You can develop a super ecomony and bribe your way to superiority as well. The graphics are standard for strategy games, and a big improvement over the original. They are maybe a slight step down over Age of Empires II, the game SK2 most resembles. But the deep gameplay more than compensates. The sound is above average.
Music sets the mood effectively.
The different races respond in unique tongues. There are several sound cues alerting you to different events such as your town coming under attack or your spy being discovered.