Age of Empires III

One of the most visually stunning games for the PC this year has finally arrived, but is it more than just a pretty face?

Real-time strategy games have never enjoyed the same level of celebrity as their FPS or third-person brethren. While glitzy shooters take the limelight with their graphical prowess, strategy games keep telling themselves it's what's inside that counts.

Times They Are A Changin'
That's set to change. It's been a long time coming, but the Age of Empires series finally has its third installment and it's a real looker. Real-time physics, shader modeling, and immensely high resolution textures; these sorts of features would usually only be in the latest first-person shooter. In Age of Empires III, they create graphics that look so natural and viscerally appealing you'd swear you'll never go back to any "standard" RTS. Thankfully, the visual presentation is greater than the sum of its parts and truly does offer a look at what RTS games should begin to look like.

The Home City, a major feature of the game, offers some additionally creative gameplay. Besides looking pretty, the cities represent the power of your faction and the opportunities available in aiding your conquest of the New World. Essentially, it provides you with a "deck" of available cards with which to send resources, units, and other benefits back to your colony. It's an original idea that gives the player some opportunity for personalization, both strategically and aesthetically.

Every Empire Must Fall
Unfortunately, AOE III also suffers from the same combat and resource management that's long been present in the AOE franchise. Units are diverse and well crafted, but heroes, or "explorer" units as they're called, seem bland and undifferentiated between factions. The same goes for the professional but tepid soundtrack. This doesn't suggest AOE III is a bad game by any measure, yet with such visual improvements it's unfortunate that other aspects didn't receive such an overhaul. Ultimately, AOE III has clearly won the battle for graphical supremacy, but for all its improvements elsewhere, it has yet to win the war for RTS dominance.

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