Main centres: | 1-3 business days |
Regional areas: | 3-4 business days |
Remote areas: | 3-5 business days |
Age of Empires III (PC) (CD) rom
Platform: Windows XP
In this highly anticipated next installment in the Age of Empires franchise from Ensemble Studios, Age of Empires III places players in the time period of roughly 1500-1850, picking up where Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings left off. As players work to establish their empire, they will take on the role of a European power struggling to explore, colonise and conquer North and South America.Age of Empires III introduces exciting new gameplay elements, including the all-new Home City and an incredible combat system. Players will find new civilisations to discover, random maps to conquer and a single-player campaign unlike any other. Players also will find stunning graphics as a result of a revolutionary graphics engine that pushes the limits of PC graphics technology in an entirely new way.System RequirementsWindows: XP-256 RAM Processor: 1.4GHz Hard Drive: 2GB Video Card: 64MB with support for hardware transformation and lighting
With all the talk of next generation consoles its somewhat ironic that the most graphically impressive new game is actually PC real-time strategy title Age of Empires III. The last game in the series was a rather clinical looking 2D isometric game but this new iteration features some of the most complex, organic looking 3D graphics ever seen on any system.
Thankfully the gameplay appears just as developed as you take control of a civilisation from around the time that Age of Empires II left off in the 16th century and continues up to 1850, as you battle to take control of the New World. Gameplay is actually split between the Americas though and your home city back in Europe, which you must also maintain and upgrade in order to keep the populace happy.
The most exciting element though is undoubtedly the new combat system, where the dull and mechanical tank rushes of the previous games have been replaced with stunning looking battles of gunpowder and sword blades as you fight angry natives and rival colonisers.
As is demanded of any PC game nowadays theres also a cool sounding multiplayer mode, with the eight different civilizations you can control allowing for a large variety of different play styles. Thats if you can actually gather your wits enough to form a strategy and stop ogling the frankly incredible looking graphics. -- Harrison