Age of Empires III

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Age of Empires III
Developer(s)	Ensemble Studios
Publisher(s)	Microsoft Game Studios (PC), MacSoft (Mac)
Designer(s)	Bruce Shelley
Series	Age of Empires
Version	1.12 (1.0.3 on Mac OS X)[1]
Platform(s)	Windows XP, Windows Vista (workaround available for Windows 2000), Mac OS X
Release date	October 18, 2005 November 4, 2005
Genre(s)	Real-time strategy
Mode(s)	Single player, MP over IPX, TCP/IP, Modem or Ensemble Studios Online 2 (ESO2). (Mac users must use the GameRanger matching service instead of ESO2).
Rating(s)	BBFC: U ESRB: T PEGI: 12+ OFLC: PG
Media	CD (3), DVD (1)
System requirements	Windows XP, 1.4 GHz Processor that supports Streaming SIMD Extensions, 256 MB RAM, 64 MB video card capable of Hardware TnL, 2 GB free hard disk space (PC)[2]
Input methods	Keyboard, mouse

Age of Empires III (also called AoE III, or simply Age 3) is a real-time strategy (RTS) game developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios. Released on October 18, 2005 in North America, and on November 4 of the same year in Europe, it is the third title 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 AD 1500 and 1850. Eight European civilizations are playable.

Age of Empires III has made a number of innovations in the series, as well as the RTS genre, in particular with the addition of the Home City, which combines real-time strategy and role-playing game (RPG) features. Two expansion packs were released: the first, Age of Empires III: The War Chiefs, was released on October 17, 2006, and introduced three Native North 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 a number of awards, including GameSpy's "Best RTS game of 2005", and was one of the best-selling games of 2005.^[3] In 2007, Age of Empires III was the seventh best-selling computer game, with over 313,000 copies sold.^[4]

Contents 1 Synopsis 1.1 Multiplayer 1.2 Setting 2 Gameplay 2.1 Ages 2.2 Civilizations 2.3 Home cities 2.4 Units 2.5 Buildings 2.6 Campaign 2.6.1 Act I: Blood 2.6.2 Act II: Ice 2.6.3 Act III: Steel 3 Soundtrack 4 Development 4.1 Technical features 4.2 Release history 5 Reception 6 See also 7 Notes 8 External links 8.1 Official

[edit] Synopsis

Age of Empires III is mostly set in the New World during the colonial era, between approximately AD 1421 and 1850.^[5] In the style of previous titles of the series and genre, the game requires the player to develop a European nation's colony from a basic settlement to an empire, progressing through "Ages"—stages of technological development—and destroying the enemy base(s). 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.^[6]

A match consists of a conflict between two or more teams that race to develop a powerful nation 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 RTS features, a new addition is that the player may also ship troops, buildings, resources, and even improvements—such as military or economic bonuses—to aid them.^[7]

There are three modes of game play: story-based campaigns, single player skirmishes (conflicts between teams), and online multiplayer skirmishes.^[8]

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

[edit] Multiplayer

Multiplayer matches can be played through the bundled Ensemble Studios Online (ESO) application 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.

On ESO, the player may 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^[9] 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.

ESO also supports the play of custom maps, originating several diverse game types such as "cats v.s. mice", "fort wars", "gold rush", "pirates of the Caribbean", etc.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Setting

Matches are fought on maps based on existing locations, and can be selected from a list of "seeded" or predefined maps. Players also have the option of playing on an "Unknown" map, which is a random-generated map. Customisable variables mean that each seeded map is different.

Each map has features which are always present—such as location and type of Trade Posts—and characteristics, such as a paucity of trees. Treasures are scattered throughout the map, and may be claimed for various awards—such as a cache of resources. The resources available include Food, Wood, and Coin; Wood may only be gathered from trees, but Food and Coin have various sources. Grazing animals—cows, llamas, and sheep— may be herded across the map and fatten up over time until they reach a maximum amount of Food; it is therefore more profitable to fatten them, though they may be slaughtered beforehand. Wild game may be hunted and gathered as Food. The oceans contain fish, which may be collected for Food, and whales, which can be whaled as an inexhaustible source of Coin. Other infinite sources of resources include the Plantation,—from which villagers can gather Coin— the Mill,—similar to the plantation, but is a source of Food rather than Coin— Trading Posts provide a source of Food, Wood, Coin or Experience, the Bank,— which gradually feeds coin without villagers (only available to the Dutch)— and factories, which produce a resource of the player's choice, or Heavy artillery.

