Age of Empires III

Age of Empires III
Cover art of the PC version
Developer(s) Ensemble Studios (Original) Macsoft (Ported Game & Updates)
Robot Entertainment (Updates)
Glu (N-Gage) & (Windows Mobile)
Publisher(s) Microsoft Game Studios (PC)
Macsoft & Destineer (Mac)
Glu (Windows Mobile, N-Gage)
Designer(s) Bruce Shelley
Series Age of Empires
Version Windows - 1.14[1]
Mac OS X - 1.0.5
N-Gage - 1.5.2
Windows Mobile - 1.0
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Windows Mobile, N-Gage
Release date(s) PC:
  • NA October 18, 2005
  • EU November 4, 2005

Mac OS X:
  • NA November 21, 2006
  • EU September 29, 2006

N-Gage:
April 28, 2009

Windows Mobile:
April 30, 2009
Genre(s) Real-time strategy
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer
Rating(s)
Media CD & DVD
System requirements
Windows
Mac OS X

Age of Empires III (AoE III) is a real-time strategy (RTS) game developed by Microsoft Corporation's Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The Mac version was ported over and developed by Destineer's MacSoft Games and published by Destineer and MacSoft Games. The PC Version was released on October 18, 2005 in North America and November 4, 2005 in Europe, while the Mac version was released on November 21, 2006 in North America and September 29, 2006 in Europe. It is the third game of the Age of Empires series and the sequel to Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings. The game portrays the European colonization of the Americas, between approximately 1492 and 1850 AD (expanded in Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs to 1876). It took place in and around the Revolutionary War. There are eight European civilizations to play within the game.

Age of Empires III has made several innovations in the series, in particular with the addition of the "Home City", which combines real-time strategy and role-playing game features. Two expansion packs have been released: the first, Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs, was released on October 17, 2006, and introduced three Native American civilizations; the second, Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties, was released on October 23, 2007, and included three Asian civilizations.

Age of Empires III has sold over 2 million copies as of May 2008. As well as achieving favorable reviews, it has received awards, including GameSpy's "Best RTS game of 2005", and was one of the best-selling games of 2005.[2] In 2007, Age of Empires III was the seventh best-selling computer game, with over 313,000 copies sold that year.[3]

An N-Gage version of the game developed by Glu Mobile was released on April 28, 2009.[4][5][6]

Contents

Synopsis

Age of Empires III is mostly set in the New World during the colonial era, between circa 1492 and 1850.[7] In the style of previous games of the series, the game requires the player to develop a European, Asian or North American nation's colony from a basic settlement to an empire, progressing through "Ages"—stages of technological development—and destroying the enemy's colony. There are two main branches to gameplay: the economy, characterized by the collection of resources, and production of civilian units—which usually gather resources; and the military which involves the production of military units, and the conflicts between armies of rival teams or factions.[8]

A match consists of a conflict between two teams or free for all that race to develop a powerful settlement by creating and upgrading units and buildings, with one eventually defeating the other through combat or resignation; the game ends when there is only one player or team left standing on the map. Along with these typical real-time strategy features, a new addition is the ability of the player to ship troops, buildings, resources and improvements—such as military or economic bonuses—to aid them.[9]

There are three modes of game play: story-based campaigns, single player skirmishes (conflicts between teams), and online multiplayer skirmishes.[10]

Single player skirmishes take place between human players and computer personalities, conforming to rules that are set up before the game. The map, artificial intelligence skill level, and each player's resource gathering speed may be modified.

Multiplayer

Multiplayer matches can be played through the bundled Ensemble Studios Online (ESO) utility included in the game or via a direct LAN or IP connection.

Age of Empires III includes a free multiplayer account on Ensemble Studios Online. Similar in function to Blizzard Entertainment's Battle.net, ESO allows players to play matches and chat with other players. Each copy of the game supports one ESO account and one NAO account. A difference between other games is that in Age of Empires III the player is not required to restart the game, or visit a website to either register an account or play a game.

On ESO, the player can establish Home Cities, as in single-player, and is given the default military rank of Conscript. As the player defeats others in multiplayer battles, they can be promoted, gradually earning higher ranks, until the highest, Field Marshal, is achieved. This ranking system is based on a "power rating" system[11] that determines rank based on the difficulty of matches and activity in the game; for instance, more points are awarded for beating a player with a higher-level Home City than the victor. Likewise, more points are deducted for losing to a player with a lower rank. Access to some games can be restricted through the use of the ranking system. For example, in 'Quick Search' mode, the game will match you with a player whose rank is within the chosen

ESO also supports playing with custom maps, enabling diverse game types such as "cats vs. mice", "fort wars", "gold rush", "pirates of the Caribbean", etc.[12]

Multiplayer matches between Mac OS and Windows clients do not work as the game version is different on each operating system. This leads to a version mismatch error when attempting to join a match. The current Mac version 1.0.5 is only in sync with the 1.12 Windows version, when it needs to be in sync the Windows version 1.13.

Gameplay

Players begin with a constructed town center or a wagon, an explorer and several settlers. Players explore the map and begin gathering resources used to build additional units and buildings and to research upgrades or technologies. Actions such as training units, constructing buildings, killing enemy units etc., earn the player experience points. At certain experience point thresholds, players earn shipment cards that may be turned in for shipments from the players Home City, which can include units, an upgrade, or resources. The game progresses similar to most real-time strategy games until one side resigns or is eliminated. Elimination occurs when all of a player's units and unit-producing structures are destroyed.

A player-designed Imperial Age town, sitting safely behind several defensive walls (see miniature map, lower left corner). Includes a smog-producing factory (center).

