40 bucks down the drain...so boring compared to WC3...the online play is buggy and laggy...and takes forever to get a decent game...hopefully empire at earth will be better.

Yes, it's not much of an update for the older ones, but it's classic AOE just with way cool graphics and physics. The storyline is excellent and very challenging on hard level. Multiplayer is good, me and my bro can play over our WI-FI network and the online function is awesome. Only problems are no multiplayer save and the scenario generator is hard to use.

AOE 3 is a nice game, but it is not a great game like AOE 2/ Nice Campaign, but it was too similar to AOMythology. There was a sense of been there, done that through the whole campaign. Its not bad and if u like the RTS genre, try it out.

A solidly entertaining game with nicely focused and satisfying gameplay. Ensemble Studios continues to polish the Age of Empires series to perfection, and this latest title is no exception.

Great game.

From playing the demo, one can say that this might be the best Age series yet. Although some troubling issues with the Home City concept, and overall pathfinding issues might bring this gem in the making down. But let us wait for the final version, before we proclaim our verdict upoin ES.

Surprisingly addictive. Got this game free with my new PC and not expecting much from a free add-on I decided to give it a shot and ended up playing 5 hours straight. What really draws you in is the storyline, not the best I've seen, but gets you going.

An inovative game with excelent graphics and gameplay that stands with the rest of the series. The Havok phisics make blowing your enemy off cliffs and across batlefields beautiful. The online is done quite well while it has a flaw. Only one online account can be created for every cd key and the account cannot be edited. The main game was ok but I would have rather seen it based on real battles following Nepolian, war of 1912, seven years war or something like that, instead it portrayed a dull story about an old knighthood.Despite hte few quirks I still really recomend this game, it is beutiful and excellent for lans.… Expand

A real step forward for the series in my opinion. I have come to appreciate the many strategies and depth this game offers which I was too young to appreciate in the previous games (making this feel like the best one). The Graphics and Sound are immersive and although there are some balance problems it is probably my favourite game of all time just ahead of Counter-Strike. Although not tired of this I eagerly anticipate the expansion pack.… Expand

10 out of 10, absolutely brilliant, superb graphics, superb gamplay, online play is the best out of all the games features. i regularly play online mulitplayer, i rarely play the storylines. This game is a MUST if you have broadband.

A must have for strategy game enthusiasts.

A great follow up to the other AOEs but definitly not as good as the 2nd AOE.

Like all other AOE fans I waited eagerly. Love the new game love the graphics there is bound to be an add on which will be interesting and may please those who are understanderbly a bit disappointed after the wait and the hype.

Amazing graphics, unbeliaveable details, great AI and game playing.

AoE 2 > AoE 3. The graphics are nice (not that special). The water looks nice. The economy sucks. You make villagers and they just gather resources, you don't even have to build a gather site. Later on you can make buildings that automaticly generate resources, making everything focused on fighting. The fighting is boring and stupid. Cannons are overpowered/cause lag because of needless physics that can't be turned off. The campaign is stupid. This is age of empires not age of magic. I wanna play a campaign about history not fiction. Fountain of youth? WTF? Russians in the US? WTF? Someone was smokin hella good weed when they made this. Online is fun. ESO is ok but not as good as Battlenet. You get a homecity its like an RPG because you need to lvl it up. Yeah not much to say 7/10 is a nice score for this game I want to give it lower cause it pisses me off but yeah I won't be like that. Peace out go play Age of Empires 2.… Expand

Anyone who thinks the game sucks is smoking somthing.

I don't see why people are so hard on this game, try the demo first if you're skeptical. It's great: super fun, great graphics, and amazing physics. It may not be genre-bending, but it's not meant to be. It's good at what it aimed to be good at.

Graphics are an improvement and if you liked age 1&2 then you will see they have kept the exact same gamepay in age 3. At first glance the game looks the same as age of mythology and sounds the same also. but overall its a good game and you should many hours of fun out of it.

Cool game absolutly brilliant.

First of all, the Fountain of Youth, at least the QUEST for the fountain is not myth.. a lot of men and explorers died in the hunt for it.. Anyway... the game it's self is not a jump forward, except for in the graphics/physics department. The lack of a gathering point is annoying, and the upgrades are rather weak. It's a good fun game if you wanna kill time, but if you are a HARDCORE AOE fan, you will not like it.… Expand

I love thise game... no more wasting time on making buildings to get resources in faster. The cards add great new demension to the strategy of the game. The only thing that needs to be worked on is the hit points of buildings.. they go down a bit fast.