Custom-made maps are also playable, in both single player and multiplayer. Ensemble Studios released holiday-related maps during their respective seasons,^[10] and fan websites have free downloadable player-made custom scenarios.

[edit] Gameplay

Players begin with a constructed town center, an explorer and several settlers. The exact terrain of the map, position of opponents, native tribes and trade posts is obscured. Teammates, if any, are exposed. Players explore the map and begin gathering resources, Food, Coin or Wood which are spent to build additional units and buildings and to research upgraded 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. The game progresses like any RTS until one side resigns or is eliminated.

[edit] Ages

As in most RTS games, the player can advance through technological phases, which provide access to greater improvements, units, and buildings. In Age of Empires III, these phases are called "Ages", and represent historical time periods. They are: 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 produce resources or artillery—and unlocks all units and cards; and the Imperial Age, which unlocks all buildings and upgrades. All Ages cost food to advance to, and all but one—the Colonial Age—cost coin as well. The price of age advancement is incremental, but doesn't vary between civilization.

Similar to the Age of Mythology minor gods system,^[11] Age of Empires III utilizes a "Politician System" as a method of granting 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 will provide the player with a different bonus upon 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.

[edit] Civilizations

Age of Empires III allows the player to play as eight different civilizations:^[12] Spanish, British, French, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, German, and Ottoman, in increasing order of difficulty.^[13] 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 and Suleiman the Magnificent for the Ottoman Empire). Each civilization has unique shipments to aid its economy and military (for example, Germans have the only mercenary card available in the Colonial Age).

Flag	Civilization	Main Bonus[14][15]
	Spanish Queen Isabella I	The Spanish have many hand infantry and cavalry available, such as Rodeleros and Lancers, and are flexible early in the game due to their faster Home City shipments. The Spanish explorer can train war dogs since the Discovery Age, when soldiers aren't buildable. Their unique units are Rodeleros and Lancers. Their royal guards are Espada Rodeleros, Garrochista Lancers and Tercio Pikeman.
	British Queen Elizabeth I	The British build Manors, which spawn one free settler each, instead of the usual houses; this speeds up early game construction and gathering. Their military is more focused on the later game, with a stronger economy in the early game. Their unique units are Longbowman and Rocket. Their Royal Guards are Redcoat Musketeer and King's Life Guard Hussar.
	French Napoleon	The French train Coureurs des bois, stronger villagers which may eventually double as infantry. This civilization can have many shipments related to Natives, and so it is the strongest at forging alliances. The French train the strongest cavalry unit of the game, the Cuirassier. Their unique units are Cuirassiers and Coureurs des Bois. Their Royal Guards are Gendarme Cuirassier and Voltigeur Skirmisher.
	Portuguese Henry the Navigator	The Portuguese receive a free covered wagon when on each age advancement. This civilization has extra exploring facilities, such as the option of shipping additional explorers and the "spyglass" ability which can reveal unexplored territory. They have a balanced military, which is supplemented by a strong navy and the unique organ gun artillery unit. Their unique units are Cassadore and Organ gun. Their Royal Guards are Jinete Dragoons and Guerreiro Musketeers.
	Dutch Maurice of Nassau	The Dutch settlers cost coin instead of food, making them dependent on this resource from the very start of the game; this disadvantage is, however, countered with the revenue produced by Banks, coin-generating buildings unique to the Dutch. Their unique units are Envoy, Ruyter and Fluyt. Their Royal Guards are Carabineer Ruyter and Nassau Halberdier.
	Russians Ivan the Terrible	The Russians train many units in groups, speeding up production - especially early in the game. This gives them the capacity to overwhelm other players with their large armies, which are supplemented by the low cost of their military and, for the most basic units, almost instant build time. Their unique units are Strelets, Cossack and Oprichniks. Their Royal Guards are Tatar Cavalry Archer and Pavlov Grenadier.
	Germans Frederick the Great	The Germans represent all of the Central European kingdoms of the time and start out with settler wagons instead of the normal European settlers. The Germans have many unique soldiers, such as the doppelsoldner, Uhlan, War wagon, and have the free home city ability to spawn Landsknecht soldiers. Their military develops steadily because Uhlan cavalry are given as a bonus along with most shipments. Also, the Germans can ship mercenaries sooner than any other civilization. Their unique units are Doppelsoldners, Uhlans, War Wagons and Settler Wagons. Their Royal Guards are Prussian Needle Gunner Skrimisher and Czapka Uhlan.
	Ottomans Suleiman the Magnificent	The Ottoman economy is slow but constant, due to the fact that settlers are continually produced automatically at no cost but have the disadvantage of having limited settler production. The Ottoman military makes heavy use of artillery units, many of them unique; they train the Great Bombard, the most powerful artillery unit in the game. The Ottomans lack light infantry: the only infantry they are able to train is the Janissary. Jannisaries are like a more powerful type of musketeer. Their unique units are Janissary, Abus Gun, Spahi, Great Bombard, Galley and Imam. Their Royal Guards are Gardener Hussar and Baructu Grenadier.

