List Price: $29.99Amazon.com's Price: $26.99 You Save: $3.00 (10%)as of 03/19/2010 09:24 EDT
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Amazon Minimum Age: 144 months
Binding: CD-ROM
Brand: Microsoft
EAN: 0882224043281
Edition: Standard
ESRB Age Rating: Teen
Item Dimensions: 20080080650
Label: Microsoft
Manufacturer: Microsoft
Model: G10-00025
MPN: 100722
Platform: Windows XP
Publisher: Microsoft
Release Date: October 18, 2005
Studio: Microsoft
Features:- Start out playing as the British and begin with a solid economy, or lead the French into an easy alliance with Native Americans - 8 total civilizations to choose from
- Work with Native Americans to your tactical advantage, for the first time ever
- Develop your own Home City, and customize it make it wealthier and more powerful as you take over Europe
- Explore the New World and create colonies while seeking out new resources and making alliances with the Native Americans
- Recover buried treasure from the Caribbean, hunt bison on the Great Plains, compete for trade routes and fortify the coast of New England
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
This newest version of the Age of Empires, Age of Empires III places you in the age of exploration and conquest roughly 1500-1850. You're now a European power, and it is your task to explore, colonize, and conquer North and South America.
Main FeaturesManufacturer: Microsoft CorporationManufacturer Part Number: G10-00025Manufacturer Website Address: www.microsoft.comSoftware Sub Type: Strategy GameSoftware Name: Age of Empires III - Complete ProductFeatures & Benefits:
Engage in epic strategic battles: You control the action as you experience a new level of exciting combat with realistic effects. You will engage in battle with blades, gunpowder, or both
Develop and strengthen a unique, customized Home City: The Home City represents your capital back in Europe and plays a supporting role in your attempt to control the New World.
Explore a vibrant New World: Take advantage of colonial era elements, perhaps establishing alliances with Native Americans, finding new resources in the Amazon rain forest, and more.
Experience stunning graphics: Witness new lighting effects and shadows while immersed in a world that feels bright and sunny, yet which has a softness and depth that is revolutionary to PC games.
Discover culturally diverse civilizations: Play as the British and have a stellar economy, play as the French and easily ally with Native Americans, or play as the Spanish and have more support from your home country in Europe.
Game Rating: T - (Teen) - (13+) - Blood,ViolenceLanguage Support: EnglishPlatform Support: PCLicense Type: Complete ProductLicense Pricing: StandardLicense Quantity: 1 User
Amazon.com:
It's the dawn of a new age in real-time strategy (RTS) games. A brave New World is rising--a hostile yet beautiful world, filled with innovative gameplay, new strategic scenarios, eye-searing graphics and much more. Welcome to a world called Age of Empires III.
Campaign
In this action adventure tale of historical fiction, players take on the role of Morgan Black and his family, struggling against the hostile wilderness and a mysterious cult that's crept in from Europe.
In a series of 24 scenarios divided into three acts, Morgan Black and his descendants help the Aztecs resist conquest by Spanish conquistadors, pit the French against the British in the French and Indian War and help Simon Bolivar lead revolutions in South America.
Multiplayer
Whether you're searching for a quick game or hoping to talk strategy with friends online, Age of Empires III's Multiplayer site is your community destination.
Here, you can play with persistent Home Cities that gain power and strategic options the more games you play, compete for a spot on dozens of ladders, help organize your clan or chat after a game -- all without leaving the multiplayer portal.
Fans of Age of Mythology's Quick Search can still look for games swiftly, while players looking for something specific can browse game lists to find the set of options that matches their tastes.
New Feature--Home Cities
 This revolutionary new feature to the RTS landscape is incorporated into all aspects of Age of Empires III -- from Campaign to Multiplayer -- and is unlike anything you've experienced before.
Much like the persistent character from a role-playing game that encourages you to keep playing, your Home City is an important support system to your efforts in the New World. During a game, your Home City can regularly send you supplies or military reinforcements.
