Ensemble Studios Official Strategies & Secrets to Microsoft's Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings

This book is a great book whether you are a newbie player, intermediate, or even an expert. It has everything from how to take over the seas to which unit combinations work best in certain situations. It has civilization-specific strategies, and even a behind-the-scenes look at Ensemble! For all you single players, it has extensive campaign walkthroughs.

Not a single page of strategy? Lol! I own this strategy guide and Prima's, and this one is BY FAR better. There are only three explanations for the people who wrote those phony, one-star reviews; they are complete newbies, they have never played the game before and have no clue what they are talking about, or they are authors of a rival strategy guide.

Need the best strats for AOK? Take it from an experienced zone player...THIS IS THE ONE! =)

The reviews here are just odd. I sampled both AOK books, this one written by Ensemble and some Zone-famous AOE players, and the other one written by Mark Walker. The Ensemble book is by far the better book. It's thicker than any strat guide I've ever seen for starters. Plus it thoroughly covers multi and single player. The other book covers single player, but doesn't really have the depth of multiplayer tactics the Ensemble book offers.

I have no idea what is up with all the troll reviews. I can only assume big Mark Walker fans.

Get this book if you really want to enjoy AOK to its fullest.

AOK is a complex game, and you won't be able to get all its nuances without help. This is the help you need. By giving insight into the AI of various units, you come away with winning strategies during single-player action. Insight into the strenghts and weaknesses of each unit prove absolutely indispensible to network play. And the sections on the making of the game give anyone with even an inkling towards game design a better idea about the process of creating one of the most solidly playable games on the market.

Most strategy guides are either rehashes of the obvious, or so incredibly detailed they take much of the fun out of playing. This one strikes the right balance by giving you detailed information about the capabilities of the various units and empires, while never asserting a "proper" way to employ that information.

If you want to get maximum enjoyment out of your software purchase, this is the guide that will get you there.