| Age of Empires III Original Release: 9.0/10.0 The War Chiefs (expansion pack): 7.0/10.0 The Asian Dynasties (expansion pack): 4.0/10.0 Contributor: len January 6, 2008 |
The gaming franchise "Age of Empires" originally was released by Microsoft in 1997. It was meant to
be a bit of history and a bit of War Craft, the original hit strategy game. At the time of its release, I
was frustrated with buggy games and buggy Windows 9x when trying to do LAN gaming or just getting
the multimedia experience to just work. The solution ... go with Microsoft with the game as well!
As it turned out this was a family favorite and my kids used the easy to use WYSIWYG map editor to
have 'ages' of fun creating worlds and playing together on LAN in ways that were more 'Sims' related
than 'strategy' gaming. There were a couple of expansion packs which gave the game a fresh look
and feel for a while longer. Unfortunately, the graphics for this version are now dated mostly because
of the blockish maps. Otherwise, in many ways it was the most entertaining version.
Then in 1999, Age of Empires II came out. The graphics were improved and the gaming became
more engrossing while the networking, LAN and internet, became much more stable and robust. The
map editor was no longer WYSIWYG so creating maps became tiresome. Overall, however, it was a
great update. There were a couple of worth while expansion packs with this version.
Finally, in 2005, Age of Empires III was released. Now with Windows XP, a stable platform, the
networking and multimedia experience was rock solid. The graphics were also brought up to modern
standards and are still engrossing to this day with the release of the latest 'expansion pack'.
Unfortunately, the map editor is still troublesome and I haven't bothered. The campaigns on the
original release and 'War Chiefs' were entertaining and compelling. The maps included are
interesting and the additional maps on War Chiefs worth while. The only complaint about the original
release was the lack of large maps although this was alleviated with the first 'expansion pack', War
Chiefs.
be a bit of history and a bit of War Craft, the original hit strategy game. At the time of its release, I
was frustrated with buggy games and buggy Windows 9x when trying to do LAN gaming or just getting
the multimedia experience to just work. The solution ... go with Microsoft with the game as well!
As it turned out this was a family favorite and my kids used the easy to use WYSIWYG map editor to
have 'ages' of fun creating worlds and playing together on LAN in ways that were more 'Sims' related
than 'strategy' gaming. There were a couple of expansion packs which gave the game a fresh look
and feel for a while longer. Unfortunately, the graphics for this version are now dated mostly because
of the blockish maps. Otherwise, in many ways it was the most entertaining version.
Then in 1999, Age of Empires II came out. The graphics were improved and the gaming became
more engrossing while the networking, LAN and internet, became much more stable and robust. The
map editor was no longer WYSIWYG so creating maps became tiresome. Overall, however, it was a
great update. There were a couple of worth while expansion packs with this version.
Finally, in 2005, Age of Empires III was released. Now with Windows XP, a stable platform, the
networking and multimedia experience was rock solid. The graphics were also brought up to modern
standards and are still engrossing to this day with the release of the latest 'expansion pack'.
Unfortunately, the map editor is still troublesome and I haven't bothered. The campaigns on the
original release and 'War Chiefs' were entertaining and compelling. The maps included are
interesting and the additional maps on War Chiefs worth while. The only complaint about the original
release was the lack of large maps although this was alleviated with the first 'expansion pack', War
Chiefs.
Unfortunately, according to Ad, the 2nd expansion pack, Asian Dynasties, was farmed off to Big Huge
by Ensemble Studios because they are overwhelmed by the Halo Wars work. This package is
noticeably inferior to the others, however I have noticed you can get it for under $20 at Amazon so it
appears somebody recognizes this. Still, it is mostly a pass except if you do a lot of Internet gaming
on Age of Empires and you want to keep up to the crowd.
So, if you are like me and this is the last game you still regularly play, this last expansion pack is a
disappointment with the lack of new maps and the marginally entertaining campaign. You'd think the
use of wonders would have been extended to other civilizations like my favorite Dutch ... oh well. So
my ratings follow the utility of what is in the packages and how I play the game. Like the Wii, this is a
franchise that brought a lot of non-gamers into the medium, and kept a lot of old Wolfenstein 3D
addicts from moving on altogether.
by Ensemble Studios because they are overwhelmed by the Halo Wars work. This package is
noticeably inferior to the others, however I have noticed you can get it for under $20 at Amazon so it
appears somebody recognizes this. Still, it is mostly a pass except if you do a lot of Internet gaming
on Age of Empires and you want to keep up to the crowd.
So, if you are like me and this is the last game you still regularly play, this last expansion pack is a
disappointment with the lack of new maps and the marginally entertaining campaign. You'd think the
use of wonders would have been extended to other civilizations like my favorite Dutch ... oh well. So
my ratings follow the utility of what is in the packages and how I play the game. Like the Wii, this is a
franchise that brought a lot of non-gamers into the medium, and kept a lot of old Wolfenstein 3D
addicts from moving on altogether.
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