A modern gaming PC shouldn't have any issues. This isn't exactly a complaint, but you should also be aware this title is far more physically demanding than Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. While the AI's pathfinding has certainly been improved from 2005, I still noticed some odd movement choices. These issues never cropped up in gameplay, so I'm willing to chalk it up to an odd bug, but it's still something to keep in mind. These would play out quite choppy despite little happening on the screen, only to resolve immediately upon assuming direct control of my units.
My performance was solid overall, though I did repeatedly get framerate stutter in cinematics, especially when trying Historical Battles. Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition What I disliked For more information, I encourage you to read the World's Edge interview with Anthony Brave, a Sicangu Oyate (Rosebud Sioux Tribe) and Chippewa-Cree descendant who helped to develop the new content and recommended different changes. Act II of The WarChiefs campaign has also been altered to remove Crazy Horse and has been written as a more personal, fitting story. Names have been changed to match authentic historical civilizations, with stereotypical material like the Fire Pit removed. One of the most meaningful changes comes in how the Native American tribes are represented. It's not the same as dedicated campaigns but being able to take on the Spanish at Algiers and undergo other fights meant the mainline campaign's focus is no longer as jarring and is actually fairly enjoyable. Meanwhile, Historical Battles provide fully-narrated and voiced scenarios with nice production values. The Art of War challenge missions from Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition make a welcome return here. With every setting to max at 1080p, a GTX 780 Ti and I7-4930k easily averaged 60 FPS, with some drops into the mid-40s when multiple large armies clashed. On my Samsung 850 EVO solid-state drive, the different story missions, custom multiplayer battles, and other modes never took more than about six or seven seconds to load, which meant flowing from one engagement to the next could be done with ease. Meanwhile, the Swedes take a while to get going but become a downright frightening force in the endgame, cranking out artillery and hiring mercenaries with mechanized perfection. The Incas feel suited to midgame rushes, with the ability to quickly speed unit production, while the Incan Priestess can convert enemy units (Wololo!). I specifically focused a lot of my time in custom matches with these two newcomers, and both feel like solid, balanced additions. With the addition of the Swedes and the Incas, there are now 16 civilizations to play.
The entire Home City mechanic has mercifully been reworked. When combined with the addition of dedicated servers, I expect players will be a lot happier with the multiplayer scene. Just being able to focus on choosing shipments during a match felt like a huge relief. Now, if you're beginning to explore multiplayer, you won't be at a disadvantage playing against somehow who has hundreds of hours under their belt. All cards are unlocked from the start for everyone.
Plus it will big up your brain, and that can't be a bad thing for a pony.The entire Home City mechanic has mercifully been reworked outside of the singleplayer campaigns. TAD is pricey for an add-on pack, but if you can stomach the cost, there's plenty of succulent, meaty goodness to be had from TAD. Play the game alongside an open Wikipedia browser, looking up the character and location names as you go, and you'll see the developers have done a pretty accurate job of recreating events that shaped these three nations in the past. Plus it still looks beautiful.Įxcitingly for this old codger, TAD also sees a return to the 'stealth education' mode of the original AOE, providing as absorbing and interactive a history lesson as you could ask for. Thus Wonders make a return, spicing up your end game options, the clever deck system gets a few race-based twists that make you rethink their usage in a way best described as 'completely' and a hundred other smaller tweaks, tinkers and amendments make it play like an almost totally new game.
There's more going on than I usefully have room to list here, but the handover to a new development team (Big Huge Games in this case) has allowed the series to be treated to a fresh, yet reverential, set of eyes, ears and hands. While The expansion pack for Heroes of Might and Magic V is just a visual rehash of the original, Age of Empires 3: The Asian Dynasties (TAD) shows just how add-ons can be done, bursting with rich gaming pleasure and significantly enhancing the core Age of Empires III engine.