I liked the diversity of the units and buildings including native americans. I cant wait for the expansion pack to come out.

it rocks. The graphics are smooth and realistic and the RTS part is brillant. A must for all age players!

for the regular gamer that well likes a good game aoe 3 is cool. i think "dan b" is too harsh. its an improvement on the previous aoe games, easier to play and more fun - thats what a game is supposed to be. if u dont like it then make a better one yourself!

LAN playing is greatly enhanced in AOE3. Faster paced game; less focus on resource gathering, and more on battles. I have played AOE and AOE2, and ignoring the graphics, I dislike how slow troops train. It takes forever just to make an army. AOE3 offers much better graphics, and anyone who has decent hardware and actually gets into the game will have a blast. The rock, paper, scissors element is much more emphasized, and to beat your opponent you must utilize that.… Expand

People that are making bad comments about this game are probably noobs because they keep getting owned, even if they're still in Age 1. So that explains why there aren't many people online. I also love the fact that you can also use CPUs online, and building limits is a smart idea, even on units. my message to you haters, get some skills and you'll change your mind on this game. I don't care if you become hypocrites, I'm fine with it.… Expand

Really enjoyed the game. The graphics were great. A few MINOR flaws, but still a great game. Recommended.

This is not a bad game -in fact RTS is my favourite genre- but imho this game delivers nothing new. Yes, the graphics are good, but I didn't find any great challenges or innovative leaps forward. I was a bit disappointed as I had been eagerly awaiting its release. Good, but not brilliant!

This is superb. Much better than previous AOE. Vast attractive and very nice gameplay.

Oh... god I love this game. I got the Collectors edition($70), and it was totally worth it. I got an art book, a poster, the soundtrack, along with a bevy of other AoE3 related goodies (and the game itself, of course) I love the systems of this game... There were a couple of things that bugged me a little (walls only upgrade once, little things like that) but the thing it kept the most, was good old fashioned difficulty level! this game is hard... well wait, let me rephrase that, this game is EASY...on easy, average on normal, and HARD ON HARD!!! GOD ITS DIFFICULT!!! ugh... and I swear if anyone calls me a n00b... >.>. but yeah, i love it. The enemy AI is awesome, they will flank you, pincer you, do all sorts of fun stuff *shiver* they've gotten me with the pincer several times, BUT THATS NOT THE POINT!!!! this game rox... thats my story and Im stickin to it.… Expand

The graphics are fantastic and the addition of physics to an RTS is very welcome. However, I, like many reviewers, have played this game before. The card system is a rehash of the God powers of AoM. The Home City is very insignificant and is only meant to increase the longevity of the game until you see how shallow it really is. AOE III has many strengths, like its style, graphics, and polish, but it is nothing new. If this sounds like the reviewers above, it's because I feel the same way - a bit unsatisfied. I still had fun with it, though. Ensemble is amazing.… Expand

A great game. If you take the most favorable review, and improve everything in it half over again, that's how I feel about AoE3. The one problem is a few bugs, but they can be easily fixed by patches.

This game is really cool and i think it would be nice is they made age of empire 4:The cold war or word war two and Wold war one. Im 15 year's old and i say it's awsome! [some day i wish i can help you guy's desine one of my idea's or your's! But i dont have the game yet but i will get it soon. Please reture a response and what you think! Thank you!

The campaign definitely isn't anything to write home about, it gets boring really quickly. The multiplayer is good for kicks, but it has some serious flaws. I'd recommend Age of Mythology for a good RTS. I went back to it after a couple weeks of AoE3. The units are fun and unique, you don't need to deal with cities which end up to be just an annoyance, and it actually matters who you pick when you advance through the ages. Definitely a top notch RTS. AoE3 was somewhat of a disappointment, but it is a good game.… Expand

I thought this game was a great improvement from AOE2 because of the superior graphics (To AOE2). I am a little annoyed at the card system it made (That's why its an 8 of 10). Instead of all countries BASICALLY having the same units, there is a main spread. Each country has its own strength and are equally powerful if you use them the right way (AOE2 the pawning factions were was just Vikings, Tuetonics, Mongols, and Huns). The AI did not improve, that's not so bad because the AI is smart. Should be recognized as AOE's series "last game" (That I know of, besides War Chiefs).… Expand

Fantastic, the definitive RPG that hasn't been beat since. With all the little quirks that just make a game come to life.. such as the settlers happy responses to your every will and command, to sending your soldiers into battle, really makes you feel like you're in the Age of these Empires and you are god.. what more could you want from a game? Must Play.

