Age of Empires III was one of the most hyped up RTS games of all time,
alongside Starcraft II. The screenshots provided before the game was
released showed us vast plains filled with wildlife and beautiful
oceans ready to be explored. And when the game finally came, Ensemble
delivered. The game is rich in beauty of all sorts, and the gameplay is
addictive, but it lasts for only so long. If you have an outstanding
graphics card, you will see this game as monumental RTS game, but if
your card is only average, then this will appear as just another RTS
game.
Age of Empires III really shined on it Gameplay. The main premise of
the game is simple, is like most other RTS games. Build a base, build
an army, destroy the enemy. In AoE III, to help you achieve this goal,
you are granted Home City Shipments. Seeing as how AoE III takes place
in the New World, you start with only an Explorer and a Settlement
Wagon. Once the settlement is up, you must begin harvesting resources
to improve the quality of your base. Unlike other RTS games, like
Empire Earth for example, gathering resources actually makes sense. You
start off with the basic supplies from your Home City, but for your
base to thrive, you need to hunt animals and pick berries for food, cut
down trees for timber to build buildings, and you need Gold to produce
gold coins used as currency. Another neat thing about AoE III's base
system is the use of houses. Citizens and soldiers obviously need a
place to live at, and each house you build can house 5 people of your
civilization. If you don't have enough houses to provide a home for
your population, you can not create any more people until the demand is
made. This feature sometimes poses as a problem however, because if
during an attack and your population limit is reached, the enemy will
target your houses and destroy, thus forcing you incapable of creating
any more warriors to fight the battle. Speaking of battle, AoE III
provides new additions to the RTS franchise overall. Ensemble has
implemented a rag doll feature into the game, so when a cannonball hits
a trooper, the tend to go flying backwards, but not horribly
unrealistically as some expected. To even further this feature, when
warriors attack buildings, instead of attacking foolishly with their
swords, guns, etc. like portrayed in other RTS games, soldiers will
switch to using flaming branches and Molotov cocktails which archers
will use fire arrows. Unlike other RTS games, where the building may
suddenly appear diminished when under attack or simply burst into
flames, the buildings realistically tumble apart, often exposing the
interior of the buildings. After an attack is complete, you can really
see the damage taken in detail, as raging fires spread around your camp
and pieces of your buildings scatter the ground.
The next thing I would like to talk about are the graphics. Age of
Empires III is probably the prettiest RTS game ever made, which isn't a
surprise to me seeing as how all of the Age of Empire games have had
stunning visuals, and the people who made AoE III are the same people
working on Halo Wars. The environments are lush with detail, with high
mountains and sandy bluffs in more desert orientated environments and
high grass and gigantic trees in more plains orientated environments.
To add in with the realism, Ensemble hired a programmer to work solely
on the water alone, and in my opinion, the water effects is the
prettiest thing about the game. Ships glide easily across them with
ease, thrusting the water out of its way, with the reflection of the
ship emblazoned on its surface. The water's tides crash along the
shores, making the beaches wet and change a different hue. Sea battles
come to life as chunks of ships go flying, crashing into the water
below. The graphical effects in AoE III are superb to any RTS game,
which is still a fact, even after being released officially two years
ago.
Next on my list of discussion is the sound. The sound is extremely well
done, with muskets blasting off at their own select time, and not with
just one sound file like other games do. Soldiers will charge into
battle, bayonets and swords drawn, screaming as they go. After the
battle is won, the soldiers will shout in victory and wave their
weapons at the sky. All of these little things really make the game
come to life.
The appeal of Age of Empires III can go on for a long while. The game
not only provides intense gameplay and beautiful graphics, but also
many other features. The main premise of AoE III is to build a colony
in the New World. For every colony created and for every colony
defeated, your Home City prospers. You can change things about your
city, like people who roam the streets, or how different buildings
look. You can also, using a unique card system, change what shipments
you have to send to your troops over in the New World. Online gameplay
is equally as invigorating, matching your massive colonies with others
and battling it out to see who is the true victor.
Age of Empires III is a game I will treasure for a long time to come.
It's outstanding graphics, addicting gameplay, and the breathtaking
sound are going to remembered for it's innovative presentation for many
more years to come. If Halo Wars will be as remarkable as Age of
Empires III, we all having something to look forward to.
