Customer Reviews
if a fan great game 
2007-12-02
This game is by far the funnest online mulitplayer experience out there. If you are looking to buy this game for purposes other than mulitplayer i suggest u don't. The ranking system of eso is amazing so well accurate over 4,000 ppl online at one time.
Fun game! 2007-11-26
Fun addition to the original AOE 3 and the warchiefs expansion, this game will give you more stuff to do with the 3 new asian civilizations.
The campaigns are alright, but I was not buying this game just for the campaigns.
So if you are looking for a fun strategy game to play, this is one that is definitely worth trying.
Wonderful Expansion to AOEIII 2007-11-24
I have lots of added fun with this all the time now. More maps, new
explorer abilities like stun and team/twin explorers! I found a new icon
in the upper-right of descriptions that allow you to read about all the
Real-life-history involved with the items. Sure glad I finally found
that! Jeff in TX
Asian dynasties - A sweet addition 2007-11-23
Well i dont want to spoil anyone by giving out too many details about China, India and Japan. ill just say that 3 new nations are unique, fun and easy to play with. All have specific only to them cards, wonders, military units. The artists at Big Huge Games did a great job of capturing the unique building structures for the new factions too. They all share similar economic tree but have elemets that distinct them like Japan can't hunt but has Cherry Orchard, and its houses serve as shrines that attract wild animals and generate 3 different resources one ata time. India cant kill cows from lifestock but uses them to gather Export, a new resource which you can spend to buy some units from Consulate where you ally with European nations. Each new side has own strategy it can implement. India relies heavily on Elephants, China on its Banner Army. Its very fun, voice acting of villagers is excellent and amuzing as always so its really a joy to listen villagers speak back on new languages. Graphics are passable, they are a bit oldy compared to some other rts games on the market but the gameplay is what counts. Its a rare and generous package of new visuals, new gameplay, and absolutely crucial improvements to the core game. If you weren't an Age III fan before Asian Dynasties, get ready to be one now. A good title for fans, worth buying for those hoping for a reinvigoration of the series.
From a demo player's perspective... 2007-11-20
I've always been a huge AOE fan, but in the past few years, I haven't really kept up with my playing. Recently, I've been really getting back into the Japanese and Asian culture, and I found out about this expansion. I downloaded and installed the demo with ease. The first warning sign I found; the moment I initalized the software, I was given a warning that my video card couldn't support the game. I'm running an intergrated intel video card, the basic one that came with my PC. I proceeded anyways, for I laugh in the face of system failures.
The demo consists of a 1-level scenario, skirmish mode, and even a multiplayer mode. I was disappointed with the lack of game missions, but found skirmish mode to be more than enjoyable! An extremely cool feature is the ability to build a "deck" of "cards". These cards are essentially bonuses that add to game play. One example is a card that gives you seven samurai. In order to unlock new cards, you have to gain experience through playing skirmish mode. The cards are completely optional; you don't NEED to use the cards to win, but they add such awesome effects! My favorite has to be the "dojo" card, which creates a dojo building that generates armies for no cost (accept to population). Overall, I am extremly pleased with the game play, especially with the amount replay value!
Now the con: you need a decent graphics card to really enjoy this game. The graphics were fantastic, even at 600x800. But during large battles, specifically sea battles, I ran in to major lag, and several times I had to reboot my system.
Overall, awesome demo, which left me with positive impressions.
AOE 3 is not like the last 2. 
2008-07-18
I have the first 2 in the AOE series. This one is not as historic, as far as I can tell. The stories aren't the same and it seems more like WarCraft than the last 2 games. Still, some of the graphics are great and the game itself is simple enough for younger audiences, despite the "T" rating. My wife also likes the background music.
This addition was nice because it had more in it than the War Chiefs, 3 story lines, as opposed to only 2. That ups the value in my book.
One drawback I do see is that it deals with the Chinese sailing to the Americas. While there is some speculation about this among historians (yes, I watch the History Channel), there still isn't enough evidence to support it. Plus the game shows them landing on an Eastern shore. Some archeologists are actually looking for a Western landing. So there's more fiction/speculation than previous iterations. If the hype dies on the Chinese bit, that sort of makes this a little mediocre.
Then there's the Indian saga. That one has a little more historical relevance to it. So to me, it was actually better.
Still, if you're into AOE, this is certainly more graphically stunning but stories are not on par with earlier versions.
Great Game to Waste Many Hours At! 2008-07-14
I am an original Age of Empires user - back when they came out with the very first one, I had it so this review might be a little biased. I love Age of Empires and play it with friends every now and then.
This game is fairly complicated but my 11 year old brother gets it pretty well. Basically you start off with villagers and a town center. The whole goal of the game is to gather resources to build up an empire. The more wood, gold, and food you get the more people, buildings, soldiers you can create.
This game is fairly PC intensive so if you have an old system don't count on getting the full effect of the game. I have a Quad 2.4Ghz system with a Nvidia 8800GT card and with all the settings turned up the fans are going 100%. That being said, the graphics are very impressive if turned up all the way.
The Asian Dynasties Expansion pack is pretty sweet - adds the Chinese, Japanese, and other Asian countries. The way they build is completely different than how the other empires build (say the British). If you already have a British city - create a Japanese one just to try them out, you won't be disappointed. This expansion pack adds a ton of units and options to purchase while playing. Get it!
More of the Same 2008-01-08
The Asian Dynasties is another add-on for Age of Empires (III). It turns out to be more of the same with different looking characters. Gather wood, gather food, gather coin to build up your empire so you can fight other empires for world dominance. I bought this for my 12-yr old son who got quickly bored with the game once he played it for a short time. I enjoyed it somewhat because the characters tend to speak something that sounds like the Chinese language.
No European Addtitions 2007-12-12
Although fun, this expansion pack added only maps and civilizations, unlike the previous expansion pack "The Warchiefs". Absolutely no enhancements were made to the previous civilizations.
Awesome Expansion... 2007-12-06
Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties Expansion Pack
I thoroughly enjoyed the new civilizations and their corresponding technologies. I've played all the new single player scenarios.
I only wished the designers would have incorporated more civ-specific music.
