Age of Empires was an amazing franchise back in the day! Years after release, a buddy of mine and myself would play the first and second one over and over. The building, forming up armies, making tactical choices, … there was no other game that could give us that same amount of joy that Age of Empires gave. With the announcement that AOE 3 was in the works, we were hyped and already thinking about those sleepless nights in the future. Unfortunately, AOE 3 wasn’t what we expected, and moved on to better things. But now, with the definitive/ remastered edition of AOE3, I’m excited to dive back in and see if we were too quick to pass this game on…
Age of Empires, a franchise that can claim the title of the first true RTS experience of myself and many others. AOE 1 and AOE 2 set the foundation for different games in the RTS genre. A lot of games came along, trying to outlive the AOE franchise but nothing could be further away from the truth. That was until the black sheep of the family came along: Age of Empires 3. Even though the game tried to step out its boundaries and tried to be fresh and new, it kind of backfired and a lot of players were going back to Age of Empires 2. This was the same for me, Age of Empires 3 couldn’t keep my attention like the first 2 but seeing this game for the second time in its remastered version, only 15 years later from the original, I might have formed my judgment a bit too quickly.
“The fact that this simplistic straightforward main goal has been kept, …, well I was one happy kid!”
The main story is all about the European Colonization of America between the 1500s and the year 1850. It’s the same year where AOE 2 left off with the discovery of the New World and opened up the borders for other cultures. In Age of Empires, it’s all about gathering resources, building defenses, and gather an army as quickly as you can. If all these conditions are fulfilled, it’s all about conquering the enemy’s terrain and become victorious. The fact that this simplistic straightforward main goal has been kept, this in combination with the familiar interface and soundtrack from a couple of years ago, well, I was one happy kid. Nowadays, games are sometimes too complex and too difficult to jump-in-and-play that it makes it harder for me, a working father with almost no time to spare, to enjoy a quick RTS-game. So sometimes, I do feel like “Less is more”. There’s a lot of truth in these 3 little words…
The definitive edition of Age of Empires 3 did some things to remaster the classic version of the game. There are of course different tweaks to the main story but the thing that immediately stood out for me was the graphics. The definitive edition is a lot more brighter and colorful, worthy of a High-Definition tag! The textures and animations seem to be tweaked as well, zooming into the fray and seeing your troops crushing the enemies (or even grass), you do feel like you’re in the middle of the warzone. It’s amazing to see that these little graphical tweets can make a game feel a lot fresher than before. A few tweaks here and there make up for a great remastered version of the game.
“That doesn’t mean the game looks bad but it feels like these tweaks are less impactful.”
I do think that these tweaks feel a bit underwhelming when you compare the remastered version of the previous Age of Empire games. These games felt like almost totally new games because of the upscaled resolution for out nowadays systems and because of the fact that Age of Empires 3 is a lot more recent than those 2 others, these tweaks feel weaker than before. That doesn’t mean the game looks bad but it feels like these tweaks are less impactful.
The definitive edition of AOE 3 includes 2 new modes: Historical Battles and The Art of War. The first mode offers different missions where you have to re-enact historical warfare. The 2nd mode offers an expanded version of the tutorial which is on a higher level. This mode is especially for those newbies who want to learn some of the deeper tactical options that the franchise has to offer. It’s nothing groundbreaking but they are a decent addition.
“The definitive edition could have easily been the remastered edition…”
There are also two new civilizations: the Incas and Sweden. Both civilizations offer new tactical options to your playstyle. The Incas rely on smaller units that can be produced pretty fast. Faster production means a more aggressive playstyle which allows the player to keep that pressure up until the enemy’s faction breaks. Sweden is more about the long-term play. Slowly but steady, will they build their strong foundation and eventually overwhelm you with their troops in great numbers.
I like the fact that they’ve added 2 new civilizations and I’m glad to see that they’ve put some effort in creating other mechanics but neither of these 2 civilizations feels like they’re indispensable. Because in the end, the main structures and troops share a lot of similarities instead of differences. Sometimes they feel like they’re just re-skins and add little to nothing to the table.
Conclusion:
The definitive edition could have been easily the remastered edition because Age of Empires 3 has implemented more changes to their graphical settings than the game itself. I wish they reworked some of the civilizations and added a bit more diversity between them, then it would have been a great “Definitive Edition”. It’s just that these changes feel a bit under the weather, they could have done a lot more, especially when everyone knows that this 3rd chapter in the Age of Empires franchise could have been a lot better before it could compete with other great current RTS-titles. They’ve got a chance to create something better and eventually re-energize the AOE franchise to a higher level of standards, but they didn’t… and that’s a shame. Veteran players will amuse themselves with these little tweaks that turn this classical game into a better-looking version than the original but for some new players, this won’t be enough to shift their perspective from other RTS games.
