Microsoft Age of Empires 3
Posted January 12, 2006
Continuing the era-based gameplay of the Age franchise, Age of Empires III progresses the real time strategy game from the Age of Discovery into the early 1800's Industrial Revolution. The single player story is based around the Black family, a group of heroic relatives that have one common enemy during their respective lives. By spreading the story over three centuries, Ensemble Studios was able to create an epic adventure of good versus evil. While the story doesn't have much to do with actual history, it's perhaps more entertaining. Similar to the previous rendition, the presentation of the game is quite polished. The cut-scenes seamlessly continue the story and provide the personal interactions between the main characters usually before and after each level.
Gameplay:
The single player game uses a highly varied range of missions and landscapes to keep the objectives of each level fresh and entertaining. Objectives range from protecting a village from attack for a certain amount of time to building an entire civilization before being found by the enemy. Also, side objectives such as rescuing a captured villager or finding all the secret treasure on the map can provide monetary bonuses as well as extra experience points. The landscapes offered up could be anything from ancient South American villages to water based maps with a smattering of islands to narrow mountain caves covered in snow. It's quite evident that the developers went the extra mile in making each landscape unique.
When creating a new development, players are given a group of settlers that will provide the hamlet with the essential resources: food, wood, and silver. With these resources continually being replenished, building a defendable town is quite simple. Also, the home city can provide shipments of the essential resources along with other items such as soldiers, artillery, or building structures. It's also recommended to set up trade routes so a flow of additional resources into the town's supply will be created. Those can be upgraded all the way to locomotives in the final Industrial Age.
The management of a mass of attacking forces can be a bit annoying at times. An entire group of various types of military resources can only move as fast as the weakest link. So the four guys carrying a mortar gun will dictate the speed of the entire army. Many times, the player is forced to micromanage the different types of soldiers, which can become tiresome and difficult. That's a caveat of all RTS games, but it seems overly bothersome in Age of Empires III.
The artificial intelligence of the computer opponents can be quite challenging if you set the game up on the Hard or Experts modes. Otherwise, it's not much of a challenge even for the novice RTS gamer. The computer knows when to attack and the best weak spot in your defenses to target. Also, the management of their cities can be quite astounding. I'm often surprised about the level of progress in an opponent's metropolis when my invading forces invite themselves in. One complaint is that the speed at which the AI moves into a new age is disappointing. I often find myself one or two Ages ahead of my opponents by the time the game ends. Anyhow, the computer AI is just a ghost of an opponent in comparison to a human.
Aside from the single player game, there is a skirmish mode for custom battles that can be fun. You are given the option of starting in a particular Age and progressing until all of the competition is destroyed. In addition, there is a boring RPG element to the hometown viewed throughout the game. The options include decorating the towns with building flags, color changes, and roving characters on the streets. It's nothing more than an annoyance and I don't recommend building up your total point score to unlock everything.
The multiplayer section of the game raises the intensity and tempo of playtime. By adding the irrationality of human opponents into the mix, multiplayer sessions can last anywhere from a matter of minutes to several hours. Setting up a new game is straightforward and finding a game is pretty quick during peak hours. As conquest is the only mode available for online play, you have to completely annihilate an opponent to win. Occasionally, this can be very troublesome if you are playing a sore loser who tries to hide their remaining peasants. Otherwise, multiplayer games are an extremely enjoyable experience.
Graphics:
The visual elements of the game are up to par with the majority of newer real time strategy games available, if not slightly better. The landscape is highly detailed and mostly interactive. For instance, most of the trees and bushes can be destroyed due to ongoing combat. Also, the soldiers are expertly detailed to the ultimate historical degree. In addition, Ensemble Studios makes good use of the smoke effects, water ripple effects, and lighting techniques. Finally, the FMV cutscenes during the single player story are far better than I would have expected from a RTS game. I ran this game at 1600 by 1200 with full visual effects on with my ATI 9800 pro, so don't be scared to crank the graphics up even if you have an older computer. Just be wary of frame rate issues when too many characters are being commanded on the screen.
Audio:
The voiceovers for all of the main characters are of the highest production value. Towards the end of the game, keep an ear out for Benito Martinez, "The Shield", as the voice of General Bolivar. The sound effects get a bit repetitive by the end of the game, but that's common in this type of genre. The musical score is appropriate and chimes in at all the heroic moments.
