Rather than click-dragging as with a mouse, or flailing about helplessly with buttons as with the consoles, multiple selections are performed by selecting a unit two or three times. The ability to initiate commands while paused and a quick-jump key for idle workers and news alerts are neat features, but the main reason for the controls working is down to how the game handles multiple selections. Using a keypad for controlling an RTS sounds completely barmy, but somehow it works gloriously. In true RTS fashion, TAD also comes with a Skirmish mode for up to three players and with a variety of game modes, although disappointingly there’s no option for a second human player to join in proceedings.
Unfortunately, there's the occasional damp squib of a mission, but on the whole the missions are good fun and challenging. The lengthy campaign is excellent, with historical nuggets setting up each mission and a wide variety of developing objectives. While the units are quite small on screen, the graphics do a good job of differentiating the various cultures’ units, even if there’s not really that much practical difference between the countries.Īs with earlier versions of AOE, TAD (are these acronyms getting annoying?) tasks you with building up a town, harvesting resources, researching technology and roughing up enemy forces with a stick or gun. There are three playable nations in the game – Japan, China, and India – each with their own separate units, wonders, and architecture.
Empire buildingĪOE III: TAD’s main campaign takes place during the second Japanese invasion of Korea, spanning the years 1597-98, which is probably the smallest time-span of any AOE game released. With mobiles being less powerful and possessing a keypad instead of a gamepad/mouse, alterations are inevitable, with most titles usually ending up with a game that looks, but doesn’t play, like its larger cousins.Īge of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties surprised me, not just because it’s a fully-functioning real-time strategy game like its bigger brethren, but also because it’s a very good fully-functioning real-time strategy game. The first thought that springs to my mind when tackling an established console/PC franchise on the mobile is normally ‘is this going to be anything like the original?’
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