Age of Empires 3

Of the more mainstream RTS franchises, Age of Empires has always been my favorite. There are great things to be said about Blizzard's 'craft series and Westwood's C&C brand but for my money, nothing beats the depth and variety of Ensemble's games. This year's E3 is giving us the chance to finally check out, in detail, the work the team is doing on Age of Empires III, a game that rivals most action games in terms of graphics and leaves its RTS competitors in the dust in terms of gameplay.

People were originally overwhelmed by the beauty of this game. In fact, we were so wowed by the early visuals that we actually asked the developers if the screens were real. Having seen the game in action, we still find it hard to describe just how lovely this game is. The wide variety of New World geographies are wonderfully and naturally rendered here. Whether you're fighting in the wet jungles of South America, the swamps of the mid-Atlantic or the dry plains of Texas, you'll find yourself totally convinced by the organic nature of the landscape. When you add the massive buildings and the lively units to the mix, you have a game that's as likely to draw your eye as most cutting edge shooters.

But it's not just about being pretty here. Though the graphics will definitely have people stopping by your desk, those that actually sit down and play it will find that the gameplay is even more captivating than the visuals. That's as it should be. People will play a pretty game for hours, but they'll play a fun one for years. The visuals are meant to serve the gameplay here, so while it might look cool to see musketeers thrown about as cannon shot tears through their lines, the practical effect is always more important than the visual appeal of seeing hats and muskets fly up into the air. The only real disappointment here is that the weather, beautiful though it is, has no real effect on the actual gameplay. I'd love to see musketeers trumped by a torrential rain or artillery frozen in place during a snowstorm.

If you haven't been following the game, Age of Empires III is the logical continuation of the series. Picking up where Age of Kings left off, the new game simulates European warfare in the New World between 1500 and 1850. There is a three-part campaign that covers three generations during this period. During that time players will take part in key historical events (the American Revolution is more or less just alluded to here -- bring on the expansion!) as they fight to gain the better of other European powers.

The basic mechanics of gathering resources has been simplified quite a bit. There are now only three resources -- food, wood, and gold -- and you'll no longer have to turn them in at a storehouse in order to add them to your stockpile. As your workers pick up food and wood and gold it's immediately available for your use. The absence of drop sites does seem to minimize the game's sophistication somewhat but it frees you up to start considering the game's other, more innovative economic considerations.

The Home City is a brand new idea for the series and it reminds me just a little of the home ports from Colonization. While you'll still rely on your own infrastructure in the New World to provide most of your resources, you can request goods or military forces be shipped to you from the home city. You'll have to earn the right to ask for these shipments through successful play in the New World. You can choose to keep the resources flowing as soon as they're ready or save them up in anticipation of some future need. The available resources and technologies of your home city can be improved with experience points earned by establishing trading posts.

This revolutionary new feature to the RTS landscape is incorporated into all aspects of Age of Empires III -- from Campaign to Multiplayer -- and is unlike anything you've experienced before.

Much like the persistent character from a role-playing game that encourages you to keep playing, your Home City is an important support system to your efforts in the New World. During a game, your Home City can regularly send you supplies or military reinforcements.

You are the leader of your colony, but your success brings glory back to Mother Europe. The more games you play, and the better you do, the more powerful your Home City will become. Every few games, you gain the ability to both upgrade and customize your Home City:

• Upgrade your city by unlocking new types of soldiers or buildings, or improving those you already have.
• Broaden your tech tree in whatever direction most fits your play style--invest in warships, native alliances, cavalry, artillery or economy.
• Customize your Home City by changing the appearance of buildings, the weather or even the types of people who walk, work and perform in its streets.
• Throughout a game, as well as in between games, you can visit your Home City to watch its citizens go about their lives, get an opinion on how you're doing, plot your next move or just marvel at the beautiful sunset.

A variety of small treasures can be found on the maps as well. These are always guarded by a band of outlaws/bears/wolves/etc. If you can eliminate the defenders, you can claim the reward with your hero units. In some cases, you'll just get a small resource injection. In other cases, you may receive new units. Still other cases grant your units some kind of ability bonuses. While these small treasures aren't vital, they help add a little color and excitement to the game.

Speaking of color and excitement, Age of Empires III looks quite good for an RTS game. There aren't fireballs or laser blasts flying around here but the artists have done a great job making the most of the historical source material here. Buildings are wonderfully detailed, units are dressed in colorful uniforms, smoke from musket volleys, cannon balls splashing in the water -- all these effects conspire to create a completely believable visual presentation.

Water effects and lighting are particularly good here. You can't tell from the screenshots, but these two aspects of the visual appeal of the game look very natural during the game's action. Seeing the long shadows of a group of marching troops or watching the small ripples of water as parts of your enemy's ship are blown off really makes the game come alive. The explosions are also quite good but the actual destruction of buildings seems a little scripted. Knowing that the tower on a town center will always fall the same way at the same pointing each attack takes away from a bit of the excitement.

The units move and fight very naturally. I quite like watching the musket-armed troops stop firing and begin jabbing their bayonets into an approaching cavalry formation. You'll also notice that the cannon crews will go through the motions of reloading and firing each shot. Naturally you can't spend too much time appreciating the small things when a battle is raging but it's still worth checking out from time to time.