New WarChiefs Content! You'll find a slew of new sections here on PlanetAOE covering the recently-released WarChiefs expansion and there's a lot more to come. We want to see your recorded games, campaigns, scenarios and strategies, so submit them today! More >
WarChiefs Expansion Released The Aztecs, Iroquois and Sioux are upon us and EnsembleOnline is stirring with thousands of Agers trying to master the new civs as well as the old ones. Be sure to check out our content on the expansion and non-stop news coverage. More >
Gothic 3 Demo Incredible graphics and open-ended gameplay highlight this immersive RPG world...
Add Your Clan Profile Are you a member of a clan? Add your clan's profile in our new clan listings section.
Recorded Games Section Download games of your favorite expert player or upload your own to show to the community. Watching recorded games is the best way to improve your game and start winning on ESO.
Saturday, 18 November, 2006 � Planet Age of Empires News
1 Ourk Lieutenant General 44 43.03392
2 GlouK_The_BoSS Major General 43 42.66353
3 NightScr3aM Major General 43 42.15903
4 Ruthless__ Major General 42 41.78873
5 GlamourCars4Hire Major General 42 41.69792
6 Windy_In_Heaven Major General 42 41.65560
7 GinPico Major General 41 40.53205
8 StarSky Major General 41 40.43086
9 Flamed Brigadier 40 39.81689
10 Helly Brigadier 40 39.36407
And we don't want to leave out the Deathmatch crowd, which is still lead by Xx_criss_521_:
I'll be honest, I haven't genuinely looked forward to an RTS since Warcraft III, but if Age of Empires III looks this great without being finished, I ardently look forward to the final product. Age of Empires III recently reached Gold Master status and should be shipping from MacSoft in the not-so-distant future. Keep in mind, this preview only scratches the surface of what AoE3 has to offer. Look for my full review after I get my hands on AoE3's finished DVD.
Wednesday, 15 November, 2006 � Planet Age of Empires News
Bruce Shelley Confirms Future Age Titles 7:55 PST | Xiphoid | Print News | Mail News This should come with little surprise, but as far as I know, future Age of Empires titles have not been confirmed by Ensemble Studios, until now. Bruce Shelley, in Games for Windows Magazine, had this to say in his interview with the magazine:
"There will be more. All of our games have enjoyed long shelf lives and providing more [content] seems to help with that. We want to keep Age of Empires going for some time to come. We have an ES Live team that works entirely on improving the game and delivering new content and features."
And goes on to say:
Ensemble Studios is not giving up on the PC, believe me. We are taking a break from Age of Empires, but not forever. Some of us have been working on it for 11 years. In the meantime, we have a really different PC game in the works that we hope to begin talking about next year, if it comes together successfully.
Games for Windows Magazine Gives WarChiefs 9/10 7:55 PST | Xiphoid | Print News | Mail News Browsing through my latest Games for Windows Magazine, I found not only an interview with ES' Bruce Shelley, but also a glowing review for the WarChiefs. The mag gave the expansion a very impressive 9/10 rating.
At this point, WarChiefs turns into an exciting exercise in completely rethinking old strategies. And this, after all, is what the best expansion packs do: not just add, but entirely revise.
1 The Sims 2 Pets Expansion Pack Electronic Arts $27
2 World Of Warcraft Vivendi $22
3 Battlefield 2142 Electronic Arts $48
4 Warhammer 40,000: Dawn Of War Dark Crusade Expansion Pack THQ $29
5 MS Flight Simulator X Deluxe Microsoft $65
6 The Sims 2 Glamour Life Stuff Expansion Pack Electronic Arts $19
7 Company Of Heroes THQ $49
8 Paws & Claws Pet Vet Valusoft (THQ) $13
9 The Sims 2 Electronic Arts $40
10 MS Flight Simulator X Microsoft $49
11 Guild Wars Nightfall NCsoft $49
12 Seaworld Adventure Parks Tycoon 2 Activision $12
13 Desperate Housewives Disney Int. (Buena Vista Games) $18
14 Civilization IV 2K Games ( Take 2) $39
15 MS Age Of Empires III: WarChiefs Expansion Pack Microsoft $29 16 Guild Wars Nightfall: Collector's Edition NCsoft $69
17 Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy LucasArts $27
18 MS Age Of Empires III Microsoft $48 19 Sim City 4 Deluxe Electronic Arts $23
20 The Sims 2 Nightlife Expansion Pack Electronic Arts $30
Tuesday, 14 November, 2006 � Planet Age of Empires News
WCG 2006 Holiday Clash: WarChiefs 20:29 PST | Xiphoid | Print News | Mail News Some great news was announced today by the World Cyber Games and Intel, which was a Holiday Clash Tournament featuring the games Quake 4 and Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs. The winner will win a top-of-the-line gaming rig, $1000 in cash and more. Good luck to everyone in the Age community and we'll update further when the tourney draws closer.