In Age of Empires III, the player advances through technological "Ages", representing historical time periods; these provide access to greater improvements, units, and buildings. They include the Discovery Age, which represents the discovery and exploration of the Americas by Europeans and allows the player to explore and develop their economy; the Colonial Age, which represents the European Expansion into the "New World" and unlocks early military units; the Fortress Age, which represents the fortification of the European colonies, unlocks forts, and allows the player to have a more complete military; the Industrial Age, which triggers a strong economy, due in part to factories—advanced buildings that automatically produce resources or artillery—and unlocks all units and shipments; and the Imperial Age, which unlocks all buildings and upgrades, and allows you to send unit and resource shipments a second time. All Ages cost food and coin to advance to, except the Colonial Age, which only costs food. The price of age advancement is incremental, but does not vary between civilizations.

Similar to the "minor gods" system in Age of Mythology,[13] Age of Empires III uses a "Politician System" to grant bonuses on a successful advancement to another age. When a player chooses to advance to the next age, they are given the choice of two or more "Politicians" that provide them with a different bonus on choosing them. The Politician is given a generalized title from the period that usually reflects the bonus that it gives: for example, "The Naturalist" gives the player four cows. As the player's Home City increases in level, more Politicians are unlocked—at a rate of one for every ten Home City levels—up to level 60.

Civilizations

In skirmish mode, the Imperial Ottoman cannons pulverising the Imperial German cavalry. Cannons are available after Age 3 for all belligerents. The Dardanelles Gun and the Congreve Rocket(not pictured) are only available via card deck delivery where they are delivered as a shipment to the shipment drop off point or produced at factory.

Age of Empires III allows the player to play as eight different civilizations:[14] Spanish, British, French, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, German and Ottoman, in increasing order of difficulty.[15] Each of the eight civilizations has its own strengths and weaknesses and unique units available only to that civilization. Specific units for each civilization are designated Royal Guard units, receiving greater bonuses on the Guard upgrade in the Industrial Age, but at an increased price. The player can change the name of their Home City, the Explorer name, and is given a pre-named leader from part of the period (for example, Napoleon Bonaparte for the French Colonial Empire, Suleiman the Magnificent for Ottoman Empire, and Ivan the Terrible for the Russian Empire). Each civilization has unique shipments to aid its economy and military (for example, the Ottomans are able to order a shipment of gold for both them and their teammates.)

There are other civilizations playable via the campaign, which include The Knights of St. John, John Black's Mercenaries, and the United States of America,[16] which are played as the Spanish, German and British civilizations, respectively, with slight modifications. Non-playable campaign civilizations include the Pirates, Circle of Ossus and Native Americans, although these civilizations are playable using the Scenario Editor.

Twelve different tribes of Native Americans are in the game as well, but these are not in themselves playable factions. However, players can gain access to unique units and improvements by forming an alliance with the tribes by building a trading post at their camps. The native tribes featured are the Aztec, Carib, Cherokee, Comanche, Cree, Inca, Iroquois, Lakota, Mapuche, Maya, Nootka, Seminole and Tupi.[17] Three of these tribes were made playable in the expansion pack Age of Empires III: The War Chiefs: the Iroquois, Lakota (under the name Sioux) and Aztecs. These civilizations were removed as the smaller, alliance based tribes and were replaced by the Huron, Cheyenne and Zapotec, respectively.[18] In The Asian Dynasties another three civilizations were added, along with several new native tribes. The civilizations are the Indians, the Japanese, and the Chinese.

Home Cities

Age of Empires III is the first game in the series to introduce the "Home City" concept.[19] The Home City functions as a second city, a powerhouse that is separated from the active game. It cannot be attacked or destroyed, although an Imperial Age upgrade called "Blockade" stops the player's opponents from receiving Home City shipments. Similar to a role-playing game character,[20] the Home City is persistent between games, meaning that upgrades gained through separate games can be applied and stay applied for as long as that particular city exists. Multiple Home Cities can be created and maintained, although each supports only one civilization.

The Home City is composed of five main buildings from which the player chooses their new shipment cards and customizations: The New World Trading Company, the Military Academy, the Cathedral, the Manufacturing Plant and the Harbor.[21] Players can also access the Home City during a match by clicking on the "Home City" button represented on the HUD as the nation's flag. The Home City functions differently inside a game. Instead of customizing a Home City or choosing cards, a player can ship cards chosen before the game (and added to a deck).

During the course of a game, players gain XP (experience) by completing actions such as constructing buildings, training units, killing enemies and collecting treasures. Whenever a certain amount of experience points are gained, the player can make use of a shipment from their respective Home City. Shipments slow down as the game goes on, since more XP is required with every consecutive shipment. This XP is also added directly to the home city and is collected over multiple games, allowing it to level up over time. Players can gear their cards into three different combinations: "Boom" (economic combinations), "Rush" (military combinations), or "Turtle" (defensive combinations).[22] The first few cards chosen are automatically added to the player's portfolio, where it can be copied onto a deck for use in a game. Later in the game, cards have to be manually chosen because of the limit of cards in one deck. Most cards are available to all civilizations, but some are unique to one. If the Home City being played has more than one deck, the player must select which to use when the first shipment is sent. During a game, players keep this initial deck; this feature encourages players to build decks that are customized for the map being played on, or that counter other civilizations. The decks support twenty cards. As the Home City improves by level, you may gain an extra card slot for the decks for every 10 levels.

