“Mr. Frodo! Look! It’s an oliphant!” Well, no, not exactly. But we have elephants! After not having the awesome mammoth creatures to squish, gore and destroy enemies in Ensemble’s Age of Empires franchise for a long time now, the upcoming expansion to the third AoE game, The Asian Dynasties, is all set to bring the mighty elephants back in the Indian campaign. Being an Indian myself, I can’t put into words how awesome it is to see my 8th grade history lesson come alive on my PC and how, years after that forced-labor camp called school (I kid, I kid..) I am learning more history through a PC game made in the United States… hmmm.

With a new bunch of hi-def videos touching upon the Japanese and Indian civilizations in the game, Big Huge Games’ CEO Brian Reynolds talked about how players would get six different elephant units, two camel units and a number of other special units like the Gurkha, the double-sword wielding Rajput, the Mansabdars and the Sepoy musketeer to take the fight against the East India Company in India’s first struggle for independence. Talking about the elephant units, Brian detailed the mahouts, with their powerful “splash damage” melee attack, howdahs full of archers, flail elephants that take on buildings and siege units and the all powerful siege elephants, with cannons mounted on their sides.

The interview spills a number of details about the Indian campaign, including how it’s the last of the three campaigns in the expansion, (hence seeing some of the most dramatic and challenging chapters in the game) the unique Home City cards system for India and the Indian wonders including the Taj Mahal, the Agra Fort and the Charminar Gate. Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties is scheduled for an Autumn 2007 release date.

The Asian Dynasties Updated Q&A - Details on India [GameSpot]
The Asian Dynasties Updated Q&A - Details on the Japanese [GameSpot]
HD Video - The Indian Civilization [GameTrailers]
HD Video - The Japanese Civilization Featurette [GameTrailers]

TRANSLATE

Translate this post into your favorite language. Click on any of the flags below to view the translated version. NOTE: Translations use the AltaVista Babel Fish Translation Service and may not be 100% accurate.

By N2H

You may be the one to comment first. Please leave your message below.