I've played AoE 2 quite a lot in the past, though ultimately I prefer AoE 3; modern enough to have guns and cannon, old enough to not include assault rifles, among other things. I'll admit I haven't really played an 'honest' game for a long time, since I love to drag out each game by intentionally fielding a force big enough to defend, but never really attack (unless my AI allies are failing utterly, which happens from time to time), using Cheat Engine funds to support everyone.
I've also made up some 'campaigns' in which three squads of troopers (around 30-40 each I think, the max per grouped squad) would have multiple engagements, using hotkeys to designate survivors so I can see who's a 'veteran'. The longest surviving veterans I've had engaged in around 5-7 battles against muskets, artillery and towers. Then there was the German 'winter campaign' made up entirely of free troops that included two dozen cavalry, a few musketeers, a civilian engineer, a surgeon and two heavy cannon that made guerrilla raids against poorly defended camps as my massive free German cavalry force was being built up in my capital. Or the massive Chinese army made up of a multinational force of Portuguese, British, Russian and Spanish expeditionary forces screened by two dozen cannon fodder militia. Self-made narratives like these really made AoE 3 fun for me.
