➤ Age of Empires 3: Definitive Edition, review: the third installment of the series is back 🎮

Age of Empires 3: Definitive Edition is the title that concludes the restoration work of the Ensemble Studios series, started years ago by Microsoft, waiting to launch Age of Empires IV. As we will see in the course of review, is also the weakest episode of the group, despite the large bulk of content offered and despite the graphic remastering being more incisive, albeit less clear-cut, than that of the other two episodes.

Age of Empires: Definitive Edition and Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, however, had on their side a conceptual grandeur that is completely missing from the third chapter, more dedicated to expanding its audience by making some simplifications to the original formula and turning the gameplay towards that of the most famous real-time strategists of his time. From this point of view we are faced with a paradoxical situation: Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition is certainly the most modern exponent of the trilogy, but in the worst sense of the term, so much so that replaying the first two episodes, in particular the second, it was a joy, while the third made us struggle a little harder.

Graphics

As mentioned, the graphic remastering of Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition was more incisive than that of the previous chapters, although the work done is reduced overall. The reason is simple: the engine is fully 3D and allowed improvements to be made more quickly, without affecting the original gameplay too much.

For example, we have high resolution textures, more defined 3D models, support for higher resolutions, as well as many effects embellished with respect to the original, such as those of explosions or the destruction of buildings, made more realistic thanks to the use of an engine. more modern physicist. The narrative side has also undergone a complete overhaul, with the addition of filmed sequences well made, made using the game engine.

So, from a purely cosmetic point of view, the work done by Tantalus Media and Forgotten Empires is truly remarkable, so much so that Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition looks good in front of most of the strategic in real time released in recent years, where the predecessors were instead weak from this point of view (they have been embellished anyway, but it has not been possible to take them beyond a certain threshold, insurmountable due to their original setting). Also noteworthy is the work on the interface, which has been completely revised and made customizable, which never hurts in similar titles.

Gameplay

The gameplay has unfortunately not received the same treatment and turns out to be the original one without any significant variation. Of course it is so, since we are talking about a remastering and not a remake, as it is also natural that the criticisms that invested it then also concern this new version.

The problems of Age of Empires 3: Definitive Edition emerge in particular by making a direct comparison with its predecessors. The process of simplification, which we have already mentioned, mainly concerns the micromanagement mechanics, which greatly affect the playing time and the depth of the action itself. In particular, the resources have been reduced from five to three (food, stones and wood), so much so as to deprive the map design a lot of possibilities. For example, in the other AoE some maps were designed around the scarcity of a certain resource, creating interesting situations between rapid exploration and early battles, which in the third chapter it was simply not possible to do. Even the defense of the territory is more superficial, simply because there is less to protect and it is easier to organize. If we add to this the greater speed in the generation of troops, the cut of collection points, which reduces the movement of colonists to the bone, and the greater speed in the evolution of our civilization, you will understand that everything has been designed for faster games. , that is to favor the multiplayer side and the less cunning players, however removing several layers of complexity and ending up making the game formula resemble that of all the other RTS on the market, losing the peculiarities of the first two chapters along the way.

Unfortunately, the additions did not balance the problems. For example, the Mother City, substantially the capital of our civilization from which we receive bonuses in the game that increase in quantity and quality as we progress in the game, is indeed interesting, but it discourages the experimentation of other civilizations, here much more characterized than in the Previous AoE, and creates major imbalances in multiplayer, where the extra resources callable are often decisive for victory (or defeat), with the utmost frustration of those who have less. Some missions of single player campaigns are also altered. For example, some are built around the scarcity of certain troops, so being able to recall some of them from the Mother City results in a real contradiction.

This is not to say that Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition is a bad game. In particular, we want to clarify that the mechanics have worsened especially if we consider the predecessors, while they do not disfigure compared to those of some RTS modern. Furthermore, between single player campaigns, factions (sixteen in total) skirmish mode, challenges and online modes there is to be played for months, which is not a small thing given the price at which it is sold.

There are also two new factions compared to the original: Inca (perhaps too aggressive and powerful, but it is to be verified when the game is launched, that is when many can play) and Swedes (the catenacciari, if you pass the term football), are new multiplayer maps have been created, there has been a general renewal of functionality, between matchmaking more performing, the possibility of playing cross-play between the versions for the various stores where the game is on sale and other small goodies that cannot be missing in a 2020 title. Of course, there is less content than in AoE 2 Definitive Edition, but it must be said that we are talking about a game that has gone far beyond the guard levels, therefore difficult to achieve.

The work done on theartificial intelligence, which makes the higher difficulty levels a considerable challenge even for those who know all the maps and missions inside out. In short, Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition has its good qualities, but also the misfortune of having prestigious and loved predecessors, as well as that of not being particularly appreciated by purists. If desired, we could define it as the perfect title to enter the genre and the series, given the minor complications for newbies, but nothing to regret that much, in case you skip it.

Comment

Digital Delivery Steam, Windows Store Price 19,99 € Resources4Gaming.com

7.0

Readers (13)

9.1

Your vote

Age of Empires 3: Definitive Edition does not reach the level of Age of Empires: Definitive Edition and Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition (but how many RTS are at the level of Age of Empires II?), But it defends itself as it can. It is certainly a simpler and more unbalanced title than the others, therefore buggy at the source, but it is also the one that a neophyte could digest more easily, both because of the more direct gameplay, and for the more modern graphic aspect. We are not faced with an unforgettable title or a timeless classic, but a solid product even with a few too many defects, overshadowed by ancestors that are too grandiose to be able to compare with a light heart.