Age of Empires is one of the most amazing and legendary civilisation style games that ever existed.

Now in this third part, you're taken into the New World. Players are able to develop European nations from the Age of Discovery through to the Industrial Age. There are eight playable nations that battle across a wide variety of lands - from the early beginning of the swamps of Florida to the Rocky Mountains. You can recruit Native American tribes along the way and with them, try to seize control of trade routes while being supported by your Empire back in Europe.

There's no doubt that visually, the game looks superb with some of the best graphics ever seen in the Age of Empires series. However, the developers seem to have concentrated on graphics more than the realism aspect. An exception to this is the fact that you are supported by your home European nation in your quest to plunder the New World which is something unseen in previous versions.

However, it is attention to detail and unfaithfulness to the realities of history that really let the game down. American Indians are portrayed as mercenaries rather than spiritual tribes and gold mines suddenly appear hundreds of years before they ever did!

Age of Empires 3 looks great and has the potential to be a great game but the developers probably need to pay more attention to historical facts than the graphics themselves.

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Imagine a huge games arcade where thousands of dedicated game players can gather to do battle. That’s what GameSpy Arcade attempts to offer in a virtual world where game is the name and variety is the aim.

GameSpy started life by simply helping Quake users find a functioning sever to log onto but today, it has developed into a world of gaming in its own right. The developer claims that millions of gamers meet online on GameSpy to play the hundreds of online multiplayer games and free demos it’s linked to. They also claim the all-in-one interface offers the fastest game servers available – up to 60% faster than in-game browsers. Plus, it already features integrated texting, voice chat and instant messaging – eat your heart out SecondLife.

After installation, the program scans your PC for any installed games you have and lists those which are GameSpy compatible. All the major games such as Counter-Strike and Age of Empires are supported. The key feature of GameSpy is the Buddy List, which means you’re almost always guaranteed someone online to play with or against (depending on how many buddies you’ve got of course!) Using an engine called ‘PlayerSpy’, it gathers together all those friends that are online. You can see which chat room they are in and what game they are playing. If you fancy dropping in on their action, just click on their location to be instantly taken there. You can also send an instant message, start a voice conversation or send a game invite.

The other key feature of GameSpy is a searchable server filter (SmartSpy) which enables you to find the right server for the game you want in seconds. Popular dedicated-server games like Half-Life have literally thousands of game servers available and SmartSpy helps you pinpoint the best one for you in a matter of seconds. Just select the type of game you want to play and GameSpy Arcade will download data from and ping only those servers. For those that simply like to keep abreast of the latest games, GameSpy also offers DemoSpy - a daily updated list of the latest releases, supplied to them by FilePlanet which saves you registering with the latter. This also includes a handy patch section to keep your games updated.

The drawbacks can be summarised in two words – advertising and resources. From the minute you open GameSpy you are bombarded with advertising from developers hawking their latest games, which becomes rapidly tiresome. In addition, GameSpy tends to be very heavy on your CPU. If you’re playing on an older machine, forget about running anything else alongside it – it simply hogs your CPU to deal with the heavy graphics.

In summary, if you frequently find yourself without gaming companions, GameSpy Arcade is worth it for that reason alone – it’s a great way to make friends too. If however you’re dedicated to just one or two games and you regularly log on with others, the advertising and resource-hogging mean you can probably do without this.

Download GameSpy Arcade 2.05 RC1 in Softonic

Chocolatier 2 is much more than just a game about making sweets. Following up on the success of the first iteration of Chocolatier, this game lets you build your own chocolate empire.

You'll have to be an expert manager if you want to take control of Baumeister Confections. From haggling prices on ingredients at the market to controlling the production of sweets or negotiating sales, Chocolatier is a thrilling tycoon game. You'll have to travel around the world in your quest to make the company grow and even fight off competitors and deception in your very own company.

Once the company grows you'll be able to acquire new recipes and create more elaborate sweets, such as truffles or infusions. You'll even get to create your own brand and enter your company name and logo. Chocolatier involves managerial skils and strategy as success will come down to controlling well your budget and negotiating sales.

Chocolatier 2 brings more features to what is already an exciting game in the tycoon genre.

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Age of Empires III strikes back with a new expansion pack and takes you to the Ancient Eastern empires. As with any other Age of Empires adventure, The Asian Dynasties is designed with an incredible level of detail, creating an involving atmosphere that makes the game really enjoyable.

In this sense, every single element in this demo is designed according to Asian stereotypes, from player menus to background music and including, of course, buildings, cities and military units. Also, if you have played any of the previous Age of Empires, you'll master the controls in no time, as they remain just the same; if not, don't worry because they're easy to learn.

Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties is pure strategy: you'll have to gather resources, build your town, create and army and battle against the enemy. This demo only allows you to get a sneak peek of the whole game but the overall impression was good... at least for an Age of Empires fan like me.