These are just some of the significant differences between civilizations. There are many other both minor and significant differences between the civilizations. There are other civilizations playable via the campaign, which include the The Knights of St. John, John Black's Mercenaries, and the Falcon Railroad Company (United States)^[16] which are played as the Spanish, German and British civilizations, respectively, with slight modifications. Non-playable campaign civilizations include the Pirates, the Circle of Ossus, and the 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. Three of these tribes were made playable in the expansion pack Age of Empires III: The War Chiefs: the Iroquois, the Sioux and the Aztecs. These civilizations were removed as the smaller, alliance based tribes and were replaced by the Huron, Cheyenne, and the Zapotec, respectively.^[17]

[edit] Home cities

Age of Empires III is the first game in the series to introduce the Home City Concept.^[18]

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,^[19] 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 (cities only cease to exist when they are deleted by the player from the game menu). Multiple Home Cities can be created and maintained, although each Home City supports only one civilization.

The Home City is made up 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.^[20]

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.

Players may gear their cards into three different combinations: Boom (economic combinations), Rush (military combinations), or Turtle (defensive combinations).^[21]

The first few cards chosen are automatically added to the player's portfolio, where it may 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 start out supporting 20 cards, but can eventually grow to 25 as the Home City level increases.

Customizations to the Home City change the visual aspects of the city, but do not affect gameplay. In customizing the Home City, players can add unique non-playable characters to the city (for example, a fruit vendor or a musician), change and upgrade the color schemes of buildings, or place objects and decorations throughout the city. A player gains a customization whenever the city gains a level.

[edit] 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 (villager). These civilian units are responsible for gathering resources (through hunting, foraging, woodcutting, mining, and gathering from farms, livestock, and plantations) and constructing buildings, in order to improve the economy of the civilization.

Military units are used for combat against other players. Infantry are the cheapest unit type and all are land based, using weapons ranging from clubs to early rifles. 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, to be used at the players command. This unit cannot be killed, but can be rendered unconscious, to be revived when friendly units are within range; also, a ransom may be paid in order to have him reappear at his town center. Some shipment cards may increase the explorer’s effectiveness in game play, for example by providing him with "war dogs" which can aid with 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. A few types can also create land-based units.

Mercenaries, hired troops, may aid the player in their campaigns in the New World. Mercenaries are not trained like standard units; they 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. The French have certain facilities with their relation to the natives, so such alliances are more effective.

The innovative hot air balloon, which is used for scouting, can be sent using a card from the Home City, and being trained by the explorer. Balloons may be made as many times as necessary, but there is a timer, limiting when the next may be trained.

The number of units a player can control in a scenario is limited by a "population limit", a common RTS 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.

[edit] Buildings

Buildings play a major role in gameplay, 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 a number of 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, since, for instance, the Russian buildings look different from the French buildings; even though the appearance of a type of building may vary, its purpose does not.

There are certain architectural styles present in the game; architectural styles determine the appearance of in-game buildings.^[22] 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, the French and the Dutch; the Eastern European, which consists of quite precarious wooden and straw structures and is shared by the Germans and the Russians, and the Mediterranean, which consists of buildings apparently made of cement and/or dry brick and is shared by the Spanish, the Portuguese and the Ottomans

[edit] Campaign

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.

