still continues to this day, regarding which game is better: Age of Empires 2, or Age of Empires 3? Well, let us talk about it. Spoiler alert: there is a clear winner in my eyes, and in the majority of eyes in the genre.

You Name It, We Got It

Let’s start with a game of numbers. Age of Empires 2 features a total of 37 civilizations to choose from. Age of Empires 3, on the other hand, only features 22. Yes, I’m including both games’ expansions and everything in between. There is a clear winner if we talk about the player’s ability to pick a civ. Not only that, but the amount of variety that Age of Empires 2 brings to the table is outstanding. Yes, there are civilizations that lack the ability to win on their own, but if you join forces with another civilizations you could potentially beat even the S-Tier ones.

Simply put, there are a lot of ways to play this game. Each civilization feels unique enough in Age of Empires 2 to justify the amount of civilizations included in the game. Age of Empires 3, in the other hand, does not bring as much variety as I would have wished. Furthermore, it felt, at times, that we were just getting a different colored palette of the same civilization. That is a big no-no to me. Furthermore, I enjoy the historical accurate campaigns that AoE 2 brings to the table. I have no issue with fantasy based campaigns, but I believe they are meant for something like Age of Mythology, not Age of Empires 3.

Perfectly Balanced as All Things Should Be

There are several reasons that there are more players playing Age of Empires 2 than playing Age of Empires 3. One of them, of course, is the balance between the civilizations themselves. I mean, don’t get me wrong, you can pick whichever civilization in Age of Empires 3. However, if you pick the French or the Dutch, then you are playing against handicapped players. All of this thanks to the amount of early and late game advantages.

Compare it to Age of Empires 2, that has more civilizations and happens to be way more balanced. Yes, there are some advantages for certain civilizations, but the others don’t fall behind, sporting abilities that will define a specific play style. You could build an army as big as you want, and then destroy the enemy, or continuously send cheap units to raid your enemy’s base to prevent him from continue growing. Not only that, but every single unit in the game can be useful and can be used to defeat other enemy units. That does not happen in Age of Empires 3, which limits your population growth, your amount of buildings, and has several units from civilizations like the Japanese or French that, quite frankly, are extremely OP.

Simply put, a well-balanced game will invite players to be more creative in the ways they approach certain scenarios while playing against other players or even the computer. An unbalanced game will have all the players using the exact same strategies and picking the same civilizations in order to achieve victory as soon as possible. There is no strategy there, and, surprise! These are real-time STRATEGY games, after all. Not only that, but the advantages that AoE 3 brought to the table like Multi-Queue, Zoom, and a better AI communication were all addressed and implemented in Age of Empires 2 Definitive Edition. So that’s that, I guess.

Iconic Graphics are Not Necessarily HD

Let’s do an exercise. If I tell you to imagine Age of Empires in your head, which graphic style appears in your mind? I bet you that, for the major part of you, you thought about Age of Empires 2. You could think about the legendary Town Center design, the villagers, the castles, or even the armored troops. This is what Age of Empires is about, my friend. And no, I don’t hate Age of Empires 3’s graphics, but I don’t believe they are as unique as its predecessor’s.

And I believe that it is all about the feel. I don’t know if you guys agree with me, but once I started playing Age of Empires 3, I thought that the game was very slow. No, it wasn’t my graphics card. It is just that I was so entangled in the way the units, the progression, and the battle felt in Age of Empires 2, that once I started playing 3, I felt that I was playing with limits. And we have talked about unit and building limit above, and also about diversification and several play styles that AoE 2 brought that AoE 3 didn’t.

Related: Age of Empires 2 Best Civilizations Tier List

Final Thoughts

In general, Age of Empires 2 feels like a unique and fun game that has a lot of variety that its sequel failed to not only build upon, but imitate. That being said, I am not saying that Age of Empires 3 is an awful, unplayable mess. Not at all! However, I would say that if I had to choose one of the two, I would choose Age of Empires 2, 7 days of the week. Just a reminder that this is just my opinion and that you are entitled to yours as well. If you enjoy Age of Empires 3 more than 2, then go ahead and play! It is all about perspective. But just so you know, there is a reason that AoE 2 is in Xbox consoles and not 3.

Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition is available on Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition is available on Windows. Please check out Gamer Journalist on Facebook to join the discussion and keep up to date with our content. You might also like to check out or guides on Age of Empires 2 Definitive Edition: How to Rotate Buildings or All Civilizations in Age of Empires IV.