Age Of Empires..same old thang..in a good way..

User Rating: 8.6 | Age of Empires III PC
The gameplay is pretty similar to Age II. The game lets you take control of a colony in the New World. You’ll have to gather three resources—food, wood, and coin—as you build new structures and units. The resource gathering has been simplified since building mills will continually produce more food, and plantations will consistently produce more coin. Also, the workers don’t have to carry their gatherings anywhere thereby speeding up the process. The marketplace handles economic concerns. You’ll still build houses to hold the expanding population, walls to keep your area free, and military structures to get infantry, artillery and cavalry. You’ll spend a lot of your time building a good base and stable economy, and a sizeable military. The game’s interface makes all of this pretty easy to pull off.

Age of Empires III is an amazing looking the game. The different units are immaculately detailed which is simply a wonder to see. They move around very realistically, only further providing some oomph for the graphics. The different environments range in type—you’ll visit areas like jungles and tundra—but they don’t range in attention to detail and overall quality. The many ships and buildings break in parts with plenty of smoke and fire for good effect. The water effects are particularly stunning, providing what is probably the best water in any game. The game runs decently on a number of systems since the game’s autodetect system is pretty effective.

The game’s sound is good too. The background music is pretty effective and takes into account the different cultures that the game involves. The voice overs are pretty repetitive as is the standard in the genre but sound satisfying nonetheless. A lot of it is spoken in the native language of the people you’re playing as or against which is a nice touch. The sound effects are particularly effective and dramatic, providing a lot of vigor to the onscreen action.

Age of Empires had to meet the lofty requirements that previous entries in the game and recent RTS games have set. The game meets the bar set by previous games in the series though it doesn’t really revolutionize the genre. The additions, changes, and amazing visuals make the game one that is easily recommendable though..