Age of Empires 3

The first Age of Empires was a game that met with some initial resistance from fans of real-time strategy. The game was heavy with micromanagement of economics and AI units could barely carry out your orders, let alone think for themselves what to do next. It demanded precision control of every facet of the fast-paced historical gameplay while setting a high standard of graphical excellence that was still able to run on just about any PC of the time. After taking a break from the main series with the offshoot Age of Mythology, Ensemble Studios are back on the path of history. Age of Empires III is a game of exploration in the New World with some help from the Old and that farily sums up where this game fits in the history of this series as well.

Taking control of Russians, English, French, Ottoman, Dutch, Portuguese, Germans or Spanish, you play the game in single-player skirmish and campaign modes or hop onilne for head to head and team competition. Each side has their own strengths and weaknesses as well as a diverse range of game changing features that make it entertaining to jump around between them. The English and Spanish are about as conventional as you can get while the French feature more expensive but hardier villagers. It's too early to tell if the balance is "just right" between all the sides, however there is no one favored group just yet. These differences make the game all about leveraging your advantages while minimizing your disadvantages. Like all the great real-time strategy games, this one provides an enormous canvas of unit, building and strategy options for you to explore. At the core is the guns or butter dilemma that has plagued man during wartime since he could stand on two feet.

The interface for the game simply needs to be better. Some functions you use regularly have hotkeys and some don't. Some text on the various screens, both in game and out, looks clickable but isn't while other text is clickable but you'd never think to try it. There are also areas where you can right-click to get menus of information that you'd just never expect to find. The interface is largely inconsistent in the way it presents information to you and in the way you interact with it. After a few hours of play, you become acquainted with its quirks, but it could be much better. The default in-game interface is also way too large, a problem that was notable in the game's demo, too. Thankfully, a more streamlined version is available. The buttons are smaller, but it's definitely the way to go. This can be turned on in the options. Be sure to do that right away.

The original Age of Empires packed a stunning visual punch and backed it up with solid gameplay. Back at a time where most strategy games were chunky and 2D, the first Age game pulled aside the curtain to reveal a world that was sunny, animated, colorful and lifelike. Strategy games were never the same. Age of Empires III presents a similar leap forward for real-time strategy fans. As Half-Life 2 did for first-person shooters, AoE III shows just how inspiring these games can be when lovingly crafted with outstanding artistry and solid gameplay fundamentals.

Age of Empires III doesn't redefine real-time strategy gameplay. You're still scurrying to collect more resources than your opponents and rushing to field a giant army, and the game still rewards frantic clicking and unit management. But the presentation is unmatched, and even though the game is rooted in RTS conventions, there are enough new elements and strategic variations here to addict even grizzled veterans. If you're a fan of the genre, you owe it to yourself to check this game out. And if you've never played a real-time game before, this is the place to start.

The Majesty of the Frontier

Graphically, the engine that powers Age of Empires III has a laundry list of the latest graphics technology: real-time shadows, high dynamic range lighting, you name it. There's even bump-mapping on the barrels of the cannons. But the real impressive thing about the technology isn't that it's there, it's that you don't notice it. From the moment your Home City first appears on the menu screen, or a new map loads up to reveal pale grey waters lapping quietly against rocky New England shores, you become lost in the game world. The latest in technology is coupled with truly beautiful art.

Age III pulls out all the stops to depict the sweeping majesty of the old west or the unspoiled beauty of the colonial-era Americas. One of the single-player campaign cutscenes, done in the game engine, pans across rolling hills of golden grass while huge herds of buffalo amble along like waves of water. Another level depicts a small Caribbean port picking up the pieces after a devastating hurricane, with citizens milling about amidst wrecked ships and broken docks. Yet another level has you picking your way through a dense swamp looking for the ruins of Spanish treasure ships half-buried in the mud and dripping with gold doubloons. You're never lacking for eye candy.

The music is equally impressive. Done in full orchestra, it moves effortlessly from majestic scores highlighting the beauty of the landscape to pounding battle drums accenting the fury of battle.

Of course, the combat is equally spectacular. The goal of the game is to devastate your opponents, and said devastation is accompanied by deeply satisfying images of destruction. A large part of this has to do with the real physics incorporated onto the game engine. You can feel the impact when a cannonball shatters into a wooden frontier building, breaking it into pieces that fly off in macabre arcs. Smoke billows from muskets, cannons leap back as they expel their fury, building spires burst into flame and collapse into themselves, and the masts of ships crash to the deck as the vessel shudders with the impact of enemy fire. Every game of Age of Empires III drips with spectacle