The frozen Yukon.

Online multiplayer support is built around a new service provided by Ensemble Studios Online. The service is full-featured and supports chat, buddy lists, clans, rankings, ladders, and all of the other bells and whistles of multiplayer gaming. Online games run pretty smoothly, but everything can bog down if one player is lagging pretty badly. Since all games are conquest based, they play out as pretty offensive affairs and those who enjoyed pursuing other paths to victory in prior Age of Empires games are out of luck. Also, when playing online you’ll pretty much have to commit to playing as one nation. You will accumulate experience online that can be applied to your persistent online Home City and if you bounce around between the civilizations you won’t be able to compete with players that specialize and build powerful Home Cities.

If you didn’t like the prior Age of Empires games or don’t enjoy real-time strategy games in the classic mold, then Age of Empires III is not for you. On the other hand, Age of Empires veterans and strategy fans in general will find a lot to like with Age of Empires III and should seriously consider adding it to their game libraries.

In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated: 90%.  Classic real-time strategy action in a beautiful new wrapper.

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