It's a shame that Microsoft disbanded Ensemble Studios, they created a great game. The graphics are amazing, especially being a 6 year old game. The single-player campaign was decent, it was somewhat interesting but their were some awkward cut-scenes. What makes this game so addicting is its multiplayer. Yes, the game is slowly dying, like all old games do, but their are fan patches and many other options. You shouldn't have a problem finding a game online. Overall, well worth your money.… Expand

Awesome! I havent played aoe 2, and when i find it i will : ), but this is one of my favorite games. while living with several annoying people i managed to play this game so much, that i overheated my computer and crashed my hard drive. i bought a new one, and appearently my computer isnt compatable anymore.. anyways i loved it so much i gave it to a friend for his b-day(and $20)... back to the game, the single player is the biggest cob job i have ever seen, but the multiplayer is very addicting. this is almost like suited up stronghold 2 with other players. there are several strategies to win and overall, i would reccomend this to anyone who has the time to play a 2 hour long game of eco-based warfare.… Expand

This game is awesome. It has nice graphics. It's great for LAN games. And it has excellent game play. I couldn't ask for more in an rts. And the home city system is awesome. It makes each game feel like you're building a colony.

Dissapointment!!! AOE 2 was so much better, much more balanced. This is more like RPG when the game begins, the explorer runs around collecting stuff and getting experience points. Very colorful though, what the Microsoft should have done is to take the Sim City 4 and just have the sims fight.

This game does not live up to its predecessors. The gameplay is much too simple. While Age of Kings and Age of Mythology contained many unique units, AoE3 basically has only a few different kinds of units with some variation in fundamental stats and graphics. This is the game's main problem. The game makes up for this by focusing on special traits for each civilization, but this is not enough. The home city system is a good concept, but it also gives the player too much of an advantage over computer opponents, which do not appear to use them. Trade routes are a good feature of the game. They add strategy by setting fixed locations to try to control. Native Americans are another good feature, though the lack of unique units makes for squandered potential in this area. The campaign was also unsatisfactory. The scenarios were too short and most of them were just the same build-and-destroy scenario on a different map. It quickly becomes repetitive and boring. Finally, unless you have the best graphics card ever, don't play maps with a lot of water. The game tends to slow down severely whenever a ship or dock is taking damage.… Expand

Wish I'd read this before buying AOE III! Waste of money. Civ meets Warcraft, but not as good as either. Can't save multiplayer games? Are you serious? Does anyone know how I can get a refund. I've had the game nearly 3 days! Almost new!!

Nice looking but very flawed. AOE2 was fantastic with combat because it emphasized formations. In the early gunpowder age, everything was formation-based -- think British squares and lines at Waterloo. Instead of emphasizing and expanding on what AOE2 had, there seems to be a step backwards to make it more akin to AOMythology. AOM was an enjoyable game, but it's not an AOE game. Here, formations can't easily follow other formations, there's no wheeling about, no way to make a New Model Army, little co-ordination, no good way to keep support units like healers out of battle by, no obvious way to select a default stance, and even trying to keep units in a line when told to "stand ground" feels like cat herding. If there IS a way to do these things, it's not obvious or clear at all . Games like Rise of Nations and Rome: Total War do a much better job of dealing with combat, especially RON. Given all that, I very much like the Home City concept. It adds another level of strategic planning and unpredictability. Overall, a good buy, but not a must-have.… Expand

Being a big fan of AOEII, I was naturally looking forward to this game, but it turned out to be a rather insipid followup to an otherwise fantastic series. The included campaign is contrived and is based on some ridiculous mythical premise which was obviously very poorly thought out. It doesnt help that the heroes look and behave like punks you wanna beat up on. IMO the interface takes up too much screen real estate. The graphics are ok, but they are nothing fantastic for a contemporary game. Controlling the artillery is a major pain in the butt - you usually end up with arty pieces wheeling around in the heat of battle. Even the computer controlled units do it so its a design flaw(?) Otherwise it is an OK and well built game. OK buy but nothing special, and well short of the hype.… Expand

Not as good as AOE2. Save your money.

The only reason this game gets a 3 is because it is pretty to look at. At most, it is a nice screen saver. Really, if you are interested in the game and gameplay, go buy AOE2 Gold. This is essentially a watered-down version of what once was a classic. And, I've lost all respect for Gamespy! They obviously didn't play the same game I just bought. Don't waste your money. It should hit the bargain bin in 6 months - wait it out if you must buy it.… Expand

