14. Age of Empires III. 20 Best Classic PC Strategy Games

The graphics in Age of Empires III looked impressive in 2005, especially compared to the previous installments.

By 2005, classic RTS games were already a rarity, and some even prophesized the end of the genre. Meanwhile, after a few years of absence, the king returned to the throne, reminding all doubters that the gameplay formula can still provide a lot of fantastic fun.

The third part of Age of Empires marked the series' transition to full 3D. Such a move came with significant risk. Such far-reaching changes meant that many aspects of tha game had to be learned from scratch. Even so, the team from Ensemble Studios performed well, and their work combined everything that had been good in previous installments with truly impressive audiovisuals.

This time we moved to the days of American colonization and the founding of the United States. The game continued to offer plenty of content, although with fewer campaigns and playable factions. But that was the price for much more variety. The campaigns were much longer and featured more elaborate scenarios. However, the available nations differed much more from each other than in previous games. This was also due to the fact that this time slightly greater emphasis was put on multiplayer, but the game did not become a regular in global e-sports leagues.

IT'S NOT OVER YET

Although Age of Empires III sold really well, many fans were disappointed that the game clearly departed from the classic formula used by the series. The series' creator himself, Bruce Shelley, admitted in a 2011 interview for Kotaku that putting too much emphasis on innovation was a mistake. Ensemble Studios was no longer involved in development of the next part of their hit series and the team was shut down after the release of Halo Wars.

Fortunately, in 2017, Microsoft officially confirmed that work on the fourth installment of the series is ongoing, and the brand is now in the hands of Relic Entertainment, creators of titles such as the Dawn of War series and Company of Heroes.

Age of Empires III is, above all, a great crowning piece of this saga. The game has the best elements of its predecessors, improved and given a much more attractive visuals. Thus, it is a title worth recommending to players unfamiliar with the series and having an aversion to the old era of two-dimensional RTS games.