Age of Empires 3 Demo Released!

Remove all ads!

Download from Microsoft or use a torrent from 3dgamers

 

Downoading it while i'm typing this. I saw some screenshots from this game a while ago and they almost made me drool all over my keyboard. I'm a sucker for the AoE series ever since the first one was released, so i expect a lot from this one as well. And besides, it will be a nice change from Battle for Middle Earth, i'm starting to get fed up with killing Orcs.

 

No way im downloading 365 mb. Okay, I might when I go to bed I loved AoE2 until i figured out how to cheat hehe... couldnt not do it after that. way too appealing getting all the minerals to myself and leaving none for the enemy.

 

I have to play it on a 1999 resolution otherwise it lags so much it's unplayable. I really need to upgrade my system.

 

It looks gorgeous, but I seem to have lost my taste for strategy games in my old age.

:-/

 

It seems good, i havent played AoE game for soo long i don't know what i'm doing! Might give it more of an effort later tonight. looks good though, but i don't like the shiney graphics when fully zoomed out. Its like sun glare but not...

and it only took an hour to download, so i was complaining about nothing.

 

<urks>

beware of the evil ......

since the official page said my pc's-specs are still alright for aoe3 i wanted to give it a go. had my first try y'day just to find out my download manager wasn't able to complete the download at 100%

gave it another try today ... download ok, unzipping ok, starting to install the demo ... "your processor does not support the required sse-instructions. click finish to abort"

why can't they just put it on the info-page that an amd 1400+ won't do even though the required processor speed is easily matched ??

.... beware of the evil ...

</urks>

 

Installed the game and I've found some major bad points.

First of all, the terrible AI, at start of the game, the enemy forms groups and starts walking around the map. Eventually they'll stumble upon your base, at which point your soldiers, starts firing at the enemy.
You'd think that the entire enemy group would respond to the attack and fire back, hell no, only the attacked soldier turns around and fights. The rest keeps on walking.
Same thing happens with my units, when I keep them standing somewhere, and an enemy musketeer attacks my dragoon, the dragoon charges while the rest keeps standing.

2. The graphics, yes I know we have all been drooling over the screenshots, but it's not that part of the graphics I'm commenting about.
It's that the different types of troops are graphic-wise almost inseparable from each other.
You're wondering in a critical moment whether that unit is a railroad worker? Or maybe a settler, or musketeer.
Also, when under a attack in a city, it is very difficult to see who is attacking you, I really have to strain my eyes searching for a enemy musketeer refilling his gun or a puff of smoke coming from a building..
Maybe it's my graphiccard or something.

3. The eventsounds, lately I got used to units shouting "I'm under attack" when they are in fact under attack.
AoE still has that annoying "pem-pem" sound, the sound is now almost identical to the sound that is played when you can transport (I almost typed "download" here ) items from your hometown. Which made me loose a complete army since I thought I just recieved something from my homecity
Neither does the game properly show who is under attack, so you will be scanning the map looking for the hotspot, which combined with point 2 is driving me blind!

There are some other spots like the useless killing of animals who "guard a treasure" and being only able to "ally" the natives.