Units

The units of Age of Empires III are based, as in previous iterations of the game, around military classes of the historic time period. The player controls a variety of civilian and military units, and uses them to expand and develop their civilization, as well as wage war against their opponents. The base unit of a game is the "Settler", responsible for gathering resources and constructing buildings, in order to improve the economy of the civilization. The number of units a player can control in a scenario is limited by a "population limit", a common real-time strategy game mechanic. Each unit that is produced increases the population count to a maximum of 200. Basic units such as settlers and infantry count as 1, but others, including most cavalry and mercenary infantry count as 2. More powerful units, especially artillery or mercenary cavalry, can count for a population as high as 7. Native warriors, explorers, tamed and grazing animals, hot air balloons and warships do not count towards the population limit, but generally have a build limit, allowing the player to deploy only a certain number of those specific units at a time.

A small troop of cavalry, infantry and cannon departing, headed out to battle.

Military units are used for combat against other players. Infantry are the cheapest unit type and all are land based, using weapons ranging from early rifles to advanced muskets. The heavier artillery classes also make use of ranged weapons, primarily cannon and mortars; however, there is also artillery armed with grenades. Mounted troops, are also present, and are armed with either hand weapons, such as swords, or ranged weapons, such as pistols. These units also have significant features, such as skirmishers which do bonus damage against infantry, and ranged cavalry does bonus damage against other cavalry. A new unit introduced in Age of Empires III is the "Explorer", which is chiefly responsible for scouting and gathering treasure; it is also capable of building Trading Posts, and has a special attack, used at the player's command. This unit cannot be killed, but can be rendered unconscious, to be revived when friendly units are in range; also, a ransom can be paid to have it reappear at the player's town center. This ransom is credited to the player that disabled him, when applicable. Some shipment cards increase the explorer's effectiveness in gameplay; for example, providing it with "war dogs" can aid scouting and combat. In Age of Empires III, ships are available on some maps; this military class makes use of cannon or flaming arrows. Some seagoing units also have the capacity to collect resources, such as food and coin, while others can transport units.

Mercenaries may aid the player in their campaigns in the New World. Mercenaries are not trained like standard units; most are shipped from the Home City in exchange for high amounts of coin, so that only economically powerful players can employ them. Most are powerful, but hiring them does not provide experience points, so mercenaries cannot effectively replace the player's standard army, and can negatively affect a player's economy if used excessively. In most cases, a selection of Native American tribes populate game maps, and support their own brand of military units that can be trained once an alliance has been formed. Some native American military units use mêlée weapons, a few use indigenous ranged weapons, such as bows and arrows or atl-atls, while still others adopt ranged European gunpowder weapons. These units usually pertain to the infantry or cavalry classes, but, on maps with water, canoes are also available to the player through the dock.

Infantry Units include pikeman, halberdier, rodelero, doppelsöldner, janissary, musketeer, minuteman, crossbowman, longbowman, strelet, skirmisher, and cassador.

Cavalry Units are Hussar, Cuirassier, Cossack, Uhlan, Lancer, Oprichnik, Spahi, Dragoon, Cavalry Archer, Ruyter, and war wagon.

Artillery units are Grenadier, Falconet, Abus Gun, Rabauld, mortar, culverin, Dardanelles Gun, and Rocket.

Buildings

Screenshot of player-created village, Colonial Age.

Buildings play a major role in gameplay, as they are used for training civilian and military units, researching improvements, supporting population, providing structural defense or as resource providers. The buildings portrayed in Age of Empires III resemble the architectural design of that era. All of the games in the series share several buildings, including the Town Center and Docks. The appearance and attributes of a building change as the player advances through the Ages, and some civilizations have their own unique buildings. The appearance of these buildings depends on the civilization.

There are certain architectural styles present in the game; architectural styles determine the appearance of in-game buildings.[23] Each civilization is automatically assigned its architectural style. These three architectural styles are the Western European, which consists of classical styled wooden buildings and is shared by the British, French and Dutch; the Eastern European, which consists of wooden and straw structures and is shared by the Germans and Russians, and the Mediterranean, which consists of buildings made of stucco cement and dry brick, which is shared by the Spanish, Portuguese and Ottomans.

Plot

The story-based campaign mode consists of related scenarios with preset objectives, such as destroying a given building. In Age of Empires III, the campaign follows the fictional Black family in a series of three "Acts", which divide the story arc into three generations. All three acts are narrated by Amelia Black (Tasia Valenza).

Instead of playing as one of the standard civilizations, the player takes command of a special civilization that is linked to the character or period that each Act portrays.

Act I: Blood

Set in the late 16th century, the first act of the single-player campaign begins with the player in the role of Morgan Black[24]—of the Knights of Saint John—defending the last stronghold on Malta from Sahin "The Falcon" of the Ottoman Empire (in a telling of the Great Siege of Malta). Morgan is ordered by his superior Alain Magnan to hold Sahin on the beach, which he manages to do until the Ottomans bring up their great bombards. Morgan then lights a signal fire to call in supporting cavalry led by Alain Magnan, who fends off the Turks.

Morgan and Alain then drive the Ottomans from Malta when they detonate Ottoman weapon caches in the nearby caves. Inside they discover a hidden stone library telling the story of the "Lake of the Moon" and the secret society called the "Circle of Ossus" who seek it. Alain orders Morgan to sail to the New World, but Morgan is attacked by the Pirate Elisabet Ramsey and lands in the Caribbean. During his fight against Lizzie, Morgan's men find some navigation charts, and after defeating the pirates, they land in Mexico and destroy an Ottoman base there. However the Spanish conquistador Francisco Juan Delgado de Leon captures Sahin and some other Turks before Morgan can. Morgan then fights and defeats the Spanish, who are attacking the Aztecs, whom Morgan has allied with. After his battle to defend the Aztecs, Morgan realizes that the Aztecs hold the map to the Lake of the Moon as the mosaic in their town square. The mosaic shows the Lake of the Moon being in Florida. Morgan then sails to Florida, but his fleet is damaged by a Hurricane and he must dock in Cuba and must earn Lizzie the Pirate's respect in order for her to take him to Florida. Once in Florida, Morgan and Lizzie capture some Spanish treasure ships, killing Delgado in the process. With Delgado dead and his army destroyed, Sahin is freed, but is subsequently captured by Morgan. Sahin meets with Morgan again, telling him that the Circle thinks that the Lake of the Moon is the Fountain of Youth.