Although this game does not reach the height of the great AoE2 it is still a good example of a well made, fairly solid RTS. The game play is redesigned so that you can receive home city shipment which makes the game a little more fast paced than AoE2 and gives you plenty room to expand with tons of technologies and the ability for your Home City to gain levels. All Civilizations are very unique giving the player many playing style options. In spite of what many have said, the economical part of the gameplay has not lost its importance at all! The concept is exactly the same: the more settlers you have working on a resource the more of that resource you will collect. You also have many technologies that allow you to gain resources faster. You can NOT expect any RTS to exhibit real life scenarios perfectly at the expense of Gameplay. Even in AoE2, when a villager would build a house, they did not need to stop by the lumber mill to pick up wood. That would be annoying. I would just be supplied automatically. In a sense, AoE3 just eliminates another “middleman.” Main thing to remember though is that the gameplay is definitely good. I gave this game short 2 points because it does not illustrate the history of this time period as well as AoE2 did for its time period. But if your looking for a good RTS that is fun to play online…this is it. I need not mention the graphics.… Expand

I loved AoE one and two, they are the best! So I was over the moon to get this game and start playing.. What a shocking disappointment! This is not an AoE game, for one there are only 3 resources, and with that there is no resource pits anything that is gathered magically appears in your stack! Wheres the strategy and realism in that? I have only just started playing and I couldn't see anywhere to set formations or stance of the trooops(maybe i just need my eyes tested). There are very few types of unit, and when you upgrade these you don't get "differant" units, they just get up ranked, eg "veteren musketeer" instead of "musketeer". On the other hand the graphics are nice, when buildings are attacked big chunks break off instead of the usual flames. But graphics are not everything, I want a "brunette" game not a "blonde" one! Buy Empire Earth 2 instead.… Expand

The fact that there is no save and load (!) in multiplayer games (even LAN) is a complete deal-breaker. Should have been stated on the package before we wasted a significant amount of money to play family LAN game. What were they thinking?. Very disappointing. Aside from that, the gameplay seems dumbed-down from AOE2, which would be tolerable, but the no save is not.

Clint R. is right. This is a major step backward from the solid gameplay of AoE2. It tries to take some revolutionary steps forward, but overall uninteresting gameplay really just makes it lame. It's like it's trying to be an RTS version of one of those German boardgames (like Settlers of Cattan) but not achieving a fun sense of gameplay or a good taste of strategy. I would have much preferred a big ol' expansion pack for AoE2 with all new races. Couldn't stomach the game play long enough to make it though the built-in story, so I have no idea if it's any good.… Expand

Take the same old tired game formula rebrand and reissue with new graphics. In a nutshell this is AO3. Is there any original idea's left in the gaming industry? AO4 anyone? How long until gamers stop buying this reissue junk and send a message to game developers we want new ideas!!

Same game, different day.

I think it's hilarious how this magical train just appears out of no-where on one-way tracks, I think it's unacceptable that blatant things like issuing orders via the minimap (something I've been doing in RTS games for the past... 10 years?) made it to release. I find it absurd that I can dominate online making only musketeers every single game through every single age. I order food shipments from my home city that need to be "harvested" - but when my workers are out there on the other side of the map chopping trees they magically get deposited into the wood-bank-account while that same worker doesn't move an inch from his chopping spot. Because I could go on, I’m giving this waste of money the score I did.… Expand

The Biggest dissapointment in a long time, looks great from the trailors, but really is just AOE 1 with new menus and graphics. Buy Soldiers Heroes of World War II/ Faces of War, cheaper and better.

The main problem with this game is that it is not historically based as the legacy, but it contains three boooooring fictitious stories where you are always pursuing somebody. Instead of Age of Empires, it should be called: Age of Mytology III I hoped campaigns related to Napoleon, Tzars, Henry the Eight, the French Revolution and ended up with Amelia... it sucks.

Holy cripes is this game full of bugs!! Right off the store shelf the game crashed every 5 minutes, and I know what I'm doing so it's NOT my computer. There is a patch available, so get it right away. The game still crashes, but much less frequently. The sound rarely works. Microsoft has admitted the game has problems and will release another patch. The game itself is not bad, just more of the same. The campaign mode is nothing special at all, with nothing anywhere near as interesting as Age of Mythologies. I liked that game far better for gameplay and storyline. AoE 3 is much the same, with some minor changes. I certainly regret paying $60 for the game. Wait for a price drop.… Expand

There's no save game option in LAN Multiplaeyr game. It's a shame. The programmers are not good enough to find a solution for this lack? I wasted my money in this game because compared to AOE 2 this new version is worst!!! Following I will write in portuguese for more people know about those issues related to the Age oF emperes III: Esta nova versão até que poderia ser boa pois tem gráficos muito bons mas peca em diversos pontos. A versão 3 do Age Of Empires não tem a opção de salvar ou restaurar um jogo na opção de Multiplayer/ LAN. Isso é um absurdo para um jogo deste porte. O que aconteceu? Os programadores não encontraram uma solução para algum poblema relacionado a salvar/restaurar jogos multiplayer? Que decepção. Pior é que no site oficial do jogo não tem nenhuma explicação para isso.… Expand

Buggy and way over-rated. Age II way better than Age III. Too many game flaws and on line is really buggy. Game gets boring fast ... even on line against real opponents but that also is flawed ... only one style of game play works. A waste of $$$.