Conclusion:
The 24-mission single player campaign will take up a huge chunk of your time, but it's certainly worth it. Be prepared to invest a solid 25 to 30 hours in the single player game at the hard level of difficulty. Add in many more countless hours if you get hooked on the awesome multiplayer portion of the game. I recommend this game to RTS beginners & veterans, adventure lovers, or people that enjoy historical eras. The lengthy single player game and the tense multiplayer sessions make this one a no-brainer to recommend even at full price.
Gameplay:
The single player game uses a highly varied range of missions and landscapes to keep the objectives of each level fresh and entertaining. Objectives range from protecting a village from attack for a certain amount of time to building an entire civilization before being found by the enemy. Also, side objectives such as rescuing a captured villager or finding all the secret treasure on the map can provide monetary bonuses as well as extra experience points. The landscapes offered up could be anything from ancient South American villages to water based maps with a smattering of islands to narrow mountain caves covered in snow. It's quite evident that the developers went the extra mile in making each landscape unique.
When creating a new development, players are given a group of settlers that will provide the hamlet with the essential resources: food, wood, and silver. With these resources continually being replenished, building a defendable town is quite simple. Also, the home city can provide shipments of the essential resources along with other items such as soldiers, artillery, or building structures. It's also recommended to set up trade routes so a flow of additional resources into the town's supply will be created. Those can be upgraded all the way to locomotives in the final Industrial Age.
The management of a mass of attacking forces can be a bit annoying at times. An entire group of various types of military resources can only move as fast as the weakest link. So the four guys carrying a mortar gun will dictate the speed of the entire army. Many times, the player is forced to micromanage the different types of soldiers, which can become tiresome and difficult. That's a caveat of all RTS games, but it seems overly bothersome in Age of Empires III.
The artificial intelligence of the computer opponents can be quite challenging if you set the game up on the Hard or Experts modes. Otherwise, it's not much of a challenge even for the novice RTS gamer. The computer knows when to attack and the best weak spot in your defenses to target. Also, the management of their cities can be quite astounding. I'm often surprised about the level of progress in an opponent's metropolis when my invading forces invite themselves in. One complaint is that the speed at which the AI moves into a new age is disappointing. I often find myself one or two Ages ahead of my opponents by the time the game ends. Anyhow, the computer AI is just a ghost of an opponent in comparison to a human.
Aside from the single player game, there is a skirmish mode for custom battles that can be fun. You are given the option of starting in a particular Age and progressing until all of the competition is destroyed. In addition, there is a boring RPG element to the hometown viewed throughout the game. The options include decorating the towns with building flags, color changes, and roving characters on the streets. It's nothing more than an annoyance and I don't recommend building up your total point score to unlock everything.
The multiplayer section of the game raises the intensity and tempo of playtime. By adding the irrationality of human opponents into the mix, multiplayer sessions can last anywhere from a matter of minutes to several hours. Setting up a new game is straightforward and finding a game is pretty quick during peak hours. As conquest is the only mode available for online play, you have to completely annihilate an opponent to win. Occasionally, this can be very troublesome if you are playing a sore loser who tries to hide their remaining peasants. Otherwise, multiplayer games are an extremely enjoyable experience.
Graphics:
The visual elements of the game are up to par with the majority of newer real time strategy games available, if not slightly better. The landscape is highly detailed and mostly interactive. For instance, most of the trees and bushes can be destroyed due to ongoing combat. Also, the soldiers are expertly detailed to the ultimate historical degree. In addition, Ensemble Studios makes good use of the smoke effects, water ripple effects, and lighting techniques. Finally, the FMV cutscenes during the single player story are far better than I would have expected from a RTS game. I ran this game at 1600 by 1200 with full visual effects on with my ATI 9800 pro, so don't be scared to crank the graphics up even if you have an older computer. Just be wary of frame rate issues when too many characters are being commanded on the screen.
Audio:
The voiceovers for all of the main characters are of the highest production value. Towards the end of the game, keep an ear out for Benito Martinez, "The Shield", as the voice of General Bolivar. The sound effects get a bit repetitive by the end of the game, but that's common in this type of genre. The musical score is appropriate and chimes in at all the heroic moments.
Conclusion:
The 24-mission single player campaign will take up a huge chunk of your time, but it's certainly worth it. Be prepared to invest a solid 25 to 30 hours in the single player game at the hard level of difficulty. Add in many more countless hours if you get hooked on the awesome multiplayer portion of the game. I recommend this game to RTS beginners & veterans, adventure lovers, or people that enjoy historical eras. The lengthy single player game and the tense multiplayer sessions make this one a no-brainer to recommend even at full price.