Alain Magnan arrives in the New World and orders Morgan to execute Sahin, but both Sahin and Lizzie convince Morgan that Alain is actually the Circle's leader. Therefore, the Knight, the Turk and the Pirate decide to work together to destroy the Fountain of Youth to stop the Circle's plans for domination of the New World. Upon reaching the Lake of the Moon, the group captures and retains an enormous stationary cannon called a "Fixed Gun". Using the Fixed Gun and Lizzie's fire ships, they destroy the Fountain. Alain Magnan leads a force to counterattack, but is killed during the fighting. After the Fountain is destroyed and the Circle defeated, Sahin returns to his own country, and Lizzie leaves for the Caribbean (although it is hinted that she reunites with Morgan several years later). Morgan is last seen wondering about the significance of the Fountain and whether he should drink its remaining water, although a very old man identical to Morgan with the same Scotch accent appears in Act III, talking about The Circle (also when making a custom scenario, if a player places an old man on their side, and select it while playing, the character portrait is identical to Morgan including his hair being the same, and even wearing the same armor). During Act I, the player assumes command of the "Knights of St. John", which resembles the Spanish civilization (even though the faction played is actually Maltese). The Spanish had numerous colonies in the area played throughout the Act.

Act II: Ice

In 1757,[25] Morgan's grandson, John Black, and his Mohawk friend Kanyenke are on their way to Brunswick, Black's uncle Stuart’s colony, as he has called for help. After exchanging attacks with Cherokee raiders and war camps, they attempt to arrange a peace settlement. When they reach the village, they are attacked by a British army under General Warwick, who capture the town. Warwick gives orders to find a member of the Black Family, causing John's uncle Stuart to be taken captive; John realizes that the Circle of Ossus has returned. Kanyenke believes that his sister, Nonahkee is in danger, too, and the pair leave for New England. Kanyenke's suspicions prove well founded and they confront Warwick again when he attacks Nonahkee's village because she would not tell where John was. After the battle it is revealed that John Black and Nonahkee are in love, but are keeping it a secret from Kanyenke until a more peaceful time.

John and Kanyenke then take their mercenaries in pursuit of Warwick's fleeing army, and fight with the French in the Seven Years' War. When Colonel Washington tells them that Warwick is a renegade and has been hunted by the British as well, John agrees to track him down for the British. John leads his mercenaries and Washington's forces and destroys Warwick's base in the Great Lakes region. The presence of the Circle of Ossus Boneguard prove to John the existence of the Circle and that Warwick is the Circle's leader. In the ruins of the Circle's base John finds the body of his uncle Stuart next to his head on a pike. John then demands that Nonahkee be kept at home while they pursue Warwick, who has escaped again and fled to the Rocky Mountains. Kanyenke agrees and reveals that he knows about John's relationship with Nonahkee.

John and Kanyenke then set out to follow Warwick, first earning the respect of the Great Plains tribes by gaining enormous amounts of experience from good deeds, then destroying a fortified Circle base in the mountains. They soon discover that Warwick and his soldiers have fled even farther west, to act as a checkpoint for a Russian army coming down from Alaska. They realize that the Circle plans to capture British and French colonies and towns while their soldiers are at war with one another. With the help of some miners, John and Kanyenke were able to bring down large rock bridges to stop the Russians' large cannons from getting through. John then sends Kanyenke and the remained of his mercenaries back east as he plants explosives to cause and avalanche and bury the Russians in the mountains. In the end, as John is setting up the dynamite, Warwick and several Circle soldiers approach him. Warwick attempts to kill John but when the Circle soldiers shoot at him, John dodges the bullets, jumps to the trigger, and pushes it, detonating the mountainside, killing himself, the soldiers, and Warwick, and causing an avalanche. The avalanche buries the Russians and sets the Circle back so far that they cause no problems for many years.

By spring Kanyenke had returned to his village, where he learned that his sister had given birth to John's son Nathaniel, whom he began to help raise.

During Act II, the player plays as John Black's Mercenaries, which is modeled after a cross between the French and German civilizations. The French were involved in the fur trade at the time, and German mercenaries were in great use during this time.