Ok, but not very different to other RTS, such as Rise of Nations, Empire Earth II.

The server issues are horrible! I hate RTS as single player games, and I've been trying since it was released to play online and found that their servers are down more than they're up. Frustrating! Why release a game with those kinds of issues... I could've spent my $50 on a game that works! Greedy bums!

Nice graphics of course, but it doesn't begin to hold a candle to AoE2. So if you want it because you're a diehard aoe:tc fan...don't waste your money. It's not nearly as fast paced as its predecessor nor am I engaged as thoroughly regarding the economic aspects of the game. im not a deathmatch lover tho, i greatly enjoy building the econ. hey what can i say? i outboom and conquer. this game seems more weighted for the combat. the whole homecity shipment thing bothers me too. feels like the game has digressed from aoe2, but I guess im just a purist. my 2 cents… Expand

Clearly a complete disappointment compared to the amazing and wonderful Age of Empires 2. This game lacks in all areas that a great RTS game has ever had. Limited towers? What is up with that! Units that all look and feel the same? Wow that was real innovative! Railroads you cant build walls over or gates over, wow, just what i want, a nice gaping hole in wall. Age of Empires 2 was an amazing game. Its sad to see that they desired to drop the ball on the Zone supporting the game so now you cant even find anyone to play online anymore. They lost a large community just to push everyone toward Age of Crap 3. Ensemble Studios has defiantly took a turn for the worse. The card system is just stupid. It makes anyone that doesn't know how to get resources quickly and efficiently suddenly become really good at the game with a click of a button. The peasants don't have to return to the town center or lumber mill to receive the resources makes people not think about how they make there base before they build is because hey, you can have that 1 guy in the middle of the forest on the other side of the map getting resources for you and he doesn't have to run a mile to return them, he just happens to have a massive infinite strength to be able to hold it all just for you. I thought about giving it a 2, but then i thought, thats too generous. This game is the worst game ever made and should be avoided by all RTS Enthusiasts. Trust me, it is not worth it. Complete and udder failure just like Red Faction 2 was to Red Faction 1.… Expand

I am a HUGE RTS fan and this game is an utter dissapointment. With all of the hype, it is truly frustrating to spend $60 on something that is not much better than the free demo. Save your money, or I'll sell mine for 1/2 price!

I expected the campaign to be better than it's predecessors, I wanted not only it's graphics good, but a wide variety of gameplay options. My overall review is varied, I just have to give it an in-between rating.

I thought this was going to be just asgood as Age of Empires II, but I was so wrong. Age of Empres II had more civilizations, better gameplay, and overall, a much better game than this!

Horrible game. It might have looked good, but it was repetitive, boring drivel. The stroy was decent but the voice acting totally tore the whole game apart. Skirmish was never different, not like games such as Dawn of War 40K or Starcraft, which had at least a little bit of difference in their skirmishes. I found it utterly atrocious.

Great game really, different than othe AOE games, this game is based on building your colony in the new world with getting shipment from your home city, the system of home city is really great, building a deck and unlocking new shipment is very intersting and will keep you playing, there are a lot of ways to play for every nation in the game and they are vastly different, the skirmish mode is brilliant, maps and graphics are beautiful, the sound is very crisp and suitable, for such a game released in 2005, this game really lives on (graphics for example is better than the new rts SH3), go to multiplayer you will see a lt of people still playing, you wont find any new game like this style (Historic RTS) anymore so you just have this great game. Get the complete edition with the two expantions, and you will play it forever.… Expand

Really not all to great. Not deserving of the title AOE:III. Age of Empires ii and even i were much much better. Online play wouldn't even work for me. Don't waste your money on this- get age of mythology if you want a 3d aoe type game.

A good, not great, RTS game. The single player is pretty bad and not too complex, but playing with or against friends is a lot of fun. Well worth the price if you know people to play it with.

It is a little disappointed, but still it delivers fun, and It is great. It is good looking, and haves some great units. The graphics are really good, and the new Home City system is a blast! But it isn't good as the sequel of the original game, Age of Empires 2. And you really want to know what disappointments it haves? It is with a poor campaign and with a not changed gameplay from the first. (8.5)… Expand