Fire up WarChiefs and prepare for a battle this holiday season as the WCG and Intel bring you the Holiday Clash! There is more than $16,000 in prizes, including cash and Intel hardware to take home, so you aren't going to want to miss it. Registration ends on December 7th.
"The WCG 2006 Holiday Clash celebrates the Intel Core 2 Extreme processor by setting up two ultimate holiday gaming tournaments. We're featuring 2 games and 2 identical sets of prizes.
Think you've got what it takes to dominate in QUAKE 4* or Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs*? Well it's time to put your gaming to the extreme test: The WCG 2006 Holiday Clash online gaming tournament is your chance to load up on some killer prizes and serious bragging rights."
Curt Schilling's Gaming Company Hires ES Artist 20:29 PST | Xiphoid | Print News | Mail News Curt Schilling, the famed baseball player, has a thing for games and has openly expressed his love for MMOs like Everquest. He's so serious about games he's starting his own game company called Green Monster Games and he's hired Ensemble Studios' Senior Artist Brian Jones. I'm sure that Jones will be missed quite a bit at ES.
GMG's design team will feature an impressive group of experienced MMO artists spearheaded by the creations of Senior Artists Brian Jones and Brian Labore. Jones, known throughout the online gaming community as "BoBo the Seal," is an industry veteran who has contributed to over twenty-five projects, most notably Age of Empires� 3 for Ensemble Studios and Titan Quest(TM) for Iron Lore Entertainment. Labore, also a veteran in the MMO community, worked at Turbine Entertainment and Blue Fang Games as a Lead Animator. Most recently, Labore was the Animation Director/Lead Animator at Iron Lore Entertainment for the title Titan Quest(TM).
The War Chiefs really expands the AoE III world. It�s one of the best expansion packs we have experienced and is well worth the money for both experienced AoE III players and those that want to get started with the game with a bit of an additional bang.
1) How would you pass off an Age of Empires game part of the Age of Empires series and make it WW2, without looking like trying to re-hash a WW2 RTS?
A � I think there are many ways to pull this off.
5) When you do firepit dance to increase attack, it doesn't show the increase in attack on the UI, is this intended or a bug?
A- it�s a bug, but it�s very minor so I don�t know if or when it will be fixed. After all, it still works properly � you just can�t see it in the advanced UI, which is hardly the end of the world.
All this is wrapped up in the same luscious visuals that made the game�s predecessor so stunning. War Chiefs may not be a major landmark in the Age of Empires series, but then expansion packs rarely are. As long as you already own the original, there�s definitely enough here to warrant the asking price.
Sunday, 12 November, 2006 � Planet Age of Empires News
WarChiefs 1v1 Ladder Top 10 16:15 PST | Xiphoid | Print News | Mail News GlouK_The_BoSS is still atop the WarChiefs 1v1 ladder, but the distance between him and second place has narrowed somewhat with NightScr3aM .92 points away. Here's the rest of the top ten:
1 GlouK_The_BoSS Lieutenant General 44 43.30437
2 NightScr3aM Major General 43 42.38179
3 Ourk Major General 42 41.77664
4 GlamourCars4Hire Major General 42 41.69792
5 Ruthless__ Major General 42 41.14373
6 Windy_In_Heaven Major General 42 41.10453
7 Helly Brigadier 40 39.98236
8 Flamed Brigadier 40 39.94927
9 GinPico Brigadier 40 39.76641
10 _H2O Brigadier 40 39.00458
