Age of Empires III is the 2005 iteration of Ensemble Studios’ long-running real-time strategy series. While the game was primarily released for PC, a massively scaled-back version was also produced for the N-Gage. The game was one of the best-selling games of 2005, an impressive feat given its relatively niche genre.
Age of Empires III Premise
In Age of Empires III, you take charge of a flourishing town, which you must progress and expand by gathering resources. You’re not the only big dog in town, however. Other societies are looking to grow and will fight you for every inch of available land. As you expand, you move through technological Ages, which allow you to build better units and buildings. These Ages are the Discovery Age, the Colonial Age, the Fortress Age, the Industrial Age, and the Imperial Age.
You move through these Ages as one of the fourteen civilizations you can play in-game. These civilizations offer different advantages and disadvantages, bringing a great deal of variety to Age of Empires III. Will you play as the British and use Musketeers to beat down your foes, or will you take charge of the Spanish and conquer with the Rodeleros? It’s all in your hands.
Age of Empires III Main Characters
You’ll only get to meet the main characters of Age of Empires III if you choose to play the game’s campaign mode. The story follows the Black family, and their journey through history spanning three generations. These generations split the game into Acts, making the narrative easy to follow.
- Amelia Black: As the youngest descendant of the Black family, Amelia is the narrator of the game. She’s the main character of the third act, which follows her journey to expand The Falcon Company and her adventures across South America.
- Morgan Black: Morgan is a commander of the Knights of Saint John, and the star of Act One. A fierce warrior, Morgan travels much of the world fighting for his people. He eventually drinks from The Fountain of Youth, and it’s implied he lives much longer than normal. Morgan eventually lays the groundwork for the Black family legacy.
- John Black: John Black is Morgan’s grandson and leader of John Black’s Mercenaries. He works alongside then-Colonel George Washington while fighting alongside the French in the Seven Years’ War. He is killed fighting Russian troops, a sacrifice that earned his family fortunes in compensation. His son Nathaniel grows up to be a war hero, living up to his father’s legacy.
Age of Empires III Titles in the Series
The Age of Empires franchise dates back to the earlier days of PC gaming when floppy disks and dial-up internet ruled technology. Over the year, it became known for its best-in-class expansion packs, bringing new and unique experiences to each title long after its initial release dates. After the release of Age of Empires III, the franchise went into a hiatus.
While Age of Empires Online provided some players with their RTS fix, it wasn’t a hugely popular title. When the franchise was brought back from the dead, definitive editions were released of the first three titles to reintroduce the franchise. However, Age of Empires IV would return without original developer Ensemble Studios, with Relic Entertainment taking the reins in partnership with World’s Edge.
- Age of Empires (1997)
- Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings (1999)
- Age of Mythology (2002)
- Age of Empires III (2005)
- Age of Empires Online (2011)
- Age of Empires II: HD Edition (2013)
- Age of Empires: Definitive Edition (2018)
- Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition (2019)
- Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition (2020)
- Age of Empires IV (2021)
Age of Empires III Cheat Codes
As a single-player game, it’s entirely up to you how you play Age of Empires III. Ensemble Studios has included plenty of cheats for you to have fun with, and some of the codes are extremely goofy. You can tell how much fun the developers had when they were writing these cheat codes, and you can input them by pressing the Enter key during gameplay.
Cheat Codes
- A recent study indicated that 100% of herdables are obese: All animals on the map are fattened
- Give me liberty or give me coin: Gives 10,000 coins
- Medium rare please: Gives 10,000 food
- <censored>: Gives 10,000 wood
- Nova & Orion: Gives 10,000 XP
- red pocket: Spawns a Lion Dance Parade at your Town Center
- a whole lot of love: Gives 100,000 of all resources
- trade plz: Gives 10,000 exports
- X marks the spot: Reveals the entire map (with fog of war)
- we <3 fluffy!1!: Spawns Fluffy
- don’t kick the pitbull: Spawns a Learicorn
- o Canada 2005: Spawns a Lazerbear
- tuck tuck tuck: Spawns a red monster truck
- wuv woo vol.2: Spawns a flying Tapir
- mustard relish and burning oil: Spawns a flaming hotdog cart
- wee ooh wee ooh: Spawns an alternate monster truck
- ding ding ding: Spawns an ice cream truck
- Where’s that axe?: Spawns George Crushington
- Ya gotta make do with what ya got: Spawns the Mediocre Bombard
- Sooo Good: Turns on comical text when you’re killed by different enemies
- Speed always wins: Gives you 100x gather and build rates
- this is too hard: Skips to the next Campaign scenario
If you don’t want to use cheat codes, there are other ways to get ahead in Age of Empires III. You can also edit a few of the game’s files with particular changes. Note that these changes will only work in single-player, as they’d give you an unfair advantage in multiplayer.
Easy Leveling
First, head to the file path My Documents\My Games\Age of Empires 3\Savegame and open the file sp_yourcityname_homecity.xml with Notepad. Ensure you make a backup of this. Search for the phrase “<level>” and you should have some results. One should say <level>xx</level>. Replace the “xx” with 99, and save the file. If you play a skirmish, you should now be level 99!
Unlimited Skill Points
In the same file as the previous cheat, instead, search the phrase “<skillpoints>” and find the line <skillpoints>xx</skillpoints>. Replace the “xx” with the number of skill points you want, and save the file. You now have access to unlimited skill points in single-player!
Age of Empires III Cheat Code FAQs
How Do You Enable Cheats in Age of Empires III?
There’s actually no particular step you need to take in order to enable cheats in Age of Empires III. As we mentioned earlier, pressing the Enter key does the job, and you’re able to simply type them in. Alternatively, you can click on the Chat icon in the top right of the screen. This brings up the same menu as pressing Enter.
What is the Fastest Way To Get Resources in Age of Empires III?
Cheats, of course! Enter the “a whole lot of love” cheat we mentioned earlier, and you’ll be stacked for resources. If you want to play a bit more legitimately, then livestock is your best bet. You can even combine it with the “A recent study indicated that 100% of herdables are obese” cheat, to make sure every animal gives the maximum resources possible.
Do These Cheats Work in Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition?
Absolutely! The remake of Age of Empires III is extremely faithful to the original game, and that extends all the way to the cheat codes. All of the cheat codes can be used in Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition and can only be used in single-player.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©Xbox Game Studios.