Age of Empires III

Reviewed by Jeff Jacoby
December 24, 2005

Developer: Ensemble Studios Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios Website: http://ageofempires3.com/ Platform(s): PC Number of Players: 1-8 ESRB Rating: T for Teen Review Rating: 8.25 out of 10

Age of Empires III (AoE) is the third installment in the infamous Age of Empires RTS (real time strategy) family. Regrettably, it does not break new ground as its predecessors have.

The game does provide some new bells and whistles (e.g. destructible environments, unit combat scripting, and a board game card system), but nothing one would generally consider revolutionary.

AoE3 is set in the new world exploration and colonization era. European powers are engaged in fierce battles in order to dominate the riches and people of the new world.

Basic Features:

One can select from 8 European civilizations, build a colony (resource collection, construct buildings, military units, and research advancements), and forge alliances with one of the various Native American tribes-all in the effort to defeat your opponent(s). An alliance with a Native American tribe allows use of their race specific military units and advancements.

Card System:

The developers of this game created a system that provides another layer of strategy. The card system allows a player at certain points in the game to call forth reinforcements, resources, or special feature from the Home City . Certain cards can be played anytime, while others have prerequisites.

One begins playing with access to 20 cards. As one plays the game and earns experience for the civilization, one unlocks other cards and can then customize a deck for a particular play style. The player must select a certain deck before the start of a game, in other words, no intra-game switching.

Multiplayer Options:

One can select to play via a Local Area Network (LAN) or through Ensemble Studios Online (ESO).

Over the span of two weeks, I attempted to play online, but regrettably couldn't find enough players on ESO to start up many games. I tried joining other games, but typically the game would not start because the game room could not fill up. During those two weeks, I successfully played 3 games from start to finish. The gaming population interested in the online feature is quite anemic.

LAN gaming on the other hand is quite fun with friends and family. The main drawback is the fact one gets accustomed to the same adversaries. To spice up the game one can play a random civilization and/or include a computer opponent or two.

Single-Player Campaign:

Essentially, it's an interesting fictional story that revolves around the search for the fountain of youth. The campaign is divided into three sections. One can play it on one of three difficulty settings.

About 80 percent of the campaign is basic resource collection, building an army and defeating the opponent. The other 20 percent is spent on capture and hold scenarios, find and free captured units, and some other nifty curve balls (read: play it and find out).

Overall, an entertaining campaign, but nothing that will make a jaw drop. A gamer will get approximately an hour or two of fun in the easy mode. Give or take, 8 hours in the highest difficulty setting.

Graphics:

The game comes with a graphics customization menu that rivals most games out there, if not all. At first glance, I thought I had logged into an MMO graphics menu. Only my best computer could handle the game with all graphics features maxed (doesn't happen often).

The detail, color schemes, and destructible world make this game very aesthetically pleasing.

In a Nutshell:

I expected more from the third creation in this epic line. The combat tactician in me would have appreciated player-customizable unit formations with a save option. The resource management psycho side of me would have enjoyed more resources and the removal of the marketplace (you either have it or not, no shortcuts).

The card system makes me think that the developers might be hedging their bets on a board game at some time. It's somewhat entertaining, but I would not consider it a positive component, per se.

It's tons of fun with family and friends, but not so fun online because of the low population. But it is pretty.

It's an AoE product, any self-respecting RTS or AoE fan has to place it in the collection.

At what cost?

An entry point of $49.99 (MSRP) doesn't set this game on the top of the buy list. I would consider $29.99 more attractive.

The LAN feature alone justifies the 30 bucks. I would consider the rest of the game elements gravy.

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