Age of Empires 3 a disappointment?

FormFactorFormFactor At the core of forgotten
edited December 2005 in Gaming
So its out and I have finally managed to get some LAN play, and I must say I am pretty disappointed. Here is why.

First of all, there are no modern ages, which I thought was really weak. Whats an RTS without missiles to launch? The highest age we could get to was around the fromtier age (or something like it.)

Another large gripe I have is that the civilizations are pretty much exactly the same.

Great graphics, and all, but not nearly inovative enough.

Maybe we were doing something wrong.


Any thoughts?

Comments

  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited October 2005
    How much did you play it? Did you get into the deck-building system?

    It's on the shelves already? I thought it came out Thursday?
  • FormFactorFormFactor At the core of forgotten
    edited October 2005
    Yea... I didnt like the deck building part. It seems you earn many cards within the single player version.


    I picked mine up at Target a couple days ago. Theres already a patch out. :scratch:
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited October 2005
    Yes, you buy the cards with experience earned by your home city - this can be in multiplayer or one player, I think.

    Well, what games are you comparing this to? None of the previous games in the series even came this far up in history, so they didn't have missiles either. ;)
  • FormFactorFormFactor At the core of forgotten
    edited October 2005
    Oh sorry. I am comparing it to Rise of Nations (because its another M$ RTS). Which I thought was much better, even though I didnt think much of it when I first played it. But it has a ton of ages to advance through, and each civilization is unique.

    I am relatively new to the RTS genre, but the ones I have played seem more in depth than this.

    What is that sequel to Rise of Nations thats coming out?
  • GobblesGobbles Ventura California
    edited October 2005
    Empire Earth 1 and 2
  • Sledgehammer70Sledgehammer70 California Icrontian
    edited October 2005
    You might like Empire Earth if you like going form basic to Nano age! AOE3 is based on the civil era, so if you don’t enjoy old fashion cannons and huge boats than the game is not for you. I was able to conclude that the game was pretty much a graphical improvement over the AOE series and the AOM series. It is a step in the right direction, but it took them 3 years to get there... so in 2009 we might see the next era of gaming :)

    I was to a bit disappointed in AOE3 I was expecting something much more… But now BFME2 looks to be the next awesome RTS game.
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited October 2005
    I got sick right after the demo came out and still haven't had a chance to play it. I am looking forward to it though, since AOEII is my all-time favorite game (edging out the Warcraft/Starcraft games by a nose).
    FormFactor wrote:
    ...First of all, there are no modern ages, which I thought was really weak...
    Leaving room for an AOEIV, perhaps? :p
  • EnverexEnverex Worcester, UK Icrontian
    edited October 2005
    I think it was a dissapointment, what with all those screenshots of the towns and such, to find out the game looks pretty much the same as AOE2 and that those screens were just like the "City" screens in Civilization. It also seems more... basic than the other AOEs. So yeah, dissapointed.
  • CBCB Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Der Millionendorf- Icrontian
    edited October 2005
    I've played the demo and I love it, I can't wait to get it. I also thought it wasn't out 'til Thursday...

    It's not supposed to have modern ages. That's the whole point, IMO. RTS that go all the way from ancient to modern always have serious balance issues.

    Also the civs are supposed to be almost identical. That is what makes it a good game. It is very well balanced, and allows for many different strategies, where games like RoN are very 'complex' in their tech tree or whatever, but the stategy to win is the same everytime, the game lacks the flexability of the classic RTS, like AOE I & II.

    You are new to the genre, so you might want to write this one off as being for the old-school RTSers. This game is really for the people who have been playing RTS for a long time, and for whom RTS is the only type of game that provides any real meaning.

    Short version: People who really like AOE III proly wont be the same people who liked RoN.
  • BlackHawkBlackHawk Bible music connoisseur There's no place like 127.0.0.1 Icrontian
    edited October 2005
    Feels like the other AoE's to me. I still prefer RoN but I can't seem to find my cd's :(
  • ZanthianZanthian Mitey Worrier Icrontian
    edited October 2005
    I really liked the demo of the game and look to pick it up soon.
    The game is supposed to be set in the time period of settling the new world. It is not supposed to be a dawn to future game. It continues the traditions of the AOE games and improves in graphically quality and in the new deck based system.

    One of my other favorite RTS games is Warhammer: Dawn of War, which is set in a futuristic type setting. This might be better suited to you (FormFactor) if you like lasers instead of cannons and rifles.
  • GargGarg Purveyor of Lincoln Nightmares Icrontian
    edited October 2005
    I liked the demo, but I'm still deciding whether or not to pick up the full game. There are so many other good games coming out this fall.

    Something is missing from AOE3 that was in AOE2. Can't quite put my finger on it.
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited October 2005
    The Japanese. That's what you're missing. I'm certain of it.
  • FormFactorFormFactor At the core of forgotten
    edited October 2005
    Sledgehammer70 I thought Empire Earth II seemed to be WAY to similar to RON. They are pretty much the same game. It felt like an exact clone, but with different names for the different items.

    Enverex. Good point. I agree 100%.
  • SpinnerSpinner Birmingham, UK
    edited December 2005
    Just thought I'd resurrect this thread.

    I'm well disappointed with it because I can't bare to play it for more than 30 seconds. It's the zoom!!!

    It's so zoomed in, and there's no way to zoom out further. I want to see more, I find it so claustrophobic. Apparently everyone's been moaning about it all over the web, but no word from the developers. I'm very disappointed. What could have been a great game, for me at least, has been ruined by a basic zoom out issue.

    I understand why they've set such a low limit on it, but they should have put an extra option into the graphics controls to accommodate systems that have the power. We're at patch v1.03 and still no fix. :shakehead :mad::rant:

    Did no one else find this?
  • Sledgehammer70Sledgehammer70 California Icrontian
    edited December 2005
    patch 1.03 and after 3 years of Development! the game is fun until everyone has cannons! lol... I enjoy BFME2 BETA more than the final product of AOE3 :)
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