Act III: Steel

In 1817,[26] the narrative shifts to Amelia Black, the granddaughter of John Black and heiress owner of The Falcon Company (possibly named after Sahin), a railroad company whose sights are set on expanding new railroad operations in the United States since the compensation given by the British and Americans for John Black's sacrifice has been exhausted by John's son Nathaniel financing the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. A French prospector named Pierre Beaumont helps her and the railroad boss, Major Cooper, defeat a Mexican army attacking a fort. He then lures them to a northern mine, where a surprise visit from Kanyenke reveals Beaumont as the leader of Circle of Ossus. Amelia, Kanyenke, and Cooper chase him through the mines, where they find a map to the Lake of the Moon. They travel there, but find that the lake has dried up and is now a swamp. Subsequently, they destroy a Circle base in the swamp. Cooper approaches Beaumont and Beaumont commands two wolves to attack him. Cooper shoots one of them with his pistol, but the other kills him. Amelia now wants to avenge Cooper. The Seminoles tell Amelia and Kanyenke that there is an Inca city in Pacamayo Valley where several barrels of the fountain's water are. They sail to South America, where they help Simón Bolívar defeat the Spanish, then go through the Andes and discover the Inca city in Pacamayo Valley. They defend the city from the Circle, who have a base nearby that they destroy. But Beaumont escapes with some of the Fountain's water. Amelia and Kanyenke fight the Circle at their stronghold in Cuba, and after allying with the Spanish colony of Havana and awaiting the arrival of the U.S. Navy, they destroy the Ossuary and the fixed guns guarding it. As the battle is ending, Amelia and Kanyenke pass under an archway in which Beaumont is concealed. Beaumont jumps down and attempts to stab Amelia but Kanyenke pushes her out of the way. All three tumble to the ground. Beaumont charges at Amelia, about to stab her, but when Beaumont gets near, Amelia kicks him and Beaumont is pushed back. He quickly charges at her again but she grabs her shotgun and shoots him. She later uses the Circle's stored treasure to revive the Falcon Company, and succeeds in building railroads to the west coast. During the credits, there is a final cut scene between Amelia and an Old Coot first introduced earlier in the campaign. At first, his comments regarding how her family must be proud of her seem out of place—then he makes a reference to the Circle and how she was able to defeat them in only one lifetime, hinting that he is indeed the original Morgan Black. As the Old Coot walks away, his voice grows deeper with a more exaggerated Scottish accent, further supporting this idea. It appears he has lived longer than the average person because he drank from the Fountain of Youth after Act I. Amelia then asks what he just said, he replies with a knowing, "Don't miss your train," and then he walks away.

During Act III, the player plays as the U.S. civilization (only available in the campaign), which resembles the British civilization.

Audio

The Age of Empires III Original Soundtrack features an original musical score composed by Ensemble Studios musicians Stephen Rippy and Kevin McMullan, whose previous work includes other games in the Age of Empires series as well as Age of Mythology. It was released on November 11, 2005 by Sumthing Else Music Works. Stephen Rippy, music and sound director at Ensemble Studios, said, "Age of Empires III is a game with an epic topic — it covers the colonization of the Americas over a period of some three hundred years, so it needed to have an epic-sounding score to match. Using a full orchestra and choir as well as some more period-inspired instrumentation, the music follows the story of Morgan Black and his descendants as they battle the Circle of Ossus for a foothold in the New World." The soundtrack also features a bonus DVD that includes fourteen tracks remixed in 5.1 surround, a behind-the-scenes video of the studio session, the Age of Empires III cinematic trailer and five exclusive bonus tracks.

Development

Technical features

Example demonstrating Havok (software) graphical production in Age of Empires III. Building collapses are not pre-recorded animations. Troop of 6 cannons and 44 infantry attacking a fort building. The building initially collapses in two different ways in two different games. (1) First image: two explosions, smokestack on right side breaks. (2) Second image: one explosion, rooftop on left side breaks.

Age of Empires III builds on and introduces new features to the Age of Mythology engine. One new feature is the inclusion of the Havok physics simulation middleware engine[27] on the Windows version and the similar PhysX engine on Mac OS X. This means that many events such as building destruction and tree falls will not be pre-created animations, but will be calculated according to the physics engine, in an innovation for the series. Other graphical features of the game include bloom lighting and support for pixel shader 3.0.[28]

Release history

Following the announcement[29] of the game on January 4, 2005, a trial version was released on September 7, 2005. This contained a cut-down version of the game, introducing new features, such as two campaign scenarios, two random map scenarios (New England and Texas) and access to two civilizations (British and Spanish), and a variety of modifications.[30] An updated demo version was made available with the game's release on September 22, 2005.

The release of the game on September 22, 2005 saw two separate editions being made available. The standard edition included the game and manual, a collector's edition version in a presentation box that includes the official soundtrack, extra documentation, a hardback book titled Art of Empires that contains concept art and 3D renders from the game and a DVD entitled The Making of Age of Empires III.

The release of the game has been followed by a series of patches that have fixed minor bugs in the software or added new features.

Ensemble Studios has released[31] an expansion for the game named Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs which was released on October 17, 2006. It contains three new native civilizations that can be completely controlled: The Iroquois Confederation, the Great Sioux Nation, and the Aztecs. New content for existing European civilizations, maps and gameplay additions (such as the "revolution" feature, in which players can "revolt" from their mother country and start an active military coup in the game) was added. Both the original game and the first expansion were made available in a single "gold" edition on October 23, 2007.[32]

A second expansion pack, Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties, was announced on May 18, 2007 and features three Asian civilizations: the Japanese, Chinese and Indians.[33] It was released on October 23, 2007.

