Conquest of Paradise

Just one year later, The Conquerors , the first add-on to the main game The Age of Kings , was released, bringing four new campaigns and game modes as well as a few quality-of-life improvements and five new civilizations. As the name and cover reveal, some of these were located in Mesoamerica (Aztecs and Mayans) and had their own campaign, while the other three (Spanish, Huns and Koreans) came from the other side of the world ... or the same, depending on how far you go.

However, the soundtrack - this time without David Rippy - promises more of the same, picking up where the main game left off: Namely with the main theme. However, The Conquerors is a variation, as can be seen from the name Quest for Jam instead of Quest for Butter. Here, the heroic main motif is replaced after its triumphant opening and interrupted by a flute intermezzo reminiscent of vast steppes and native American scenery. A perfect transition from the Eurocentric soundscape of the main movement to early colonial America.

Games from the Age of Empires-series

Age of Empires (1997)

Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings (1999)

The guitar is used to reinforce this effect. For, as we all know, the guitar represents Spain, Spain represents colonies including conquistadors ... Bam! Montezuma ... or something. This addition once again results in almost meditative tracks that remind us to relax with a mixture of Mediterranean and medieval. Starting with the almost angelic introduction of the vocals in Pork Parts, the shallow guitar riffs in The Monkey Book or the drawn-out flute notes in Voodoodoodoo and finally culminating in Seamus & Chamois, which oscillates somewhere between calming and awakening.

By contrast, tracks such as Tide Me Over, Warm ‚em Ups and Shookies in the Bank are similar in style to games such as Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom or SimCity, even if the latter track is more reminiscent of Age of Empires 1 due to its fracturing. Things get oriental withThe Bovinian Derivative, while Case in Point: Paste and Basura! Basura! drift into the Asian.

Something new is with Neep Ninny-Bod [Mix 2] a classic fighting-song entering the ring. It combines bagpipes, percussion and flutes to create a cacophony, whose tempo incites unrest, almost hecticness to the leisurely hustle and bustle - but maybe that's just me. The lowlight, meanwhile, is again the credit theme Droppin‘ tha Trou, which swings completely out of line with its jazz/funk style. No Me Gusta.