I don't know about the new civs but IIRC French was recommended to newer players. Starting out, don't play with Chinese and Ottomans (and maybe Russians) since their eco is slow burning and military options are limited in the early ages.

Buildings are much easier to destroy and the pace of the game is faster than Aoe2. Naval balance is good I think (didn't play it and USA has new OP looking ship).Įconomy is streamlined, but there are shipments to manage so it doesn't feel too easy. The MP community shifted from the 2007 Asian Dynasties+ESOC patch to the DE so get the DE if you want to play 1v1 MP. Two African civs are also coming via DLC (they won't have campaigns). The DE also comes with two extra free civs the 2007 version didn't have: Incas and Swedes and you can buy the USA as a DLC (there was an event where you could unlock it for free by doing in-game missions but I don't know if its still active). If you're getting the recent Definitive Edition, all cards are unlocked by default. In the 2007 version, you have to unlock them by playing against the AI or online. The absolutely unique mechanic AoE3 has is shipment cards that you send from your home city to your base.

The campaigns are meh to me (I think I only played the Asian ones) but the skirmish mode is where it shines. I'd say its great if you're interested in the time period and want to play standard game / skirmish a lot. Slightly less historical than its forebears (unless you consider the fountain of youth to be a real thing!) I'm not sure about the expansion packs - still need to play through those, but one adds in Indians and the other an Asian campaign, so they're probably worth a look too. The setting (the Colonisation of America) is also good fun, touching on the Age of Piracy, Colonisation and I think post revolution as well.

A lot of people didn't like the change in style (plus, graphically everything is pretty zoomed in), but I found the game itself to be good fun - as long as you don't expect a straight sequel to the first two AOE games.

It's different from AOE I and II more story focussed. I'd get a retail copy through eBay - they're not too hard to get hold of. I'm sure a few here have played it and have thoughts (hopefully). After looking into it a bit seems it will unfortunately never make its way to GOG. Kai2: I've heard a lot of people talking about this game lately and it's sparked my interest.

Age of empires 2 mac ebay