Age of Empires III Review

In the broad strokes, Age of Empires III doesn’t deviate much from other real-time strategy games of the same era. Left-click to select units, right-click to move or attack, mini map and command buttons across the bottom of the screen.

Home Cities

The main new feature introduced in Age of Empires III is the home cities. They are off-map locations from which the player can request a limited number of supplies and reinforcements. Home cities are persistent across all matches. Players can spend experience points on cosmetic upgrades or unlocking new and better shipments to send to their colonies.

It’s an interesting mechanic that creates a sense of continuity from one skirmish game or multiplayer match to the next. However, its actual impact on gameplay is minimal. Some offer substantial perks. But most shipments are things like a few hundred units of raw materials or a squad of infantry. They’re nice to have, but not something I’d miss if they were gone. That’s a problem for the new feature supposed to set Age of Empires III apart from its predecessors.

Civilizations

There are far fewer civilizations than in the previous game. However, more effort has gone into making each one feel distinct. For example, Russia has a higher population cap than most other empires. Also, it trains infantry and cavalry in squads instead of individually. It focuses more on quantity over quality when it comes to individual units. Meanwhile, Spain has a broader range of non-gunpowder units. French workers are more expensive but gather resources faster and have a higher attack and defense. For the most part, Ensemble did a great job. However, some empires, like the Ottomans, suffer from overspecialization to the point of being difficult to play as.