I found the 10th Anniversary issue of this game locally on CD for $9.97... Is it just as good, or better? I imagine this version has extras that the 10th Anniversary one does not.

IIRC the 10th Anniversary is just Settlers 2 with 3d graphics, so it is up to your preferences/tastes.

Does the 10th Anniversary include the addon map pack? Doubt it eh?
I should add the question - is the map pack worth forgoing the 3D and stuff? That's kinda what I'm wondering, mostly.

The 10th Anniversary has alot of good updates to it. Yet I find the original to have a better Settlers Feel™ to it. I love the MIDI music track 8 so much I made an mp3 of it and replaced all music in 10th Anniversary edition). The storyline is really weird in the 10th Anniversary edition, plus the skirmish is very limited in it compared to the original.
Some notable changes are:
- Possibility to expand military buildings if the surrounding ground has enough room. Barracks -> Guard House -> Guard Tower -> Castle.
- Possibility to force guards out of military buildings; good for tight situations where you need as much as manpower in the battlefront.
I'm sure there's more but this is all I can think top of my head now, last time I played the 10th Anniversary edition was few months back.

I think the 10th anniversary edition was brilliant. The kept everything that made S2 great, and fixed the very few things that were annoying. They even kept the graphics completely faithful to the original, despite the move to 3D. As game remakes go, it's one of the absolute best I've come across.

To be honest, I tried the 10th Anniversary but, as someone said, it didn't have the feeling, plus I think the maps weren't that good at all. Because of the big 3d buildings, they felt a lot smaller to me than in the original game, and I could not get rid of that feeling. But in the end, maybe it's just me.
(Also, in the new one, the name and percentage of the buildings is only shown when you are in building mode, aka when you push the space)

I'm quite sure you can get around that.

If you're into multiplayer, 10th Anniversary with its online/LAN support may be a better choice, although S2 Return to the Roots also adds this functionality to the original, so...
As for maps, there are plenty of fan-made maps available for free, plus one can always have the editor convert the original's maps.

I hope Settlers 2 Anniversary will get a GOG.com release. Same with Settlers 3 and 4. There's another game in the series that's based on the old games as well, but I can't remember the name. I bought Settlers V, but I'm not impressed, and I'd much rather play Settlers 2 - although I can't remember the game making me wait so much. A lot of the time it's just watching your settlers build and produce stuff.

That is something I actually like with Settlers II. In most games there is constantly something to do and needing to be taken care of. Settlers II allows for a slower pace which is quite refreshing at times. Modern days are going for more and more hurry everywhere, everything must be done faster and more efficiently... so a game like Settlers II has a great contrast into that. If you play quick games only because you don't have the time, there may be something in your life that needs changing (unless you do enjoy your life and don't get too much stress of all the hurry). Personally, I need a slower pace in my life, so I appreciate a game with a slower pace as well.

I just recently completed the anniversary edition and would absolutely recommend it. Afterwards I immediately started playing the original. And after using 6 hours on completing level 3 I understand why I never managed to complete it. And it seems the only effective way of fighting is by using the catapults in the original. I found the speed x3 button in the anniversary edition very refreshing. Am I missing something or is it possible to speed up the game in the S2 gold edition too?

[V] - key

thank you very much =) just got a boost to try and beat this game now. V is for Victory!

You can also type WINTER and hit ALT + 1 ... ALT + 6 to give even higher speeds.

Just in case people wonder like me why you suddenly can build free headquarters outside your borders; "WINTER" enables cheats and makes that possible. Of course don't build free headquarters if you actually want to enjoy the mission ;)