Kotaku points to Gamespy's hands-on preview of Age of Empires III, which they describe as "graphically the most ambitious RTS ever developed".
Ensemble aimed to have AOE III's graphics compared to the likes of Half-Life 2 or DOOM 3, but a minus point in the preview is that the graphics will probably require fans to upgrade their systems.
The preview also goes into further detail on the Home City concept of the game:
Basically, your Home City represents the European capital of your chosen nation. All of the game action takes place in the new world. But, experience you gain in the new world will allow you to "level up" your home city (with improvements in tech trees, units available, etc.) Furthermore, as you gain points on the main game map you gain the ability to have the Home City send shipments to you. These shipments can contain resources, civilians, or military units that'll appear on the main map a few seconds later.
It doesn't seem like the Home City would impact the game that much, but those precious shipments add whole new layers onto the strategy. Do you ship over colonists as soon as you can to build your economy faster? Or do you ship over army units to rush your opponents when they don't expect it? Do you save up several shipments so that you have an emergency resupply in case of an attack? Different players have different strategies.
Age of Empires III - Exclusive Hands-On
Official site for Age of Empires 3
AGE OF EMPIRES III EXPLORED, PART ONE, PART TWO
GamePro.com first look at Age of Empires 3 (4 April)
Age of Empires III rewriting history - No, no, WRONG
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