JAGeScimitar
02-28-2006, 01:57 AM
Age of Empires:III
Review Written by: JAGeScimitar
Ratings:
Game Play: 8
Graphics: 8
Difficulty: Medium
Overall: 8
The Good: Tried-and-true formula still makes for a complex and interesting strategy game; innovative "home city" system creates long-term depth and strategy; plenty of content and modes of play; spectacular visuals, if you have a fast system.
The Bad: Some aspects of combat don't look and feel quite right; frame rate can bog down at the wrong moments; falls into some of the same traps as many older real-time strategy games.
Summary:
Eight different European civilizations are at the forefront of Age of Empires III, though mercenaries from other foreign nations sort of make cameo appearances, and various Native American tribes are also included.
The usual suspects are here, like the British, the French, the Spanish, and the Dutch. The Russians, the Portuguese, the Germans, and the Ottomans are also available, and each has certain key differences in its economy and military leanings.
These differences are significant in practice, such as how the British automatically gain additional workers when they build new houses, or how the Russians may quickly train up large numbers of light infantry. But the eight cultures' personalities don't necessarily come across in combat, because most of the units and structures unique to each side aren't so unique as to be highly distinguishable, and many units and structures are shared in common across most sides. There are certainly exceptions--the Ottomans, with their heavy emphasis on gunpowder, bring to bear some of the biggest and baddest guns in the game, for instance. And, oddly enough, British longbows seem just as surprisingly deadly here as they did in Age II.
It's probably just a necessary consequence of the setting, but don't expect for Age III's factions to blow your mind by how different or unusual they are. Fortunately, each one is complex enough and seems viable enough to where it's easy to find an early favorite and want to stick with it.
Tech Info:
Publisher: MS Game Studios
Developer: Ensemble Studios
Genre: Historic Real-Time Strategy
Descriptors: Blood, Violence
Number of Players: 1-8
Number of Online Players: 8 Online
Operating System: Windows XP
System: 1.4 GHz equivalent or higher processor or equivalent
RAM: 256 MB
Video Memory: 64 MB
Hard Drive Space: 2000 MB
http://a248.e.akamai.net/f/248/5462/2h/images.gamezone.com/screens/25/4/58/s25458_pc_10.jpg
http://a248.e.akamai.net/f/248/5462/2h/images.gamezone.com/screens/25/4/58/s25458_pc_8.jpg
http://a248.e.akamai.net/f/248/5462/2h/images.gamezone.com/screens/25/4/58/s25458_pc_11.jpg
Review Written by: JAGeScimitar
Ratings:
Game Play: 8
Graphics: 8
Difficulty: Medium
Overall: 8
The Good: Tried-and-true formula still makes for a complex and interesting strategy game; innovative "home city" system creates long-term depth and strategy; plenty of content and modes of play; spectacular visuals, if you have a fast system.
The Bad: Some aspects of combat don't look and feel quite right; frame rate can bog down at the wrong moments; falls into some of the same traps as many older real-time strategy games.
Summary:
Eight different European civilizations are at the forefront of Age of Empires III, though mercenaries from other foreign nations sort of make cameo appearances, and various Native American tribes are also included.
The usual suspects are here, like the British, the French, the Spanish, and the Dutch. The Russians, the Portuguese, the Germans, and the Ottomans are also available, and each has certain key differences in its economy and military leanings.
These differences are significant in practice, such as how the British automatically gain additional workers when they build new houses, or how the Russians may quickly train up large numbers of light infantry. But the eight cultures' personalities don't necessarily come across in combat, because most of the units and structures unique to each side aren't so unique as to be highly distinguishable, and many units and structures are shared in common across most sides. There are certainly exceptions--the Ottomans, with their heavy emphasis on gunpowder, bring to bear some of the biggest and baddest guns in the game, for instance. And, oddly enough, British longbows seem just as surprisingly deadly here as they did in Age II.
It's probably just a necessary consequence of the setting, but don't expect for Age III's factions to blow your mind by how different or unusual they are. Fortunately, each one is complex enough and seems viable enough to where it's easy to find an early favorite and want to stick with it.
Tech Info:
Publisher: MS Game Studios
Developer: Ensemble Studios
Genre: Historic Real-Time Strategy
Descriptors: Blood, Violence
Number of Players: 1-8
Number of Online Players: 8 Online
Operating System: Windows XP
System: 1.4 GHz equivalent or higher processor or equivalent
RAM: 256 MB
Video Memory: 64 MB
Hard Drive Space: 2000 MB
http://a248.e.akamai.net/f/248/5462/2h/images.gamezone.com/screens/25/4/58/s25458_pc_10.jpg
http://a248.e.akamai.net/f/248/5462/2h/images.gamezone.com/screens/25/4/58/s25458_pc_8.jpg
http://a248.e.akamai.net/f/248/5462/2h/images.gamezone.com/screens/25/4/58/s25458_pc_11.jpg