Age of Empires - Classic game or a sad act? (Also expansion packs)

I'm sure just about everybody has heard of Age of Empires. I'm sure everyone has memories of playing on it. But do we have good or bad memories of it? Some people say it's "nerdy" since a few people will spend hours and hours every day playing over the internet. Is this true though, since that type of gaming is very similar to forums and live messenger.

Personally I loved all three of them, and having bought at least one expansion pack for each of them, I wanted to know what people thought of the idea of these too.

Although I'm not exactly a fan of civilisation based RTSs, there's something about AofE that does interest me, it's by far my favourite of this genre. It has that thrill of creating something unique, and it gaining in power, size and wealth - the same feeling you'd get from Roller Coaster Tycoon when you've made a successful park. The historical themes also give it that war like 'Camp A Versus Camp B' thing, and the fun comes from the success of beating and destroying the other teams; the fact that these are whole populations from an actual historical era (and who you can watch develop over time) give it that "I'm God and I'll do whatever I like" sense - if you see what I mean.

I do see it as a little, perhaps not nerdy (that belongs to the RPGers), but a geeky game - if you look at it in wider terms these types of games are essentially based on History, Strategy and Planning. Though unless you are one of those folks who plays it hours at a time, I wouldn't label anyone who plays them, as they can be very fun and enjoyable. As for the Expansion packs - I think they can all be justified and just offer something a bit newer to someone who's played the bulk of the game - it adds a bit more life to them.
The last AofE I played was II with the Conquerors expansion - after that I found that I didn't really have time for the others, considering my other tastes in games and the fact that AofE is very time consuming.

Again Age of Empire's is just one of those Franchises that i stopped following along after the first few games, Final Fantasy's another one of them and they're both due to the amount of time it takes to play the game, AofE is a game you can play for hours on end.

I love the Strategy element of the game and as DrP said its the same reason i like Roller Coaster Tycoon. Organizing and Directing troops may not seem like an interesting idea but in terms of Age of Empires its pulled of really well. I would say that the game is a little geeky but then thats not a problem, i admitted ages ago that i was indeed one of the undead and i like how actually the franchise hasn't' tried to branch out in anyway trying to appeal to people who dont nessiserally like these types of games. Age of empires is fantastic, shame i dont have the time anymore to get through them.

I agree with you about it having the power element, and also the fact that in the newer ones you can develop to a greater level is good. The expansion packs really are quite good, and both the AOE III packs have not only extended, but also changed the way the entire game works. That's what's so good about them I think.

I'm probably in the minority here, but I'm not a huge fun of RTS games because I'm an incredibly impatient person and I prefer instant gratification rather than working up to it. The closest to an RTS I've actually enjoyed has been Black and White, and that has enough unique touches to set it apart quite a bit.

I do like Roller Coaster Tycoon, though.