The Age of Empires series has been, to me, the epitome of “old school”
real-time strategy. Past titles have been very well done, but at
their core they are pure “build and conquer” type games, with very
little extra fluff. Units were never complicated or fancy, and
each was balanced with strengths and weaknesses against other unit
types. Age of Empires did pure, almost bare-bones, RTS, and they
did it extremely well. But for me, after hordes of copycat RTS
titles, I needed something more than just old-school fun from my RTS
game. I was looking for something to set the title apart from the
rest of the pack. When I heard that Age of Empires III
was adding an extra deck-building element to their tried-and-true
formula, I was intrigued. After running AoE3 through its paces, I
found myself a bit disappointed. I was expecting greatness, and I
received something less. While the game is solid, beautifully
done, and fun to play, it still just feels like an old-school RTS with
a few extra bells and whistles.



Age of Empires III takes place during the Age of Exploration,
when European countries were sending forth brave souls to colonize and
conquer the Americas. Like previous Age of Empires titles, AoE3
spans various “Ages”, technological levels through which players
progress during a given scenario. Taking on the role of one of 8
European countries, players begin at the Age of Discovery and progress
through to the Age of Imperialism, showcasing a wide range of
technological advancement. While there are several new features,
AoE3 plays very much like its predecessors. An initial colony is
planted, after which Settler units begin gathering resources to fund
the burgeoning economy. An early rush tactic it a bit difficult
in AoE3, as it’s almost impossible to raise a standing army during the
Age of Discovery. By the time the second Age roles around, there
are generally enough defenses available to stave off an opportunistic
early assault. For a turtler like myself, this is a very welcome
feature.



Age of Empires fans will notice quite a few changes from previous
games. First, Settlers are now drop points for resource
gathering, meaning they no longer need to return their loads of
resources to the town center. In addition, the annoying Farm
system has been removed. Settlers can still gather Food from
fruit bushes and wild game, but they no longer need to plant those
time-limited Farms once the local food supply runs out. While I
honestly never had much of a need to use anything other than the local
flora and fauna, for those that want a bit more permanent (if slower)
food source, Mills are now available. Mills are slow-but-steady
food producing structures, each of which can field up to 10
Settlers. Plantations, a gold-producing version of the Mill, are
available when the precious mines run dry.



Resources can also be obtained through Trading Posts, a new and
interesting feature in AoE3. Trading posts can be built on
certain spots on most of the maps. Once built, they begin
trickling in Experience each time a delivery is made. Upgrades
allow players to increase the rate of deliveries, and they allow
different shipments (of wood, food, or gold) to be made. Since
these locations quickly generate resources as needed, they are usually
hotly contested points on the map. Trading Posts can also be
built in Native American villages, neutral, indestructible points much
like the trade route lines. Building a Trading Post at a Native
American settlement allows players to gain technology advantages and
military units from the Native Americans. As an added bonus,
Native American military units do not count against the population
limit for a given Empire.



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