Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties

The Asian Dynasties for PC it’s the second official expansion to Age of Empires III. The expansion was developed by Big Huge Games, a studio known by the real time strategy fans through famed Rise of Nations. The veterans of the AoE series can relasx, though, since the project was overseen by Ensemble Studios, which was unable to develop the expansion on their own due to their work on Halo Wars.

Mechanics

The action of the expansion leaves the New World in favor of Far East. Big Huge Games introduced three new Asiatic civilizations: India, China, and Japan. As a result, all new maps take place on Earth’s biggest continent, with some of them influenced by historic locations and events – for example, one of the maps takes place on the Silk Road, the trade route connecting China with Europe. Such maps have unique properties, e.g. the players on the aforementioned map cannot build their own marketplaces – such buildings have to recaptured from the guards.

The singleplayer mode received a new campaign, consisting of three acts and fifteen scenarios (five missions for each new faction). We’ve also received new units and buildings. One of them is a consulate, allowing the player to establish diplomatic relations with chosen Europeans to receive various bonuses and have access to their units. The Asian Dynasties also introduces new wonders that allow the Asian nations to enter the new era.

Multiplayer

As always, the multiplayer mode is the mainstay of the game, allowing players to choose from fourteen different civilizations. During the development of the multiplayer updates, the authors asked for input of the best players in the world. Their help enabled the studio to not only balance the gameplay, but also to introduce new useful options, including new keyboard shortcuts.

The Asian Dynasties is fully compatible with the base game and The WarChiefs, the first expansion.

Last updated on January 20, 2017