A Mac OS X port of the game was released on November 13, 2006 by MacSoft,[34] followed by the first expansion on June 18, 2007.[35]

Reception

 Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator Score
GameRankings 82%[36]
Metacritic 81% [37]
Review scores
Publication Score
1UP.com B-[38]
Game Revolution B-[39]
GameSpot 8.2/10[40]
GameSpy 5/5[41]
GameZone 9.5/10[42]
IGN 8.8/10[43]
PC Gamer US 91%[36]
VideoGamer.com 8/10[44]

Age of Empires III was well received by critics and reviewers. The game received an average score of 82%, and is the one-hundred-and-seventeenth most popular personal computer game, according to Game Rankings.[45] Age of Empires III was listed as the eighth best-selling PC game of 2005,[46] and over two million copies of it had been sold by May 2007.[2] GameSpot pointed out that "Age of Empires III has some very big shoes to fill,"[47] and GameSpy remarked that it "may not redefine real-time strategy gaming, but it sets the bar so high that we will be comparing games to this for years."[48] IGN also commented on the game, saying "Age of Empires III is a superbly balanced and polished game," and that "Discounting a few niggles in the interface, the whole presentation is rock solid."[43]

Graphics

The game's visuals were highly praised by reviewers. In a preview, IGN said that "After seeing the screenshots, our jaws hit the floor at the amount of detail,"[49] while in their review, 1UP.com described it as "one of the most beautiful games you will put on your computer for the foreseeable future;"[38] GameSpy agreed, stating, "Age III's graphics are unmatched in the strategy genre."[41] GameSpot also admired the graphics, but had a negative comment as well; they said, "Were it not for the awkward unit behavior...Age of Empires III would look truly amazing."[47] GameSpy awarded Age of Empires III the "Best Graphics" award at GameSpy's "Game of the Year 2005", mentioning that the graphics engine boasted "all the high-end technology you had normally find in first-person shooters."[50]

Sound effects

The in-game audio was also commented on. GameZone praised the game's sound effects, saying that "you will feel the explosions of the cannon balls, the muskets firing their endless volleys, and the destruction of a building. It all sounds extremely realistic, and makes the game come that much more alive."[42] Eurogamer said "AoE3...sounds fantastic,"[51] while Game Revolution mentioned that "The ambient sounds, music and voice work all suit the colonial theme."[39] However, IGN was less impressed, saying that the sound was "Good enough...but does not stand out."[43]

Single-player campaign

Reviewers were divided about the single-player campaign. GameSpot thought it was "standard for a real-time strategy game", but also complained that it had "less-than-stellar voice work and awkward cutscenes;"[47] GameSpy agreed that "Age of Empires III's campaign is not revolutionary", but thought that "the voice acting is great."[52] IGN praised the campaign's story, in that it gave the player a "nice sense of purpose"; they thought "The 24-mission campaign is very well designed."[53] Eurogamer said the campaign lacked originality, stating, though "well-written and imaginatively framed," the campaign "offers exactly the same kind of challenges that RTS campaigns have been offering for years;"[51] Game Revolution disliked the campaign more than the other reviewers. Comparing it to Age of Empires II's campaign, they said: "The plot actually got worse. Age of Empires III...avoids all the interesting and prickly issues like genocide, epidemics and slavery, instead subbing in a wimpy tale of a family destined to protect the Holy Grail from a Satanic Cult."[39]

Multiplayer

Age of Empires III's multiplayer was highly lauded, as was the Home City concept. The topic of multiplayer was touched by GameZone, who said "this game demands multiplayer mode, and Ensemble Studios provided this for the players,"[42] while at 1UP, the reviewer commented similarly, stating, "Multiplayer support has been significantly upgraded with a slick interface, support for clans and a number of other useful features."[38] GameSpy commented on the Home City as well, saying, "the 'home city' system creates long-term depth and strategy."[40] EuroGamer, however, stated: "Stop with the gifts!...You do not need to let me flick to a home city screen every few minutes so that I can select a free unit or resource windfall. I'm not some spoilt toddler that needs to be bribed with endless sweeties."[51]

Awards

The game was presented with two awards by GameSpy in 2005: "Real-time strategy game of the year"[54] and "Best Graphics".[55] GameSpy highly praised the game overall, giving it 5 stars in its review,[56] which particularly noted the graphics and multiplayer experience. The game was named fifth-best game of 2005 by GameSpy.[57]

Other awards,[58] including an "Outstanding" from GameZone,[59] reflect the positive critical reception of the game.

The game was given an 'honorable mention' in the 'Best Music' category.[60]

Yahoo!'s report[61] differed, but still had many positive features. Like GameSpy, Yahoo! also praised the effort put into the graphics and physics, but maintained that these are essentially eye-candy. Both Yahoo! and Eurogamer were both disappointed by the traditional economics-based strategy of the game and believed that this, with the lack of useful formation and tactics, meant that the game does not stand up to other modern real-time strategy games. Eurogamer shared these final thoughts and described the new Home City shipments, along with all the treasures scattered around the map, as silly and childish ways of trying to complement the game's lack of strategy and tactical choices. However, Eurogamer recognized that Ensemble Studios was brave to implement "something quite different" from other real time strategy games — the Home City concept.[51]

Other reviews

In December 2006, Rick Perry, chose Age of Empires III as his "featured game of the month".[62] Age of Empires III was the eighth best-selling PC game of 2005 despite its late release, and has sold over 2 million copies to date.[63][64]

