Age of Empires III for Windows

Age of Empires III is an historically-based real-time strategy game designed by Ensemble Studios, makers of Age of Mythology and Halo Wars.

In Age of Empires III, the game starts with players having a town center, an armed explorer, and a few villagers. Players need to gather resources to build and expand their empire. As they progress, they move through historical ages, each unlocking new options for building and battling. A unique feature is the Home City. This acts as a base in Europe that sends useful resources and reinforcements. Players can choose from eight different civilizations, such as the British or the Ottomans. Each civilization has its unique units and strengths. When advancing to a new age, players choose a politician who offers specific bonuses, adding strategic depth to the game. Players can also form alliances with Native American tribes to access unique units and improvements.

After a lengthy installation, say a little prayer that your machine can handle this demo, because the system requirements aren't listed anywhere in the download package. The Age of Empires III demo provides hours of fabulous real-time fun, but lack of documentation and instruction haunts the experience.

The ReadMe.rtf file includes a useful list of shortcut keys, but there's no introduction or explanation of the gameplay, so you'll have to find your own way. In two single-player scenarios (building trading posts along a railroad track and defending a fort) and two skirmish maps (Texas and New England), you'll be collecting resources, raising structures, creating units, and bombarding your enemies.

To play Age of Empires III, your computer needs to meet certain requirements:

Minimum:

• Operating System: Windows 10 version 18362.0 or higher
• Processor: Intel i3-2105 @ 3.1GHz or AMD Phenom II X4 973 with a good CPU score
• Memory: 8 GB of RAM
• Graphics: Basic graphics card like GeForce GT 430 or Radeon HD 5570
• DirectX: Version 11
• Internet: Broadband connection
• Storage: 42 GB of free space
• VRAM: 2 GB

Recommended:

• Operating System: Same as minimum
• Processor: Better processors like Intel i5-3300 @ 3.0GHz or AMD FX-8350
• Memory: 16 GB of RAM
• Graphics: Higher-end graphics cards such as GeForce GTX 980 or Radeon R9 Fury
• VRAM: 4 GB

Gameplay is deep, involved, and addictive, though the one major addition--the ability to send special shipments from home cities--seems extraneous. Noticeable absences in the hot-keys list are the ability to select all of one unit type and to create custom unit groups. Such shortcuts might exist, but without detailed help, we couldn't tell. Also, we were slightly disappointed with the range of view and the graphics overall. The rag-doll physics make for fun combat scenes, but the graphics themselves are actually less impressive than last year's Rise of Nations.

• This version may include unspecified updates, enhancements, or bug fixes.