You are the leader of your colony, but your success brings glory back to Mother Europe. The more games you play, and the better you do, the more powerful your Home City will become. Every few games, you gain the ability to both upgrade and customize your Home City:
- Upgrade your city by unlocking new types of soldiers or buildings, or improving those you already have.
- Broaden your tech tree in whatever direction most fits your play style--invest in warships, native alliances, cavalry, artillery or economy.
- Customize your Home City by changing the appearance of buildings, the weather or even the types of people who walk, work and perform in its streets.
- Throughout a game, as well as in between games, you can visit your Home City to watch its citizens go about their lives, get an opinion on how you're doing, plot your next move or just marvel at the beautiful sunset.
Full 3-D Graphics, Destructible Environments and More
 We first set out to reproduce the rich detail of Age of Empires II: Age of Kings. As we strove to make the fascinating Age of Empires III time period come alive, that goal quickly evolved: We at Ensemble Studios wanted to create the best-looking game ever. From the stunning water effects to the hundreds of units battling on-screen, you'll feel like you're a part of the action in the New World.
- Tone mapping--This photo imaging technique balances the colors in a scene on the fly. The end result is a rich, warm game where bright colors are vibrantly rendered alongside darker counterparts, such as shadows.
- Lighting and shadows--The sun is always shining in Age of Empires, so it's important that lighting and shadows be an awe-inspiring experience. Units and buildings cast shadows according to a real sun position, and even cast shadows on each other. High Dynamic Range rendering allows us to represent the shiny glints of sunlight that bounce off highly reflective surfaces.
- Bump and specular mapping--Water glistens like water. Metal shines like metal. These advanced techniques serve to provide an extra level of rendering detail heretofore unseen in real-time strategy (RTS) gaming.
- Water--We felt that portraying stunning, realistic water effects in the game was so important that we devoted a programmer to it full-time. You'll find the water rich with details like foam near the shore, accurately modeled water motion, flotsam in rivers and realistic water colors. Plus, reflections change with the viewing angle, the angle of sunlight and the motion of the water. The overall effect is breathtaking.
- Cliffs and Riverbeds--Instead of just stretching terrain, we built a system to attach geometry to the terrain map to allow for realistic overhangs and steep cliffs, from areas like the American Southwest. This effect is supported on random maps too.
Civilizations
British
Quick access to Settlers gives the British one of the strongest economies in the game. The ability to upgrade two key units -- the Musketeer and Hussar -- make the British military formidable in the late game. The British Home City emphasizes improvements to technology and naval warfare. | Dutch
Although Dutch Settlers are limited and costly, their civilization makes up for this economic disadvantage by building Banks and generating coin automatically. The Dutch Home City emphasizes upgrades to defense and economy. | French
Although the French economy starts slowly, the Coureur unit, a Villager with strong fighting skills, makes the French difficult to attack early. The French also have the strongest cavalry unit in the game -- the Cuirassier. Plus, the French are experts at allying with the Native Americans. | German
The Germans have fewer Settlers and therefore a slower economy. Fortunately, both the Settler Wagon and Uhlan cavalry spawn for free from the German Town Center. Plus, the Germans start with the ability to send Mercenaries from their Home City (long before other civilizations can). | Native American
European civilizations can learn new technologies and gain troops by forging alliances with the Native Americans. A British player who allies with the Iroquois is essentially playing as two civilizations: the British and the Iroquois. | Ottoman
For the Ottomans, Settlers spawn automatically from the Town Center. Building a Mosque and conducting research help keep that Settler production steady. Befitting their position straddling Europe and Asia, the Ottomans have more unique units than any other civilization. | Portuguese
Starting the game with two Town Centers, the Portuguese can quickly produce Settlers, control territory or support their allies. The Spyglass ability allows the Portuguese to easily spy on the enemy. The Portuguese also have a strong navy, strong light infantry and the best Dragoons in the game. | Russian
Starting the game with extra resources but fewer Settlers gives the Russians the flexibility of focusing on economy or an early raid. Russian infantry, individually weak, are trained in blocks at a faster rate, providing the Russians with the opportunity to overwhelm their enemy with greater numbers. | Spanish
The Spanish have a strong military, with both hand infantry and cavalry. Flexibility in early shipments from the Home City give the Spanish the option to attack early or set up for a strong, late economy. Spanish Home City improvements benefit soldiers, buildings and naval units. | |
Combat
Age of Empires III gives players an amazing amount of control over their side of the battlefield. 
