Age of Empires III Impressions September 29,2005 - Ensemble Studios’ Age of Empires series is considered by many to represent the pinnacle of historical real-time strategy, and with good reason. Not only were the first two games (and their successor, Age of Mythology) highly playable, but they were balanced terrifically, offering actual strategy in a genre dominated by Starcraft, where the rush ruled. Since then, the genre has undergone a 3D renaissance, led by beautiful, exciting titles from Creative Assembly and Relic. With Dawn of War and Rome: Total War paving the way, Ensemble hopes to restore the Age series to its former splendor, and thanks to a recently-released demo, we’ve had some hands-on time with Age of Empires III. While the demo is short, it whetted our appetite for the full game, which may not strike totally new ground but should still preserve the slick gameplay for which the series is known.

The demo features parts three and four of the main campaign. When we began, we were introduced to Amelia Black, a colonial American tasked with expanding the railroad business she has apparently inherited. Her initial goal—and ours—was to expand the business’s trading route while fighting off any competitors or other enemies standing in the way. Amelia was joined by Major Cooper, and the two sparred in the introductory cutscene, since Cooper obviously felt that Amelia was incapable of running this vital railroad. The voice acting was solid, if not exactly stellar, and Amelia sounded more like a modern housewife than an early American working woman. Cooper was properly gruff, however, and we liked the quips of the various units as they were selected.

Then we got to work building trade locations down the road from the north to the south. Amelia and Cooper were hero-type units with their own special attacks. We took along with them some riflemen and spearmen, although we only encountered one major band of enemies at the second trading post. That post was already occupied by rivals, but it was only a matter of time before we brought the post and local houses to the ground. Thanks to some supplemental units we built, we quickly destroyed our adversaries and made our way to the final post, where Amelia constructed the final post and we achieved victory. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, our colonial workers busily collected wood from trees, food from animals, and gold from mines. There was nothing unusual about resource gathering or the type of resources, and at the market, we could sell wood or food for gold if we were running low on supplies.

After victory, but before the next scenario began, the Age of Empires III demo introduced us to the Home City manager. Amelia’s home city of St. Louis proffered five different buildings containing various upgrades. According to the prologue, we will accumulate experience as we perform various acts during the game proper, although it did not indicate exactly how much accrues for which achievement. With that experience, you then purchase cards that represent upgrades and enhancements to your tech tree. For example, at the Military Academy, we purchased a card that added units to our army, while at the Market, we implemented a card that helped us collect food from animals faster. It’s actually a clever way of allowing the player to establish his own long-term strategy, and lends variety to your units and goals even when you are playing as a single race. 

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