http://pc.gamedaily.com/game/features/?gameid=5482&id=386

Age of Empires III : The Warchiefs

Impressions
The expansion for Ensemble Studios' RTS approaches.

August 29, 2006
by Steven Wong

This October, Warchiefs, the first expansion for Age of Empires III will
release, almost one year after the core game hit the shelves. Luckily, the
developers haven't been sitting still during that time. Warchiefs will
offer a completely new perspective in conquering the new world - that of
the Native Americans. Time to get those pens out, because here's a chance
to rewrite history.

There will be three new Native American factions in Warchiefs, each with
their own distinctive look and gameplay. The Iroquois is a well-rounded
tribe with some European-influenced units like the light cannon, making
them the easiest tribe to transition from the main game with. Their strong
economy makes them the ideal choice for beginners. At first glance, they
play very similarly to the other factions with one major difference. Native
American tribes have access to a Fire Pit, which peasants can be assigned
to dance around. Fire Pits can be set to provide specific bonuses, like
stronger attacks for military units, faster healing rates for the Warchief,
stronger economy, or faster unit creation. When used right, the pit can
provide some pretty significant advantages over the European factions. The
more peasants the player assigns to dance, the better the bonus becomes.
However, while they're dancing, they're not gathering resources.

The Warchief works much like the European Explorer unit in that it can
explore the land and grab up treasures. However, unlike the Explorer, the
Warchief actually becomes more powerful over time and will provide bonuses
to nearby military units.

In addition to new units, buildings, and Warchiefs, there will be a
completely new single player campaign centering on the Black family. In the
first act, you follow the exploits of Nathaniel Black who leaves his
Iroquois village and eventually ends up fighting alongside Washington in
the American Revolution. In this case, not only will the player have to
work to repel European factions, but rival Native American tribes who have
decided to side with the Europeans.

Other unique gameplay additions include a Trade Monopoly victory, where
players have a chance to purchase a monopoly after taking over more than
half of a map's trading posts. Rival players will have to destroy those
trading posts before the timer runs out. However, one of the most
intriguing gameplay options is Revolution, which is only available to
European factions. Before reaching the Imperial Age, players have an
opportunity to revolt. Doing so will convert all settlers into militia.
From then on, the only thing they can from a Revolution Home City are
military units and Fort Wagons. Unable to move on to the Imperial Age, and
unable to create new settlers, revolting puts the player on a constant
offensive.

Warchiefs looks like it will breathe some new life into Age of Empires III
by offering a different perspective. Players will no longer necessarily be
battling to conquer the new world. With Native American tribes, they will
have a chance to defend it. The Native American tribes look distinct enough
from the European factions to stand out and offer some diverse gameplay
while preserving feel of AOE3. Where they were pretty much backdrop NPC's
in the original game, they are now living and playable. The developers,
Ensemble Studios, seem to be on the right track with Warchiefs, and we're
looking forward to seeing how the other Native American tribes fit in to
the big picture.