Well, I feel I might as well contribute. Many people will hate me for this, but it's just one man's opinion.
Game: Age of Empires III
Genre: RTS
Quick overview: Before I begin, let me say that (collectively) I have easily put 100+ hours into AoE and AoE II (plus expansions
) and AoM (now that's a game with some ideas). Now that that's over, onto the very quick overview.
The game is fun enough. I doubt there are a lot of people who haven't heard about this (overrated) game yet. Personally, when I heard about AoE III and that it was coming out... let's just say I just about seizured in ecstacy. Guns? In Age of Empires!? HELLS YEAH! Ten minutes into the game (half of which I spent trying to figure out what my barracks looked like as my little outpost was being stormed
), I realized it sucked. There was nothing new to it. It wasn't innovative in the least (I hold all strategy games up to Rome - Total War), and just felt identical to the previous games. Yes, it looked good... but if your computer isn't totally new it won't look amazing like in those screenshots.
My reccomendation is to get the demo. If you don't get bored playing the demo all the way through, plus a couple skirmish missions, then yeah the game's worth it to pick up. Otherwise, no... don't even bother.
On a side note, I did not play the multiplayer aspect. It is of my belief that any game which sucks in singleplayer as it does... well... why would I bother trying multiplayer?
Good: - BEAUTIFUL! I cannot say enough how absolutely gorgeous this game is
- Ka-BOOM! Go guns and cannons!
- It's a really solid game
- Fun? Fun is good!
- I hear multiplayer absolutely kicks ass
- Nice little bit of innovation with the home city
- Story's decent
Bad: - My machine isn't even that old (year and a half or so) and it can't run it that well
- We've done this before... MANY times
- Campaign gets boring fast, as... well... I refer you to my previous point
- I didn't like the home city thing, felt tacked-on almost
- Innovative? Not by a long shot
- Everything fell apart with the guns and cannons...
- Ships are virtually worthless
- Hype? Just a little...
Score: 4/10 - Slightly below average, nothing special and a very mediocre game
Who is this game for: People who love the AoE series (and aren't sick of the same old thing), RTS lovers, people who want to play an RTS but haven't played one yet
Reccomendation: Pick up Rome - Total War instead. Turn based economics, real time strategy, and just so much more fun and innovative.