We got AoE 1 on the computer as a demo when I was a kid. Think the CD came in a cereal box or something. Played through the same beginner campaign a bunch of times. Was fun.

AoE2 changed the game though. Absolutely amazing. The controls felt so much more fluid and the campaigns were so much fun to play though and see the story. We managed to network all the family computers and would have big family multiplayer battles against the computer (dad carried us kids though).

My brother loved Mythology and while it looked pretty I never really got into it. Something about it felt slower paced and kinda hand-holdy.

AoE3 was just weird. You had a home base that persisted through games, how is that fair? And playing cards were involved somehow? The ragdoll physics was cool though.

AoE4 is okay I guess. I participated in the beta program because I was so excited for them to produce something that might surpass AoE2 but… Naah. It just doesn’t have the right feel to it. Very pretty though. They keep coming out with new content but until it feels right (something about the way the window scrolls and zooms) I just cant enjoy it.