Recent reviews by Camera Dancer

AOE2 is a shining example of how a game can thrive indefinitely when a developer understands their community and said community are given the tools to create custom content.

Where other developers release a new game with less content and game breaking bugs that will be forgotten in a year, AOE2 has new civilisations, and campaigns released two decades after initial release.
Where other developers make changes no one asked for, or changes for a game state that no longer exist AOE2 is updated with respect to the current state of the game.

It is telling that the only games that rival AOE2 in its lifespan are Valve's source games that have the same approach to regular updates, and player created content.

The gameplay is satisfying to the point you commit war crimes like firing a mortar into a medical tent, and enjoy it.