Game Revolution complained that it is "as detailed as a history book, and about as much fun;"[39] GameZone disagreed, stating, it is "one purchase you will not come to regret."[42]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "Game Updates". http://www.ensemblestudios.com/gameUpdates.aspx. Retrieved 2010-07-03. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Two million copies sold". Age Community. 2007-05-18. http://www.agecommunity.com/press.aspx?PressReleaseID=161. Retrieved 2007-10-14. 
  3. ↑ "2007 sales figures". GameDaily. 2008-01-25. http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/news/npd-issues-corrected-top-10-pc-games-of-2007/19212/?biz=1. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  4. ↑ "Age of Empires III Marches onto N-Gage". Nokia. http://blog.n-gage.com/archive/age-of-empires-iii-marches-onto-n-gage/. Retrieved 2009-05-01. 
  5. ↑ "Glu Mobile Reveals North American Lineup of Games for the First Quarter of 2009". Glu Mobile Inc.. http://www.glu.com/corp/pages/pressdetail.aspx?itemID=228. Retrieved 2009-01-23. 
  6. ↑ "Age of Empires III for N-Gage". Nokia. http://blog.n-gage.com/archive/age-of-empires-iii-for-n-gage/. Retrieved 2009-01-23. 
  7. ↑ Harrison Dent. "Age of Empires III". Amazon. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Age-of-Empires-III-PC/dp/B0009XH4CU/ref=sr_1_1/202-7175925-8189400?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1177275414&sr=1-1. Retrieved 2007-04-22. 
  8. ↑ "Macsoft announces Age of Empires III for Macintosh". Destineer Studios. http://www.destineerstudios.com/destineer/press/press_releases/aoe3_announce.html. Retrieved 2007-04-22. 
  9. ↑ Allen Rausch. "Age of Empires III — Building the Home City". GameSpy. http://uk.pc.gamespy.com/pc/age-of-empires-iii/645630p1.html. Retrieved 2007-04-22. 
  10. ↑ Age of Empires III Manual, pp. 31-32 - 'Ways to Play Age of Empires III'.
  11. ↑ "Power Rating — How it Works". Ensemble Studios. https://forum.agecommunity.com/forums/permalink/157093/157093/ShowThread.aspx#157093. Retrieved 2007-04-22. 
  12. ↑ http://aoe3.heavengames.com/downloads/lister.php?category=multi
  13. ↑ "Minor Gods in Age of Mythology". Microsoft. http://www.microsoft.com/games/ageofmythology/greek_civs.aspx. Retrieved 2007-02-05. 
  14. ↑ "Civilizations". Ensemble Studios. http://www.ageofempires3.com/Age3/Civilizations/Default.aspx. Retrieved 2006-11-26. 
  15. ↑ Age of Empires III Manual, p. 21 - 'Choosing a civilization'.
  16. ↑ Steve Butts. "Age of Empires III". IGN. http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/658/658624p1.html. Retrieved 2007-04-22. 
  17. ↑ Civilizations - Age of Empires III Heaven
  18. ↑ "Age of Empires III". Ensemble Studios. http://www.ageofempires3.com/. Retrieved 2007-04-22. 
  19. ↑ "Home Cities in Age of Empires III". Ensemble Studios. http://www.ageofempires3.com/age3/GameFeatures/HomeCity.aspx. Retrieved 2007-04-23. 
  20. ↑ Michael Phillips. "Age of Empires III". Inside Mac. http://www.insidemacgames.com/reviews/view.php?ID=793. Retrieved 2007-04-23. 
  21. ↑ "Home Cities". Heaven Games. http://aoe3.heavengames.com/gameinfo/aoe3/homecities. Retrieved 2007-04-23. 
  22. ↑ "Basic Strategies". IGN. http://uk.guides.ign.com/guides/721644/page_2.html. Retrieved 2007-04-22. 
  23. ↑ Bart Tiongson, ed. Art of Empires. Microsoft Corporation. 
  24. ↑ "Walkthrough — Act I: Blood". IGN. http://uk.guides.ign.com/guides/721644/page_11.html. Retrieved 2007-04-22. 
  25. ↑ "Walkthrough — Act II: Ice". IGN. http://uk.guides.ign.com/guides/721644/page_14.html. Retrieved 2007-04-22. 
  26. ↑ "Walkthrough — Act III: Steel". IGN. http://uk.guides.ign.com/guides/721644/page_17.html. Retrieved 2007-04-22. 
  27. ↑ "Age of Empires III". Havok. http://www.havok.com/content/view/188/53/. Retrieved 2006-11-26. 
  28. ↑ "Technology". Ensemble Studios. http://www.ageofempires3.com/Age3/Press/PressRelease2.aspx. Retrieved 2006-11-26. 
  29. ↑ "Dawn of a New Age: Age of Empires III Announced for 2005 Release". Microsoft. http://www.microsoft.com/games/press/?no=age3_20050104001. Retrieved 2006-11-26. 
  30. ↑ "Demo mods". Heaven Games. http://aoe3.heavengames.com/downloads/lister.php?category=demo-mods. Retrieved 2006-11-26. 
  31. ↑ ""Age of Empires III" Expansion Pack to Storm Windows PCs in 2006". Ensemble Studios. http://www.agecommunity.com/press.aspx?PressReleaseID=143. Retrieved 2006-11-26. 
  32. ↑ "Two Classics Merge Together for the First Time with Age of Empires III Gold Edition". Ensemble Studios. http://www.agecommunity.com/press.aspx?PressReleaseID=167. Retrieved 2007-08-17. 
  33. ↑ "Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties - "We chat with Brian Reynolds about the upcoming expansion"". IGN. http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/799/799064p1.html. Retrieved 2007-08-17. 
  34. ↑ "Age of Empires III for Mac Goes Gold". MacSoft. http://www.destineerstudios.com/destineer/press/press_releases/aoe3_gold.html. Retrieved 2006-11-26. 
  35. ↑ ""Prepare for Battle!" - Age of Empires III: The Warchiefs Expansion Ships to Stores". MacSoft. http://www.destineerstudios.com/destineer/press/press_releases/aoe3_warchiefs_ships.html. Retrieved 2007-08-17. 
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 "Gamerankings rating". CBS Interactive. 2005-12-25. http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/925735.asp?q=age%20of%20empires%20III. Retrieved 2009-11-22. 