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.

[edit] Act I: Blood

Set in around 1650, the first act of the single-player campaign begins with the player in the role of Morgan Black^[23]—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). The player must light a signal fire to call in supporting cavalry led by Morgan's superior, Alain Magnan, who fends off the Turks. Morgan and Alain drive the Ottomans from Malta, and when they detonate Ottoman weapon caches in the nearby caves, 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 out. Morgan then sails to the New World, but lands in Cuba after a pirate attack. They find some navigation charts, land in Mexico, destroy an Ottoman base there. But the Spanish commander Francisco Juan Delgado de Leon captures Sahin and some other Turks. They defeat the Spanish, who are attacking the Aztecs. He then sails to Florida, but is trapped in the Caribbean again and must earn Lizzie the Pirate's respect. Once in Florida, Morgan captures some Spanish treasure ships, and Sahin joins him, telling him that the Circle think the Lake of the Moon is the Fountain of Youth. Delgado and his army are destroyed. Since the Spanish have been wiped out from Mexico, Sahin is freed and is then captured by Morgan. Alain tells Morgan to execute him but Sahin and Lizzie convince Morgan that Alain was actually the Circle's leader, and they decide to destroy the Fountain of Youth for revenge. They capture and retain an enormous stationary cannon called a Fixed Gun and use it and Lizzie's fire ships to down the Fountain. Alain Magnan attacks Morgan, however dies in battle. Sahin returns to his country, and Lizzie leaves for the Caribbean (although it is hinted that she reunites with Morgan several years later, possibly starting the Black family line). Morgan is last seen wondering about the significance of the Fountain and whether he should drink it's remaining water, although a very old man identical to Morgan 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 armour). 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).

[edit] Act II: Ice

It is 1757,^[24] and Morgan's grandson, John Black, and his Native 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 the British who capture the town. While planning a counter attack, they discover that John's uncle Stuart has been kidnapped; John concludes that the Circle of Ossus has returned. Kanyenke realizes that his sister, Nonahkee is in danger, too; but he is stunned to discover, after saving the Iroquois village in New England that she called home, that she and John were secretly in love. Afterwards Kanyenke consents to their love and joins John in taking down the Circle. They fight with the French in the Seven Years' War and destroy a Circle base in the Great Lakes. Warwick, the Circle's leader, is revealed to have killed Stewart, and flees to the western mountains. John and Kanyenke follow him, first earning the respect of the Great Plains tribes by gaining lots of experience from good deeds, then destroying a fortified Circle base in the mountains and large rock bridges to stop large cannons from getting through. In the end John is shown setting up some TNTs. Warwick and several Circle Soldiers approach him. Warwick attempts to kill John but when the Circle Soldiers shoot him, John dodges the bullets and jumps at Warwick, knocking him to the ground then running to the TNT trigger and pushes it, exploding the bridge, killing John, the soldiers, Warwick, and starts and avalanche. The avalanche buries the Russians. During Act II a player plays as John Black's Mercenaries, which is modeled after a cross between the French and German civilizations. This campaign is roughly similar to The Last of the Mohicans, as the year is 1757 in both stories, John Black is similar to Hawkeye, Kanyenke to the Mohicans, Warwick to Montcalm and the French, and the Cherokee to the Hurons.

[edit] Act III: Steel

It is now 1817,^[25] and 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 dried up. 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 go there, but the lake has dried up and is now a swamp. 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 and 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 Simon Bolivar 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 there 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 cannons guarding it. Amelia and Kanyenke go under a ledge, but Beaumont is hiding on top. Beaumont jumps down and attempts to stab Amelia. But Amelia dodges him and she and Kanyenke are knocked down. Beaumont charges at Amelia about to stab her, but when Beaumont gets near, she kicks him and Beaumont is pushed back. He quickly charges at her but she grabs her gun 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 cutscene between Amelia and an Old Coot first introduced earlier in the campaign. After some conversation, he makes a reference to the Circle and how she was able to defeat them in only one lifetime. Amellia then asks what he just said said and the Old Coot replies don't miss your train then walks away. During Act III, the player plays as the U.S. civilization (only available in the campaign), which resembles the British civilization.