Age of Empires strikes back with more nations, more units, more challenges and more fun for you.

Download Age of Empires III Demo in Softonic

Gunz is an online first person shooter in which you’ll have to fight it out against hundreds of online users. It features a range of elaborate moves and varied weaponry, making this game both a challenging and exciting experience that can really get you hooked.

The game features many different game modes. You can simply play Gunz by moving around into any of the maps provided and shoot down anyone you encounter. Or you can play one of a number of modes like Deathmatch, Team DeathMatch or Capture the Flag. You can also form your own clan and engage in duels with other clans.

You can also create and customize your character. You can change clothing and add up to 12 pieces of equipment. We liked how the game doesn’t limit itself to guns and also lets you pack close combat weapons like knifes, swords or cloaks.

As many users know them, the basic moves will probably let you get past some duels, but they won’t be enough to survive long-term. If you really want to stand a chance in Gunz, you’ll have to learn more elaborate moves like ducking, jumping from walls or tumbling.

The overall excitement of the online multiplayer shooter is let down by some weaknesses you can’t help noticing. For one, the graphics leave much to be desired and many users complain that there are not enough maps to choose from. The soundtrack, while fast paced, is also too limited. Connecting at startup might also take some time, depending on the number of users connected to the server. If you encounter users who have a dial up connection they might also cause the game to lag.

Despite some slightly weak graphics and connection issues, Gunz is a thrilling first person shooter, with loads of weapons to choose from and advanced moves to learn. Oh, and did we forget to mention that it’s free?

Download GunZ The Duel International Edition 23.01.2007 Beta in Softonic

Bos Wars is a real-time strategy game, following the style of the classic strategy games such as Age of Empires but set in a futuristic atmosphere. The game has been created under an open-source license with a whole developer community behind it constantly upgrading and improving it. Their main objective is to create a completely original and fun open-source RTS adventure.

Bos Wars features two campaigns (one of them, a tutorial), more than 20 missions, support for multiplayer mode to play against human opponents over LAN or the Internet, a map editor and a bunch of different war vehicles and soldiers to battle for victory. Of course, you will also have to take care of resources, gathering as much of them as you can.

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The latest update for Age of Empires III solves some important issues with the main ones listed below.

New Features

Added a new random map, The Unknown

Added ability to see if a friend on ESO is playing a game

Moderators now have blue chat in chat channels

Client Fixes

Fixed an issue that let military units in Cover Mode do extra siege damage

Fixed an issue where the German A.I. would not build houses or collect resources when they started with just Settler Wagons

Fixed some rollover text issues

Hispaniola map added to the Standard Maps set

Network and ESO Fixes

Fixed an issue where the host would appear invisible in the game setup room

Chat channels' player lists are now alphabetized

Fixed an issue where non-rated games were counting toward Power Rating

Download Age of Empires III 1.11 Patch in Softonic

Europa Universalis III delves deeply into the areas of exploration, trade, warfare and diplomacy. This epic strategy game lets players take control of a nation and guide it through the ages to become a great global empire. Unparalleled in its depth and historical accuracy, Europa Universalis III gives the player unprecedented freedom in how they choose to rule their nation from an impressive choice of over 250 historically accurate countries.

Here's what Europa Universalis III has to offer:

• Players can enjoy over 300 years of game play by starting at ANY date between 1453 and 1789.
• Nation building is flexible: decide your own form of government, the structure of your society, trade politics and much more. The possibilities are endless.
• The great people and personalities of the past are on hand to support you. Take history in your hands and call personalities like Sir Isaac Newton, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart or René Descartes to your court.
• A lush topographic map in full 3D allows for a rich and complete world view, and contains more than 1700 provinces and sea zones.
• Lead any one of more than 250 countries that originally existed during the game’s extensive time span.
• Have more than a thousand historical leaders and over 4000 historical Monarchs at your disposal.
• Manage more than 100 individual unit troops to secure as much power as possible.
• Co-operative multiplayer mode allows several players to work together to controla single nation.
• Customize your game: Europa Universalis III gives you the chance to customize and mod practically anything your heart may desire.Join the constantly growing and incredibly talented Paradox modding community!

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To coincide with the release of Sid Meier’s Railroads, the original Sid Meier’s Railroad Tycoon (SMRT), straight from 1990, has now been made freely available in full. The game takes you back to the 19th century where you create your own transportation empire by building railroads, buying new trains and setting up connections between cities.

