I remember reading somewhere that Age of Empires III was a different kettle of fish when compared to its genre-defining predecessor (AoE II), and that it was polarizing. I didn’t really check out the game when it first came out in 2005, as the machine that I had was so slow that each loading screen was a coffee break.
The Definitive Edition was released just last year in October 2020 and featured a graphics overhaul with rebuilt 3D assets and 4K graphics, along with new civilizations and game modes. All in all, it sounded like a pretty good time to check out the game, having finished Fallout 4 and getting stumped at Halo Wars, and well still being stuck at home due to the pandemic.
Gameplay wise, the key differences between AoE II and AoE III include the addition of Home Cities and card decks representing bonuses that you can bring into a game. These meta-level gameplay components are welcome elements that make AoE III standout from its illustrious predecessor. There is a major drawback with AoE though. The selection of civilizations is not as appealing compared to that of AoE II’s and its expansions.
The storyline in the single player mode is pretty good, set in North America in the era of colonization by European powers. The game takes players through a journey with the Black family, and players get to encounter Native American factions, and at times, align themselves to different European powers while trying to take the battle against the cultish Circle of Ossus.
I’ve not seen any other game with a cowboy and Native American setting other than the RDR titles, and this is a strategy game to boot. Some of the story mode maps are beautiful to behold, being set in North America and I really like the Midwest setting. Maps featuring seas are no slouch either (I remember looking at a screenshot of the game when it first debuted and thought: “Wow, nice water effects”), with large naval vessels really incentivizing building specific card decks to fit different gameplay scenarios.
The Skirmish Mode offers up a bit more than just European and American civilizations, with Indian, Japanese and Chinse civilizations representing an under-represented Asian region. You may want to bump up the difficulty level when playing AoE III, as the A.I is a pushover and dumb as rocks at lower levels, unlike AoE II.
Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition is a definitely a shoe-in for any RTS-lover’s collection. The revamped graphics, and the gameplay elements that make it different from AoE II are worth checking out.
