by Microsoft
for PC, Mac

Age of Empires III (sometimes abbreviated AoE III) is a real-time strategy (RTS) game developed by Microsoft Corporation's Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The Mac version was ported over and developed by Destineer's MacSoft Games and published by Destineer and MacSoft Games. The PC Version was released on October 18, 2005 in North America and November 4, 2005 in Europe, while the Mac version was released on November 21, 2006 in North America and September 29, 2006 in Europe.

It is the third game of the Age of Empires series and the sequel to Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings. The game portrays the European colonization of the Americas, between approximately 1492 and 1850 AD (expanded in Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs to 1876). There are eight European civilizations to play within the game.

Age of Empires III has made several innovations in the series, in particular with the addition of the "Home City", which combines real-time strategy and role-playing game features. Two expansion packs have been released: the first, Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs, was released on October 17, 2006, and introduced three Native American civilizations; the second, Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties, was released on October 23, 2007, and included three Asian civilizations. Age of Empires III has sold over 2 million copies as of May 2008.

As well as achieving favorable reviews, it has received awards, including GameSpy's "Best RTS game of 2005", and was one of the best-selling games of 2005. In 2007, Age of Empires III was the seventh best-selling computer game, with over 313,000 copies sold that year. An N-Gage version of the game developed by Glu Mobile was released on April 28, 2009.

Age of Empires III is mostly set in the New World during the colonial era, between circa 1492 and 1850.[7] In the style of previous games of the series, the game requires the player to develop a European, Asian , North American or south America nation's colony from a basic settlement to an empire, progressing through "Ages"—stages of technological development—and destroying the enemy's colony. There are two main branches to gameplay: the economy, characterized by the collection of resources, and production of civilian units—which usually gather resources; and the military which involves the production of military units, and the conflicts between armies of rival teams or factions. A match consists of a conflict between two teams or free for all that race to develop a powerful settlement by creating and upgrading units and buildings, with one eventually defeating the other through combat or resignation; the game ends when there is only one player or team left standing on the map.

Along with these typical real-time strategy features, a new addition is the ability of the player to ship troops, buildings, resources and improvements—such as military or economic bonuses—to aid them. There are three modes of game play: story-based campaigns, single player skirmishes (conflicts between teams), and online multiplayer skirmishes. Single player skirmishes take place between human players and computer personalities, conforming to rules that are set up before the game.

The map, artificial intelligence skill level, and each player's resource gathering speed may be modified. Age of Empires III was the eighth best-selling PC game of 2005 despite its late release, and has sold over 2 million copies to date. Game Revolution said that it is "as detailed as a history book, and about as much fun;" GameZone agreed, stating, it is "one purchase you will not come to regret." www.ageofempires3.com.

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