Those of you who are worried about compatibility: fear not. You won’t have to access DOS to play the game because it features its very own DOS Box. Original gamers of SMRT, will fondly appreciate the minimalistic graphics, midi country music, pixelized area maps, but most of all, the crux of the whole series, managing your money and assets. You start off with a million dollars (of which you’ll have to pay back $500,000) and must first choose a good location, build a station and then start laying tracks. You’ll soon become familiar with all the varieties of locomotives, like the Norris, Crocodile or Ten-Wheeler. The game really starts to get addictive when you see your network of railroads reach more and more cities and your income start to rise. Depending on the level of difficulty you choose, you’ll also come across rough competition and you’ll have to protect your assets from truly aggressive entrepreneurs.

Even though the graphics don’t compare to what you’ll find in the latest release, Sid Meier’s Railroads, the simulation aspect of Railroad Tycoon is as much thrilling now as it was 10 year ago. All aboard!

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Experience the power of the WarChief in the new expansion for Age of Empires III! In Age of Empire III: the WarChiefs, play as one of three new civilizations - Aztec, Iroquois, or Sioux - each with unique units, buildings, and abilities that will test your strategic mettle.

Use upgrades for the European civilizations from the original game to earn civ-specific bonuses, build units at a new mercenary saloon, collect new Cards, and battle toward victory with the new Revolution feature. Explore the new single player Campaign and follow the continuing tale of the Black family as they witness the birth of a new nation.

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From the co-creator of Age of Empires, Brian Sullivan, comes an all-new action role-playing game set in the mythical worlds of ancient Greece and Egypt. Amazing visuals and fast-action gameplay deliver a true cinematic gaming experience. Lush ancient world settings crafted in near-photo realistic detail provide the player with an extraordinary canvas on which to set forth on an epic quest of the ultimate good versus evil.

The Titans, gods before the gods, have escaped from their eternal prison to wreak havoc on the world. In this titanic struggle between old and new gods it is the heroes of humankind who will ultimately determine the fate of all existence. The player quests throughout the ancient world in a race to uncover the secrets needed to once again imprison these ancient gods. Journeying to fabled locations such as the Parthenon, the maze at Knossos, the Great Pyramids, and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the player will have to overcome terrifying monsters and mythical beasts.

Brave the trials of Titan Quest alone or bring a group of friends to share the glory while playing through the thrilling story-driven campaign.

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Civilization 4 features gorgeous 3D graphics, loads of in-game movies, brilliant audio and music, and, most importantly, the best and most addictive gameplay of any strategy game ever created. As a matter of fact, Time magazine has named Civ IV one of the hottest new games this year!

Sid Meier’s Civilization is a turn-based strategy game that challenges players to build and expand an empire, throughout all of human history, and become the most powerful ruler in the world. Choose one of 18 nations to lead and go head to head with some of the most famous leaders in history. Each civilization has its own special characteristics - some are fairly peaceful, while others are expansionists and conquerors. You’ll battle your foes with a huge arsenal of weapons, beginning with primitive archers and warriors, then catapults, knights and frigates, and eventually with modern tanks, submarines, mobile infantry, helicopter gunships, stealth bombers, and nuclear weapons. However, Civilization IV is more than just a great combat game: you can also achieve victory through diplomatic cunning, cultural or religious alliances, and technological dominance.

Civilization IV delivers faster mid and late game AI turns, and offers greater control over your civilization's government and religions, while at the same time de-emphasizing the less fun micromanagement (cleaning up pollution, for example). And there’s more! Civ IV has been designed from the ground-up to deliver fantastic multiplayer gaming options, as well as unprecedented modding tools - allowing you to create new units, game maps, scenarios, and even entire new civilizations!

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Decide the fate of a civilization in this triumphant final chapter to the Myst saga. Embark on an epic journey into the heart of a shattered empire as the only explorer who can still save it--or destroy it with the wrong choices. Easily explore vast 3D worlds with just a click of the mouse, and interact like never before with the environment. The critically acclaimed creators of the Myst franchise raise the bar yet again with new photorealistic worlds ripe with life, weather, movement and mystery.

The demo for Myst V: End of Ages features a short introductory sequence that introduces you to the mysteries of the pedestals.

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Check out some of the action you can expect from this extremely impressive 3D strategy game. New features include the battle control interface, the dynamic destruction engine and the concept of your home city. Watching this video will whet your appetite for more of the same...check it out.

Download Age of Empires III Trailer in Softonic

Forge the destiny of the world amid the turbulent times of the early 19th century. Lead one of the Great Empires in titanic conflicts, or achieve economic dominance backed by shrewd diplomats and resolute military. Choose to rule as absolute despot or constitutional monarch. Unleash Hussars, Lancers, Dragoons and Imperial Guards across more than 50 battle maps, from the green fields of England, to the icy wastes of Russia and sweeping deserts of Morocco; all in stunning, full 3D. Fight for naval dominance in breathtaking, real-time sea battles. This is an age of change - be at the leading edge of modernity or your civilisation will fall by the wayside.

Download Imperial Glory Demo 1.5 in Softonic