- More to command -- Not only are you in command of large and diverse armies of infantry, cavalry and artillery, but also Native American warriors, mercenaries and tall ships.
- Multiple formations -- You can assign different formations to your army for different strengths and weaknesses, or have the game automatically choose the most appropriate formation. Examples include:
- Volley -- ranged infantry, like musketeers, take turns firing at enemies ahead of them.
- Charge -- your soldiers walk, then run into combat. Cavalry wield sabers, and musketeers fix bayonets. This formation does tremendous damage but makes your soldiers more prone to injury.
- Bombard -- your soldiers protect the cannons, while the cannons shell enemy ranks. Available only when you have artillery in your army.
- Battles are easier to follow -- You can still command individual units. But when the units fight in formation, you'll be able to tell exactly who is winning the fight.
- Real-time physics -- Infantry struck by cannon fire will be thrown like rag dolls, perhaps even over a cliff and into the water. Cannonballs bounce and ricochet.
- Detailed destructions -- Shingles, shutters and whole towers may fly off a building and interact with the terrain, such as crashing into nearby water. This next generation effect is done on the fly so that each building always has a unique destruction, no matter how many times you see it.
- Unique animations -- With hundreds of unique combat animations, you'll never see the same battle twice.
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
The game I bought for my brother was not compatible with his Windows. Make sure what you get is ready for the machine.
Rating:  -
I should have learned my lesson after Age of Mythology, the developers of this game have decided that they want style over substance. According to them, they had one guy whose sole job in making the game, was to design the water to look super realistic. My question to them is... who gives a s@#& about the water and the birds flying overhead and the trees that sway in the background? This game is fantastically beautiful but none of that matters when your villagers and your soldiers are so stupid that they allow themselves to be constantly massacred unless you micro-micro manage them (ie..if your soldier is shooting at a building he will not turn to face attackers that are shooting at them, allowing themselves to be killed) and the battles are unrealistic brawls that negate any benefit of specific units that are good against only certain other units. There are numerous other problems that make this game pure tripe and should be avoided until the developers learn that the gaming world craves games that challenge our intellect and are more realistic in substance.
Rating:  -
I had a problem with the game right off the bat; I could not get the game to run like the trial game. After email and phone contact with Microsoft folks; I finally got the game to run. About 4 days worth of time; I found that the DEP feature I was using was locking out the game on my Windows 7 Pro x64 machine. The game ran fine on my Windows XP machine, so it was a puzzle; the fact that an obscure security feature was stopping the game didn't come to light right off. The old saying: It's always the last thing you try that fixes the problem is very true. Obviously you don't try to fix things more if they work! Microsoft even offered to send a new game, so they were trying to help in every way. I refused the new game, because the one I had worked on XP; I know, I'm foolish to turn down something free. After disabling the Data Execution Protection, the game ran great. I still play AOE II on the same machine and I found AOE III to be a big change. Once I got used to the "new" way of doing things with the game; I am very happy with it. It works great on Win XP SP2 and Win 7 x64 Pro versions. I'm way behind the times on game release date, but I wanted a change. I will be updating the game with the expansions and so on. I recommend the game for young and old.
Rating:  -
I lay this game everyday and i have to tear myself away every evening. it is extremely captivating and scintilating!
Rating: -
I had been a big fan of the Age of Empires 2 when I was in H.S. but had not played it in a long time. I saw the Age of Empires 3 and decided to try it out. Obviously there are a good deal of similarities between #'s 2 & 3 but overall, 3 is a better game due to the updates and just in general the storylines for your role players. Excellent game overall!
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