Your game is broken

I read about your game and decided to try it out. I went to your web page and clicked the "Play Now" button. This downloaded a file to my computer. I then ran the file, and it opened up the installer.

The installer downloaded a number of files and after it finished installing and launched the game, it asked me to sign up for MS Games for Windows Live.

In going through the sign up process, it switched me for some reason to XBOX Live.

Just so you know: I did NOT have either Games for Windows or XBOX Live accounts before today.

When your game forced me to sign up for XBOX Live, it identified that I have a Windows Live ID (which I use for MS Office) and asked me if I wanted to use that for XBOX Live as well. I said yes.

It then signed me up after I provided personal information including date of birth.

Then when I tried to play Age of Empires Online, it immediately brought up a Games for Windows Live screen, and wanted me to sign in. So I signed in using the ID I had just created. Then it asked me for a CD key, but I had none to provide. Where am I supposed to get a CD Key?

Since I had no CD key it would not let me go any further and would not let me play the game.

After fiddling with this for several minutes I got disgusted and tried to wipe the game off my hard drive, including the Games for Windows crap that your game forced me to install.

So I went to Control Panel to uninstall Age of Empires Online, right clicked it and chose "uninstall". This brought up an uninstaller, which crashed half way through the uninstall.

So now I am left to manually try to find and dig out the gunk your game left behind on my computer.

I hope this is not the normal experience for people wanting to download and play your games, because if it is, you guys have no hope.

|||that is a known issue. i agree it's unacceptable, but a quick google search would have found and fixed your particular problem.|||I agree! Spent hours trying to install this and no success...leave it to Microsoft to mess up a simple install that so many vendors out there seem to get right. Why launch at all if you don't want people to play.
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The support FAQ has the solution for the issue if your game is asking for the key:

Simply go to "Games for Windows Marketplace" (Start --> all programs --> Microsoft games for windows marketplace)

Sign in

Go to "Downloads"

Select Age of Empires Online

Hit "View Game Keys"

Use the LIVE access code when asked for the key in-game.

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Thanks for the reply.

I will keep the information you provided in mind. For now, though, I have spent too much time first installing the game and then manually uninstalling it after the uninstall utility broke.

So for now, I have lost interest in playing this game. It's not very encouraging when you find that both the installation and uninstall processes are broken, it doesn't give you much hope for the rest of the game. It's a pity because I loved the previous Age of Empires games.

Perhaps some day I will feel up to installing it again and will bookmark your suggestions in case I do.