  37. ↑ "Metacritic Rating". CBS Interactive. http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/ageofempires3?q=Age%20of%20Empires%20III. Retrieved 2009-07-01. 
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 38.2 Garnett Lee (2005-10-14). "1UP review". 1UP. http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3144773&did=1. Retrieved 2007-10-14. 
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 39.2 39.3 Joe Dodson. "Game Revolution review". Game Revolution. http://www.gamerevolution.com/oldsite/games/pc/strategy/age_of_empires_3.htm. Retrieved 2007-10-14. 
  40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 Greg Kasavin (2005-10-14). "GameSpot review, page 1". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/ageofempiresiii/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=tabs&tag=tabs;reviews. Retrieved 2007-10-14. 
  41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 Dave "Fargo" Kosak (2005-10-19). "GameSpy review, page 1". GameSpy. http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/age-of-empires-iii/659812p1.html. Retrieved 2007-10-14. 
  42. ↑ 42.0 42.1 42.2 42.3 Michael Knutson (2005-10-16). "GameZone review". GameZone. http://pc.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r25458.htm. Retrieved 2007-10-14. 
  43. ↑ 43.0 43.1 43.2 Steve Butts (2005-10-14). "IGN review, page 4". IGN. http://pc.ign.com/articles/658/658624p4.html. Retrieved 2007-10-14. 
  44. ↑ Tom Orry (2005-11-21). "Pro-G review, page 1". Pro-G. http://www.pro-g.co.uk/pc/age_of_empires_iii/review-1.html. Retrieved 2007-10-14. 
  45. ↑ "Game Rankings Age of Empires III page". Game Rankings. http://www.gamestats.com/objects/721/721644/index.html#. Retrieved 2007-10-14. 
  46. ↑ "Best selling PC games of 2005". Joystiq. 2006-01-19. http://www.joystiq.com/2006/01/19/top-selling-pc-games-of-2005/. Retrieved 2007-10-14. 
  47. ↑ 47.0 47.1 47.2 Greg Kasavin (2005-10-14). "GameSpot review, page 3". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/ageofempiresiii/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=tabs&tag=tabs%3Breviews&page=3. Retrieved 2007-10-14. 
  48. ↑ Dave "Fargo" Kosak (2005-10-19). "GameSpy review, page 3". GameSpy. http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/age-of-empires-iii/659812p3.html. Retrieved 2007-10-14. 
  49. ↑ "2005 strategy gaming preview". IGN. 2005-01-11. http://pc.ign.com/articles/579/579174p1.html. Retrieved 2007-10-14. 
  50. ↑ "GameSpy's Game of the Year 2005, Best Graphics". GameSpy. http://goty.gamespy.com/2005/pc/index20.html. Retrieved 2007-10-14. 
  51. ↑ 51.0 51.1 51.2 51.3 Oliver Clare. "Eurogamer review". Eurogamer. http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=61377. Retrieved 2007-10-14. 
  52. ↑ Dave "Fargo" Kosak (2005-10-19). "GameSpy review, page 2". GameSpy. http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/age-of-empires-iii/659812p2.html. Retrieved 2007-10-15. 
  53. ↑ Steve Butts (2005-10-14). "IGN review, page 1". IGN. http://pc.ign.com/articles/658/658624p1.html. Retrieved 2007-10-17. 
  54. ↑ "GameSpy RTS game of the year award". Gamespy. http://goty.gamespy.com/2005/pc/index15.html. Retrieved 2006-11-26. 
  55. ↑ "GameSpy Best Graphics award". Gamespy. http://goty.gamespy.com/2005/pc/index20.html. Retrieved 2006-11-26. 
  56. ↑ "Age of Empires III". GameSpy. http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/age-of-empires-iii/659812p1.html. Retrieved 2006-06-22. 
  57. ↑ "GameSpy's Game of the Year 2006". GameSpy. http://goty.gamespy.com/2005/pc/index8.html. Retrieved 2007-06-22. 
  58. ↑ "Awards". Ensemble Studios. http://www.agecommunity.com/awards_xp.aspx. Retrieved 2006-11-26. 
  59. ↑ "Age of Empires III Review". GameZone. http://pc.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r25458.htm. Retrieved 2006-11-26. 
  60. ↑ "GameSpy honorable mention for 'Best Music'". GameSpy. http://goty.gamespy.com/2005/pc/index21.html. Retrieved 2006-11-26. 
  61. ↑ "Age of Empires III Review". Yahoo. http://videogames.yahoo.com/gamereview?cid=1991674977&tab=reviews&page=0&eid=-1. Retrieved 2006-11-26. 
  62. ↑ Governor of Texas. Featured Game. Retrieved on 2007-02-22
  63. ↑ Simon Carless. "NPD shows retail drop for PC games in 2005". Gamasutra, from statistics by NPD. http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=7832. Retrieved 2007-06-22. 
  64. ↑ Age Community Staff. ""Age of Empires III" Expands Into the Eastern World This Fall". Ensemble Studios. http://www.agecommunity.com/press.aspx?PressReleaseID=161. Retrieved 2007-06-22. 

External links

Age of Empires series
Main series
Age of Empires (The Rise of Rome) · Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings (The Conquerors) · Age of Empires III (The WarChiefs · The Asian Dynasties) · Age of Empires Online
Spin-offs
Age of Mythology (The Titans)
Nintendo DS remakes
Age of Empires: The Age of Kings · Age of Empires: Mythologies
Board game adaptations
Age of Mythology: The Boardgame · Age of Empires III: The Age of Discovery
CCG adaptations
Age of Empires: Expandable Card Game
Fan mods
Age of Chivalry: Hegemony · Age of Empires III: The Napoleonic Era · Age of Empires III: War of the Triple Alliance · Age of Empires III: Knights and Barbarians