Age of Empires III gives players an amazing amount of control over their side of the battlefield.

More to command – Not only are you in command of large and diverse armies of infantry, cavalry and artillery, but also Native American warriors, mercenaries and tall ships.

Multiple formations – You can assign different formations to your army for different strengths and weaknesses, or have the game automatically choose the most appropriate formation. Examples include:

• Volley – ranged infantry, like musketeers, take turns firing at enemies ahead of them.
• Charge – your soldiers walk, then run into combat. Cavalry wield sabers, and musketeers fix bayonets. This formation does tremendous damage but makes your soldiers more prone to injury.
• Bombard – your soldiers protect the cannons, while the cannons shell enemy ranks. Available only when you have artillery in your army.

Battles are easier to follow – You can still command individual units. But when the units fight in formation, you'll be able to tell exactly who is winning the fight.

Real-time physics – Infantry struck by cannon fire will be thrown like rag dolls, perhaps even over a cliff and into the water. Cannonballs bounce and ricochet.

Detailed destructions – Shingles, shutters and whole towers may fly off a building and interact with the terrain, such as crashing into nearby water. This next generation effect is done on the fly so that each building always has a unique destruction, no matter how many times you see it.

Unique animations – With hundreds of unique combat animations, you'll never see the same battle twice.