Following up 'Age of Empires II: Age of Kings''a game that effectively set a new benchmark for the real-time strategy genre'posed a tremendous challenge for Ensemble Studios. 'Age of Mythology' was a highly successful diversion for the series, but fans of the 'Empires' series have had to wait six years for Ensemble to finally release 'Age of Empires III.'
How much gamers will enjoy the newest installment compared to its predecessors is difficult to assess. The rich depth of great RTS games means that what one player loves, another may disregard entirely. 'Empires III' retains familiar gameplay, introduces an interesting 'Home City' aspect and moves the setting into the New World'all of which can easily be positives or negatives for any given player.
Players familiar with RTS games will have no problem picking up 'Empires III' and newcomers will find it easy to learn their way around as well. Selecting some villagers and setting them to work chopping wood, mining silver, gathering and hunting food and constructing buildings is simple as always. Thankfully, Ensemble has eliminated the need to build camps near your various gatherers in an effort to slim down the unimportant busy work of past releases. Building an army or a fleet of ships, researching improved technology and going to war are all very similar to past 'Empires' games as well.
This is beyond a doubt, one of the most beautiful games made to date. 'Empires III' reaches that Holy Grail of digital effects'the graphics are so absorbing that players may forget to pause and notice just how intricate and lifelike the textures are.
Even more impressive is the physics engine. The water moves and looks like actual water. When a cannonball goes flying into an opponent's barracks, the building doesn't just catch fire or collapse'debris shatters and flies into the air. If a blade of a windmill gets blown away, the remaining blades spin awkwardly, oscillating as you would expect in real life.
The updated setting, depicting the colonization of North and South America, is a mixed bag. While the recreation of each nation racing to settle the New World'as well as the inclusion of Native American settlements' is stunning and enjoyable. The landscapes, architectures and weaponry from the era also take full advantage of the graphical improvements in ways that few other time periods could.
However, 'Empires III' lacks the variety of development options of 'Empires II' and 'Mythology.' Your various colonial forces start the game with guns, and cannons are obtained early on. Upgrading your forces only provides you with stronger guns and cannons'the narrow time frame of 'Empires III' inevitably limits the amount of unique weaponry available, and that can be disappointing.
The other prominent change in 'Empires III' is the development of a 'Home City' system. Given that your characters are a colonial force, they represent one of eight European nations. Throughout the course of a match, you will receive experience that can be cashed in for extra resources or additional troops.
Choosing which of your rewards to use at each juncture in the game is a nice wrinkle in strategy, but the real depth comes afterward. As you play more games with your Home City of choice, you can buy additional rewards to use during gameplay. This operates similar to card collecting games such as 'Magic: The Gathering,''each player can build a 'deck' of dozens of rewards to choose from, but may only use 20 in any single match.
Serious players will be forced to decide whether they want to forego an early boost of supplies in favor of a larger shipment later in the game. They'll have to consider which additional battle units will most effectively fight their opponent. While the myriad of decisions the deck system creates will add depth for those who dive into 'Empires III,' casual players may not get much out of the Home City rewards system.
There are minor gripes to be found. The default user interface is obnoxiously large, and the game requires so much computing power that it will test the limits of all but the most powerful systems.
Some detailed aspects of warfare are lacking. Musketeers fan out instead of lining up rank and file, and cavalry end up fighting hand-to-hand with infantry (reducing them to nothing but a really tall swordsman) instead of riding through a crowd to attack bothersome artillery. Online games can no longer be won by building a 'Wonder' as in previous 'Empires' releases'particularly obnoxious opponents can drag matches out by scattering villagers across the map when nearly defeated, forcing you to hunt down each and every one before being awarded victory.
'Age of Empires III' will undoubtedly be a huge success, and rightfully so'by remaining true to a series that has defined its genre, crafting some of the most beautiful graphics in video game history and introducing the depth the Home City system, Ensemble's latest is an enjoyable play. But it's not perfect, nor is it particularly revolutionary'and given the shoes 'Empires III' has to fill, it may leave a few fans slightly disappointed.
