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Age of Empires III Review
Jon Wilcox
03/11/2005
TVG heads to the New World in this long awaited follow-up from Ensemble and Microsoft Game Studios...
It's hard to believe how long fans of Age of Empires have had to wait for a follow-up to AoE2: Age of Kings, but it really has been six years since the series timeline reached the Renaissance. Following an extended teaser campaign on the developer's website throughout December 2004 and into January this year, Ensemble finally announced that the third instalment of this somewhat iconic RTS franchise would be released in the latter stages of 2005. Continuing where Age of Empires II: Age of Kings left off, Age of Empires III takes in the colonial era of the New World between the 1500s and the mid-1800s, focusing on the developing story of the Black family. In development since the end of production on Age of Mythology, AoE III comes complete with a range of new visual features for the series not to mention some new gameplay elements, but does it retain that quintessentially Age of Empires feel?
The storyline of the game follows the Black family across three Acts beginning with the Maltese based Knight of St. John and their struggle against the Ottoman Empire. Knight of the Order Morgan Black fights back the armies led by Sahin of the Ottomans and uncovers their plan to land in the Americas and find the Lake of the Moon, an Aztec shrine said to provide eternal life. Though the developers have added two brief interactive tutorials into the game veterans of both AoE and RTS titles in general will be able to go straight into the main crux of the Age of Empires III Campaign with little difficulty. These early missions really provide a solid grounding in the gameplay experience of Age of Empires III from their various objectives and the progression through the Ages, to the introduction of the Home Cities; in other words, there's a steady learning curve through the game ensuring that it doesn't descend into high levels of frustration. Away from the single-player campaign Age of Empires III returns with a Multiplayer mode featuring skirmishes and ESOnline ranking technology allowing players to take the fight across a network though the story of the Black family should keep gamers occupied for some time.
As with most RTS titles Age of Empires III relies on resource-management, in this case Food, Wood, and Coin, all of which can be obtained from most of the environments in the game in the form of woodland, metal outcrop, or local fauna. The mainstay unit in the game, the Settler, has the ability to build new structures from military barracks and stables through to trading posts and is also responsible for collecting the three resources in the gameworld; they are also the only unit (Hero aside) that can loot treasure on the map. One of the rewards for achieving certain levels of resources unique to AoE III is the inclusion of 'Ages' that reward the player with a small number of units and allow for others to be unlocked. Though they were originally dropped during certain stages of development, the reinstated 'Ages' help to convey a feeling of progress for the player as they move from the Discovery Age through the Colonial Age, the Fortress Age, the Industrial Age and beyond. Marked by the availability of upgrades that help with the gathering of resources including Log Flumes for wood amongst others, there's a strong motivation for players to move through the Ages, especially when faced with a mighty opposition.
Their distinct lack of firepower means that sending Settlers out into the uncharted territories of the Americas is more than risky especially since there's never a guarantee that high quantities of a particular resource will be found in the area. To combat such a starving of resources, Age of Empires III introduces a brand new gameplay dynamic that looks set to shake up the franchise as well as reinforce the idea of colonies and home countries: the Home City. Home Cities play two roles in Age of Empires III: one of resource supplier to the colonies in the New World, and one of realisation of the decisions and advances made by gamers. As players build up their Experience Points through various courses of action in the game, their Home City allows them to call for further supplies of resources (which can be used an infinite amount of times) or military units (which can be spent once per mission.)
These supplies come in the form of cards, which are locked or unlocked depending on whether a player has reached the correct level of Age at that point. Whilst the feature may seem to simplify the game it does have to be said that resources sent to the New World still have to be harvested by Settlers, and military units are limited to a single use per mission. In actual fact this gameplay dynamic actually helps to create a further level of strategy since players will have to decide on the most appropriate time to call upon additional forces from the Home City. Additional cards that increase the resource figures of the cards can be unlocked at the end of missions if certain levels are attained making this aspect feel more akin to the RPG genre than the standard RTS. As experience levels are attained by the player, improvements to their Home City can also be made in the form of structural changes (such as changing the colour of building, displaying bunting in support of their leader, or even upgrading the building itself), or adding entertainers to walk the streets such as jugglers. Unlocking and adding the improvements may not have any effect on the gameplay, but it does feel as though the player is rewarding their Home City for its support for the cause. Not only that but their addition means that thereās a connection between the settled Old World seen in the previous Age of Empires instalments, and the colonial New World.
As well as featuring the key Empires of the age such as the British, the Spanish, and the Ottoman, Ensemble have also thrown in the indigenous tribes of the New World such as the Aztecs, Cherokee and other tribes. Through building Trading Posts in tribal areas players can also develop the strength of their colonies especially when tribal warriors can be generated and then commanded by gamers. Each of the factions have their own unique units and strengths (the Ottoman Empireās emphasis on gunpowder related munitions immediately spring to mind) though they remain balanced overall and is more of a visual detail than one that impacts on gameplay. The ability to build up forces relies not only with the collection of resources but also directly with the number of houses built by the Settlers.
Ensemble have brought several technologies to the series in this latest instalment including the implementation of HDR Blooming and Havok based physics that aim to take the visual experience beyond that of standard RTS titles. Rather than show the destruction of units as a series of pre-rendered animations, AoE units utilise Havok to add variety to their own demise. For instance the damage caused to a structure depends on the munitions and their trajectory; cannon balls hitting a building will send debris flying through the air as well as enemy units caught up in the blast and gaping holes are left in the structure (if it's still standing at all) with the exploding Arsenal houses damaging any structures within a certain radius. Though the use of the physics engine stops short of enabling gamers to pinpoint and fire at weak points within the buildings - something that perhaps can be utilised in future iterations - it does add a level of realism to the visuals and won't fail to satisfy gamers. Such a level of visual detail is realised throughout Age of Empires III so that water reflections, together with a strong use of light and shadow, help to create a more believable gameplay environment for the player.
Age of Empires, like all RTS titles, does suffer from the age-old (excuse the pun) problem that the side with the largest force will generally win. That said, the objective based gameplay works well to create an experience that isnāt just about creating an army and obliterating any foe that stands in your way; thereās a variety to the gameplay that keeps it feeling fairly fresh away from suggestions that the missions are just mirrors of each other in different environments. Though the game does adhere to adage, combat isnāt perhaps as enthralling as perhaps it could be; instead it feels surprisingly lacklustre leaving the player less than satisfied.
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