Age of Empires 3 Usually, as the Jaded Gamer, I really don't hype things, I seriously didn't hype Halo 2 or, Half Life 2, or Doom 3. But this game, a game thats been in development around 6 years I believe... Well, its in my scientific opinion that if a games been in development for 6 years, theres NO WAY it can suck, because if it does, I'll be crying curled up in a fetile ball at school. http://www.ageofempires3.com/ScreenshotsMedia/Screenshots.aspx?pageID=1 Look at those screenshots, SOME effort had to go into the game (its a new engine obviously), and as the Jaded gamer, I'd usually be a nay sayer for Bells and Whistles, but when a developer has the ambition to push graphics of an RTS BEYOND most FPS's, Include physics that serve as both eye candy and have some practical use, its gotta be good. And for those who are still doubtful that its an AOE2 Rehash, theres the good old Home City system, a new but crucial element of the game. AOE3 moves past the Age of Kings, Where the European powers try to lay a claim on the New World (And the Ottoman Empire as well). The Home City (usually the capital of your nation in Europe) brings an RPG element into this RTS. Basically, you're rewarded for your deeds in the New World, be it finding hidden treasures, fighting rival nations (both killing and losing units), or simply gathering resources. Do enough deeds and you'll be able to ship aid to America, in the form of units, technology, resources, or even the means to produce a Factory when you reach the Industrial Age. In addition to this, your Home City gains experince, leveling up and enabling you to select different shipments as well as increase the number of shipments you can send total in a single game. (The Homecity sticks with you, if you level up in multiplayer, it'll be that level in the next game you play). AOE3 is due out October 25th, offering the same 50 dollar standard deal, and a 70 dollar Collectors Edition A la Warcraft/Guild Wars. Different boxart, soundtrack, a poster of artwork, a 210 artbook (a la Art of Warcraft), a special manual and game tip guide, and a making-of-DVD. Heres the boxart, Standard then the CD case of the CE, then the boxart of the CE. I'm actually excited by this, and I think the Collectors Edition is a real steal at 70 dollars when you're getting the artbook, the poster, and the soundtrack. Due out October 25th. As you view the screenshots, you'll notice they're VERY high end graphics. Ensemble has however scaled the game to a wide spectrum of systems, so if You've played Age of Mythology perfectly, you should run AOE3 at least on the minimum scale. However, in order to take advantage of the highest graphical settings and HDR, you'll need a very new high end card (Something stronger than a Radeon 9800 XT).
I cut my strategy game playing teeth on the Civ series and really regretted buying into it in the end. I have often looked at the real time strats, especially AOE and wondered if I would enjoy. The graphics on AOE3 indeed look stunning but there would have to be an awesomely well developed AI engine for it to grab my attention. I looked that the official website and, frankly, it does't talk about much except to keep telliung how cool the graphics are.
They're crafting the AI to be really adaptive. The devs have been working on the thing, changing the AI at every turn as they make various tweaks, so the Hardest Difficulty would be almost impossible to take on by a casual gamer. This is the kind of AI that WILL produce counters to your units, take advantage of the resources of the Native Americans, and it WILL record your actions in order to defeat you in the current round, or in the future. (So using different tactics is a must)
Well I'm definately getting AOE3 when it arrives, though I much prefer the turn based strategy of Civ and such. My current game besides TS2 is Rome Total War ... really a nice combination of turn based strategy and real time strategy ... and good graphics as well. That and the realistic tactics available in the battlefield scenario...
Oh, I've got Age of Empires 3!! :hyper: *looks proud* My brother and I were really into that game before. Heeh Just thought I'd tell ya that.
Again muffin-tacos, please watch the date, over a year and a half old. Please let dead threads stay dead.
