Age of Empires III

If you like the strategy genre and haven't played this, you have missed some of the best graphics of the history of gaming. Whether you are brand new to Age of Empires, new to strategy in general, or are a returning AoE fan, you can't pass up a game like this. New users will be surprised at how Ensemble Studios and Microsoft have come together to create the best game of its kind. The veteran (or in the spirit of Age of Empires II, elite) will be blown away by new and improved graphics and features. The experienced player will also notice new unique unites, techs, units, and new counties such as the British, French, Spanish, German, Ottoman, and more. The campaign follows a family through the generations as they explore, fight, and work in the New World. Twists and turns in the plot keep you on your feet. The real-time strategy genre has never been so real-time. A returning player from AoE II will recall the bombard cannon. These would hit one man. Microsoft would have no such thing in AoE III. When you fire your artillery, it hits trees, grouped men; I've even gotten a cow. I greatly encourage you to at least try it. You owe it to yourself as a gamer to not only see these graphic, but also be absorbed in them.

This is an old game and if you want praise, just take a look at the other reviews on this site. Why do I not like AOEIII? Personally, real-time strategy board game play has had its time. The earlier Age games were fun for what they were. I never really liked how each individual unit had health bars, suffered from those stupid robotic attacks, and never healed in a more convenient fashion. To me, it seemed like AOEIII was trying to put too much reality into the game and that made it that much more unrealistic to me. The cannonball hits the man, the man goes flying: is the man a man? or does he represent an army? or rather, is he just a board piece? Other small details that people have noted are the so-called "siege attacks" and walls. When infantry units attack buildings, they throw flaming brands which is probably symbolic to razing a town. That doesn't do it for me. Walls are generally pretty useless. People SHOOT through the walls. What the bloody hell is the use of walls if they don't block projectiles? Something else I never liked was that defenders couldn't man the wall, or at least never had a bonus of some sort. The railroads are a joke. Yeah, disappear into nothing and deliver supplies to every country no matter what. What a stupid concept. How do bombards work? Why do they only hit buildings? WHY? There is that whole balance is everything...BULLSHIT. It's time that people moved on to something else rather than this old and outdated style of play. Some good strategy games these days you say? There are tons, and I bet you know a lot of them. To name a few, there is World in Conflict, Company of Heroes and Rome Total War. Rome Total War is high in my books because it not only has a turned based strategy board game for you economy wackos, but has real-time tactics. YES TACTICS. You could never do THAT before because all you did before was send your armies into oblivion! I just saw a video of StarCraft 2 and basically its the same meat grinder techniques as the original except with more units and better graphics. I would have expected something like Company of Heroes or at least something more revolutionary. Rome Total War not only lets you man walls and hold sieges in real cities, but allows you to command armies of up to 10,000 units if not much more. Impressive eh? Not to mention cavalry actually have charge bonuses unlike the stupid AOEIII ones. This game came out 3 years before AOEIII. It had more entertaining game play and more REALISTIC game play. I just saw a bit of the new Halo Wars thats being done by Ensemble Studios. It looks like C&C 3 with different skins. Sorry ES, move over. Your time has come and gone.

I remember how impressed i was with this game some years ago and It still looks gorgeous and brings satisfacion both with gameplay and atmosphere. I espcially enjoyed how builds can be demolished by the guns and how the maps look beautiful and alive in this game. What is also done well is progression system for your chosen metropolia, it's unique for every nation. When you win, you get resources (the scores actually) so you manage and decotate your city. The story mode is also satisfting really woth your time.

The game has aged well and I love many things about it. It's only inferiority ever to me is it's less focused on historical accuracy and also the gameplay and tactical elements just don't come up well to the second game. But I've many a fond memory in both games.

Rated Teen for Violence and Blood. Violence? Yes. Blood? Very little. Great game? I got it three days ago, and played for two and a half hours. It's made for really good computers, as in fast. So before you buy, check your computer. Anyway, any strategy fan will embrace it. A great buy. I have LOTR: Battle for Middle-Earth II and Stronghold Legends Special Edition, and neither are fair comparisons. Both are fun, but none are as immersing as AoE:III. Favorite Feature: The Economy. Favorite Unit: Musketeer. Favorite Civilization: British. Favorite RTS of all Time: Age Of Empires III. Thnak you very much. 10/10 A+ 100% Good job, Ensemble studios. By the Way I got it three days ago, But started playing today. :) Declanio.