I've been playing this for the past week. As much as I loved the AoE games, I couldn't get into AoM in 2002 because I prefer history to mythology and the switch to 3D felt a little jarring to me at the time. So, this is my first time playing it past the first few missions and I'm enjoying it more than I expected to. The story is meh, but the gameplay is good. I'm still not really keen on the supernatural stuff, but have been surprised to discover that it's largely optional when it comes to the campaign and I can play it more like AoE if I wish (ex. by building traditional units that I'm used to and not bothering with god powers). I have been dabbling in the supernatural stuff more as I've gotten more comfortable with it, though.
Overall, I'm finally starting to understand why this game is beloved. Having the remaster helps, and it's a really good one. I've played through the Definition Editions of AoE and AoE II and this is just as good and looks and plays just like them. It's definitely the definitive edition of the game, even if they gave it a different name.
