Product Description

Expansion Pack Requires Age Of Empires III To Play

• Playable Asian civilizations. Lead one of three unique Asian civilizations - Japan, China or India - to expand its empire and fight for control in the Eastern world. Each Asian civilization, led by powerful leaders, has unique groups, armies and wonders, as well as buildings that reflect the culture`s architectural style.
• New gameplay elements. Extending the innovative gameplay of Age of Empires III, Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties introduces new ways of winning and trading, random map styles that feature remixes of classic Age of Empires game styles, and 15 new Asian Wonders.
• Exciting new single-player campaign. Returning to the historical, civilization-based single-player campaigns, Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties offers gamers who enjoy the solo experience a chance to engage in strategic combat with Japan, China or India through several engrossing scenarios.
• Expanding a successful formula. Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties is the second expansion pack for the massively popular Age of Empires III, one of the fastest-selling titles in the franchise history, leading and innovating the real-time strategy genre through exciting and revolutionary gameplay features.
• Games for Windows franchise. This expansion pack also ships as a Games for Windows title, offering easier installation, reliability standards and support for key features of Windows Vista, including the Games Explorer and Parental Controls.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1011 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Microsoft
• Released on: 2007-11-02
• Rating: To Be Announced
• Platform: Windows XP
• Dimensions: .32 pounds

Amazon.com
"Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties" is the second expansion pack for the massively popular "Age of Empires III," one of the fastest-selling titles in the franchise history*, from Ensemble Studios and Microsoft Game Studios. Engaging gamers of all ages and types in epic warfare in the Eastern world, "Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties" will lead Japanese, Chinese and Indian civilizations to expand their empires.

"Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties" is the latest installment in the award-winning "Age of Empires" franchise, developed collaboratively by Big Huge Games and Ensemble Studios for the Games for Windows platform.

Manufacturer's Description
Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties is the second expansion pack for the massively popular Age of Empires III from Ensemble Studios and Microsoft Game Studios, which has sold over 2.5 million copies to date*. Engaging gamers of all ages and types in epic warfare in the Eastern world, Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties will lead Japanese, Chinese and Indian civilizations to expand their empires.

Customer Reviews

Reasonable expansion...
The campaign scenarios are okay, but nothing more; they do introduce you to the period and the units available, and to a certain extent the different strategies required, but historically, they are a bit PC, and if any player is even remotely interested in the periods concerned - read a relevant book from Amazon's listing for a more accurate understanding of the period.

That said, most gamers aren't interested in history per se. The gameplay is as before, but to me it seemed that the AI was less versatile, it was a bit like napoleon vs wellington, attack in the same old way, be defeated in the same old way. There is no opportunity within the game for manoeuvrist stategy, but an all-arms force will always prevail over single-type force. Play from defence then on to attack, and you will defeat the AI eventually; learning the technique of each new force enemy is actually the real pleasure in this expansion.

I would echo the other reviewer's comment - the music, which has been an important part of the game through all the "Ages" series could, indeed should, have been updated too.

Ultimately - worth the money if you like the original game!

The asian dynasties
I eagerly awaited this and was not dissapointed the new civs are properly diffrent and not just diffrent pictures and there are many minor tweaks that make the game much more freindly. I was dissapointed not to see any new improvments for the natives and the eauropeans but there are alot allready. Overall i thnik this is a very good expansion and worthy of the previous games.

The icing on the cake
When Age of Mythology first appeared, I thought that the Age of Empires series had reached its full potential. When The Titans came out, it got even better. The original Age of Empires III was, in my opinion, a step down from the AoM series, though both expansion packs improved the quality of the game. This particular expansion is quite possibly one of the best games of all time. It is certainly in my top three video games. Anyone who owns Age of Empires III should definitely buy this expansion.

And to the person who recommended the Chinese campaign being about the unification of China, I say this: This game is set in around 1450 - 1900 AD. China was unified under the Qin in 221 BC. 1671 years BEFORE this game begins.