OK. I have some thought on AoK/TC vs AoE/RoR.
On the plus side, I really enjoy playing the new maps in TC. (I love the snow and the tracks the sheep made going across it.)
And I like battering rams and seeing them push through a gate.
And the William Wallace learning campaign was fun, too.
BUT:
The buildings are monstrous.
It makes my back hurt to watch those women chopping down trees and slinging a pick at the gold mine.
And more than anything, it is not as personal experience as AoE. You can build, build, build - then just sit back and watch the show from afar. It's like I could go put a hamburger on the grill and the game would go on just as well without me!
When I was about 10, I loved playing with my toy soldiers. I loved picking up each one and moving it across the floor to battle. It was a tactile, imaginative experience. I get the same tactile feeling playing AoE. It's the feeling that involves being in charge and selecting each unit to do something. I play the game; the game doesn't play me.
True, my poor old villies sometimes get lost behind trees and I have to hunt for them. And sometimes they stand around like dummies holding their empty berry baskets and I have to put them back to work. But that keeps me alert and watching over them. (In TC you create villies and they charge right out chopping or picking - and when they finish, they seem to know what to do next even if I am not watching.)
I think it was Phill who said there is a magic about AoE. There is!
And one final note that I find amusing. I can play AoK/TC RM on Easy, and win! Whereas, when I play AoE on Easy, I have to plan, and think, and work like H***. But IF I win, I really feel victorious.
My 2 cents. Sara