Microsoft Game Studios and developers Big Huge Games along with Ensemble Studios have announced that Age of Empires III: Asian Dynasties has gone Gold and will be available in stores come October 23. This will be the second expansion to Age of Empires III.

For the price of US$ 29.99, players can upgrade to this new version of the game and explore lands they were not able to in previous iterations. Marvel at the rich and exotic cultures as you expand your domain to the world's largest continent.

If you don't like the idea of being a Western conqueror, Asian civilizations will also be playable. Also retained is the "Wonders" feature which has become a favorite among the game's install base.

Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties will not disappoint strategy fans with its ability to retain classic elements which has made the game franchise popular while adding new tweaks and innovations that will keep the series fresh. Watch out for this one because you'll be away in an expedition for a long time once you get your hands on it.

Microsoft Game Studios, together with Ensemble Studios, has officially announced that their latest award winning Age of Empires title will be getting the "Asian touch" with a second expansion pack, loaded with content of the East. Entitled Age of Empires III: Asian Dynasties, the expansion pack will arrive on Windows XP and Vista by Fall of 2007 as stated by the press release.

Developed by Big Huge Games, makers of Rise of Nations and who are also teamed up with THQ for an as of yet unannounced RPG title, Asian Dynasties will be delivering authentic Asian civilizations present in other genre mimics, such as Sierra's Empire Earth series, while delivering new ways of gameplay plus additional content to Age of Empires III.

For Vista users, the game will be shipping as a Games for Windows title, so expect this content pack to reflect on your Games Explorer, with all the ease of installation and operating system compatibility. Brian Reynolds, CEO and creative director of Big Huge Games commented:

We're honored to have the opportunity to develop Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties with Ensemble Studios and confident that the innovation of both teams will deliver an exciting experience for fans of this franchise. We feel that the in-depth experience of Big Huge Games in the real-time strategy genre, combined with the solid reputation of the Age of Empires franchise, will result in something fresh and unique for gamers.

As of press time, it is unclear if the new expansion pack will affect the 2007 World Cyber Games current game line-up for the PC competitive bracket, running this October.

 

Given that the 2007 Online Game Development Conference (OGDC) is just a few more days away, we'll be updating the previously reported speaker list with a fresh new 8-pack. This latest announcement includes the presence of industry bigwigs like GameSpy director Todd Northcutt, as well as PopCap Games business development director James Gwertzman. Here's the full list:

• JJ Richards - GM, Xbox Live, Microsoft
• Charles Merrin - Vice President, RealArcade, RealNetworks, Inc.
• Brett Close - President & CEO, 38 Studios
• Todd Northcutt - Director, GameSpy Technology, GameSpy / IGN Entertainment
• Tom DuBois - Producer, Global Online Studio, Electronic Arts
• James Gwertzman - Director of Business Development, PopCap Games
• Victor Wachter - Online Community Relations Manager, Cryptic Studios
• Craig T. Dalrymple - Community Relations Manager, EverQuest II, Sony Online Entertainment
  

Also confirmed to be arriving at the event are groups like IBM, Nvidia, Electronic Arts, Microsoft Game Studios, Cartoon Network, K2 Network, Multiverse, DigiPen, Pearl Research, Fox Interactive Media, Gas Powered Games, Midway Studios, WildTangent, High Voltage Software, Flagship Studios, and Ensemble Studios.

Keep posted in case more information on additional speakers is announced, as this year's OGDC goes down this May 10 to 11, at at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel, Seattle.

Since the release of Age of Empires 3: The WarChiefs expansion back in October, there have been nothing but good feedback for the game. But, as what usually happens with games, users have been reporting certain bugs and glitches they've encountered in the game. Not to fret though, Ensemble Studios is already hard at work to bring you patch v1.02, which will fix some of the errors you've been experiencing in The WarChiefs expansion.

Sadly though, no, the patch isn't out yet, but it will be out next month and you can rest assured that we will keep you posted once it comes out. So with that, we'll bring you the list of changes you can expect to get once patch v1.02 comes out:

CLIENT FIXES

• Fixed mercenary selection in Saloons for custom maps.
• Better anti-aliasing support for NVIDIA GeForce 8 series cards.
• A number of Windows Vista compatibility issues fixed.
• Several low level network optimizations have been added.

BALANCE CHANGES

• Reduced Rodelero building bonus.
• Reduced Spanish shipment bonus.
• Reduced Cetan Bowman hitpoints by 10.
• Increased Kanya Horsemen hitpoints by 20.
  

NETWORK AND ESO FIXES

• ESO statistics tab now defaults to show statistics for the game you are playing.
• Decks are now limited to 32 per home city.
• Quick Search - the civilizations of other players are no longer shown when the initial match is made.
• Quick Search - games no longer follow the two minute resign rule and will count toward your rating as soon as they begin.
• Power Rating values will now update more quickly after a game.

Don't fancy the whole primitive bow-and-arrow setting? Well, you can always check out other real-time strategy games like, say, Space Empires V or Arena Wars? But hey, that's just me. Anyway, we'll keep you posted for more developments so stay tuned.