[edit] Soundtrack

Main article: Age of Empires III Original Soundtrack

[edit] Development

[edit] Technical features

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^[26] on the PC 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 rather 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.^[27]

[edit] Release history

Following the announcement^[28] 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.^[29] 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 entitled 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^[30] an expansion for the game named Age of Empires III: The War Chiefs which was released on October 17, 2006. It contains 3 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.^[31]

A second expansion pack, Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties, was announced on May 18 2007 and features 3 Asian civilizations, the Japanese, Chinese, and Indians.^[32] It was released on October 23 2007.

A Mac OS X port of the game was released on November 13, 2006 by MacSoft,^[33] followed by the first expansion on June 18 2007.^[34]

[edit] Reception

Age of Empires III was well received by critics and reviewers. The game received an average score of 86%, and is the seventy-first 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.^[3]

Reviewers had much to say about the new title in the Age of Empires franchise. 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."^[38] WorthPlaying described Age of Empires III as "a must-have for anyone fond of...RTS gaming,"^[39] while Game Revolution complained that it is "as detailed as a history book, and about as much fun;"^[40] GameZone disagreed, and said it was "one purchase you will not come to regret."^[42]

The game's visuals were highly praised by all 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 described it as "one of the most beautiful games you will put on your computer for the foreseeable future;"^[43] GameSpy agreed, stating, "Age III's graphics are unmatched in the strategy genre."^[37] 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]

The in-game audio was also commented upon. GameZone praised the 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 briefly said "AoE3...sounds fantastic,"^[41] while Game Revolution mentioned that "The ambient sounds, music and voice work all suit the colonial theme."^[40] However, IGN was not as impressed, saying that the sound was "Good enough...but does not stand out."^[38]

Reviewers were divided as to 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."^[51] 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."^[52] Eurogamer said the campaign lacked originality, in because though it was "well-written and imaginatively framed" it "offers exactly the same kind of challenges that RTS campaigns have been offering for years;"^[41] 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."^[40]

Age of Empires III's multiplayer was highly lauded, and the home city was so as well. In the WorthPlaying review, it was briefly mentioned that multiplayer is "the meat of AoE3."^[39] 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 said similarly that "Multiplayer support has been significantly upgraded with a slick interface, support for clans and a number of other useful features."^[43] VideoGamer stated: "The multiplayer mode is likely to entertain well beyond the campaign and will no doubt keep you busy;" GameSpy merged the topics of multiplayer and the home city, saying, "One nice side effect...is that, even if you get totally ass-whupped in a multiplayer game, you probably still earned a lot of experience to...develop your city."^[51] WorthPlaying also mentioned the home city, calling it "the best new feature in the game."^[39] GameSpy commented on the home city as well, saying "the 'home city' system creates long-term depth and strategy."^[36]The only negative comment about the home city was made by EuroGamer: "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."^[41]

The game was presented with two awards by GameSpy in 2005: 'Real-time strategy game of the year'^[53] and 'Best Graphics'.^[54] It was also given an 'honorable mention' in the 'Best Music' category.^[55] GameSpy was highly praising of the game overall, giving it 5 stars in its review,^[56] which was particularly positive about the graphics and multiplayer experience. The game was named 5th best game of 2005 by GameSpy.^[57]

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

Yahoo!'s report^[60] had many positive features. They praised the effort put into the graphics and physics but maintained that these are essentially eye-candy. They were disappointed by the traditional economics-based strategy of the game and believed that this, coupled 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 homecity 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. Still, it recognized that Ensemble Studios was brave to implement "something quite different" from other real time strategy games, the homecity concept.^[41]

In December 2006, the Governor of Texas chose Age of Empires III as his "featured game of the month."^[61] Age of Empires III was the 8th best-selling PC game of 2005 despite its late release, and has sold over 2 million copies to date.^[62][63]

[edit] See also

• Age of Empires
• Age of Empires III: The Warchiefs
• Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

[edit] Official

• Age of Empires III Official Website
• Age of Empires III Community site
• Age of Empires III Unit Database
• Age of Empires III at MobyGames

v • d • e 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) Spin-offs Age of Mythology (The Titans) Other The Age of Kings (Nintendo DS) · Mythologies (Nintendo DS)