Age III Collector's Edition Announced

[Evil Avatar]

Microsoft and Ensemble Studios send along the official Press Release announcing the Age of Empires III Collector's Edition.

Secure a Piece of History With the Age of Empires III Collector's Edition

Includes 210-page Hardbound Art Book, “Making Of” DVD, Exclusive Player’s Guide, Soundtrack CD, Poster and More

It’s the ultimate prize for any Age of Empires fan: the Age of Empires III Collector’s Edition is packed with premium extras that any Age fan would crave. Packaged in an oversized, beautifully embossed box, the Collector’s Edition includes an impressive hardbound 210-page “The Art of Empires” book, a “Making of Age of Empires III” DVD with behind-the-scenes video and commentary, the official Age of Empires III soundtrack, a huge (43-in. x 27-in.) full-color poster of concept art painted by Craig Mullins, an exclusive Age III Player’s Guide, and a Collector’s Edition Game Manual. This amazing collection, from Microsoft and Ensemble Studios, is the perfect reward for all those years Age fans have built and destroyed countless civilizations, and is available now for pre-order for $69.99.

Age of Empires III is Ensemble Studios’ landmark game of discovery and conquest in the New World, featuring spectacular graphics and physics never before seen in a real-time strategy (RTS) game. In Age of Empires III, players assume the role of a European power between 1500 and 1850 A.D. as they struggle to explore, colonize and conquer North and South America. Scheduled for release October 25th, Age of Empires III is the third installment in the award-winning Age of Empires series that has sold more than 16 million copies and defined the historical RTS. By introducing revolutionary new gameplay features like the Home City, the ability to ally with and produce Native American units, awe-inspiring visuals with a fully realized physics engine and more, Age of Empires III will expand upon the legacy of its predecessors and once again set the standard for real-time strategy games.

Find out more about Age of Empires III by visiting http://www.ageofempires3.com. (http://www.ageofempires3.com)BTW, This game rocks.

[Kefkataran]

210-page book? Nice. And for $70 that isn't a bad deal. The City of Villains special edition is $80 but they still haven't announced what you get with it yet, so I gave in and pre-ordered the regular edition.

[joruussuun]

Yeah, I'll definitely be picking this up. Age of Empires has been such a great series.

BTW Evil, you accidentally included that last "." in the url link.

[TheKeck]

Does anybody else not like the Age of Empire series? A bunch of my friends played Age of Empires 2 a lot, and I absolutely hated it! Granted, this game looks amazing, but I wonder if they made it a lot more fun than the last one.

[Xaerin]

I loved the first two, along with Total Annihilation they'd be my all time favourite rts games but I never got into Age of Mythology so it'll be good seeing what improvements they made since then get implemented to this sequel.

[thecrazyd]

AOE 2 is one of the few RTS games that I like. There is so much deep strategy. The micro managing can get a bit annoying, but there is always something to do. I love playing it at LANs, even though I suck. The only time I ever won was when I accidently managed to build a wonder before anyone else. I generally go with the strategy of building eight layers of stone walls, and waiting for someone to come get some. Of course, this means that everyone always teams up against me, but it is always fun.

[goc_sin]

Hey Evil, so it rocks huh? That's good news.. How does the combat play feel in this one? Is it like the other AOE or is it more of a Total War feel? In some screen shots I saw it had units in squads, and so it has me hoping for more of a total war feel.

[ghost]

This sounds like something i'll definitely be picking up. I have fond memories of AOE 2 lan parties multiple times a week for a good 3 years before we all went to college...what a great game.

[Acidpoptart]

I am starting to wish I payed more attention to this at E3 instead of just glancing at it for a moment... Ive been hearing many good things. I always like Rise of Nations more than Age of Empires though, so Ill wait and see how this game evolves. AoE 1&2 were both excellent, but a little slow for my taste... Maybe i need to go back and try it again.

[Murtaug]

I think the only RTS that I enjoyed more then Age of Empires 2 was Rise of Nations. Basically a lot like Age of Empires 2, but with borders and a bit less micro management. I spent a ton of time with Age of Empires 2 though.. more time then I like to think about.