Age of Empires® III

User Guide for the N-Gage Platform

 User Guide for Age of Empires® III on the N-Gage Platform  –  1

Contents
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Gameplay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Game View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Campaign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Skirmish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Online . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Experience Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Ages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Discovery Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Colonial Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Fortress Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

© 2007 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, the Microsoft Games Studios logo, Age of Empires and
Ensemble Studios are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies.

Nokia, N-Gage, and other Nokia product and game names are trademarks or registered trademarks of Nokia
Corporation.
 User Guide for Age of Empires® III on the N-Gage Platform  –  2

Overview
Age of Empires® III on N-Gage represents an evolutionary step from the previous installments
in the acclaimed series. The events of the mobile game shortly predate the campaign of the PC
version, chronicling the events leading up to the first mission.

Story
The mobile campaign documents the 1565 Siege of Malta, when the Ottoman Empire invaded the
island, held by the Knights of St. John. You play as Sir Morgan Black. Your goal is to raise armies
and command them against the invading Ottomans across 15 missions until the siege is broken.
 User Guide for Age of Empires® III on the N-Gage Platform  –  3

Gameplay
Age of Empires® III on N-Gage is a real-time strategy title in which you must gather resources,
use them to build an army, and crush the enemy before they crush you.

Game View
• Shipments, resources, and housing stats are displayed at the
top of the screen.
• Pressing Controller Key Center brings up the build menu to
create new structures.
• Selecting a structure and pressing Key 5 brings up its building
submenu (as shown).
• Highlighting an icon in the build menu or a building’s submenu
gives a short description of the unit or structure (as shown)
• Pressing the Left Selection Key pauses the game.

Controls
Use the Controller Key to move the cursor.

Key # Brings up the minimap, showing the entire battlefield on the screen at
once.
Key 7 If an event, like units coming under attack, has recently occurred, this
will move the focus to that event. If no event has recently occurred, this
will cycle through idle Settlers.
Key * Pause and command mode. The game is paused, but you can still give
orders to units and start new buildings. Orders are carried out when
the game resumes.
Controller Key Center Brings up the build menu.
Left Selection Key Pauses the game and brings up the menu.
Gaming Key A or Press once to select a unit, building, or resource; twice to select all
primary game key units of the same type; or three times to select all similar units on the
screen. If you select clear ground in this manner, all selected units will
move to that point.
Gaming Key B or Clears the current action or selection.
secondary game key
 User Guide for Age of Empires® III on the N-Gage Platform  –  4

Structure
The game has two single-player modes as well as a multiplayer mode:

Campaign
The campaign consists of 15 missions in which you must achieve specific objectives in a series of
battles set during the 1565 Siege of Malta.

Skirmish
Set up an all-or-nothing battle against the enemy on one of 12 maps. Play one-on-one, ally with
one AI player against another, or challenge yourself by playing a three-player free-for-all or
fighting alone against two AI opponents.

Online
To play an online skirmish against another person, select N-Gage Arena from the Play menu.
Once you are connected to Arena, you can choose Freestyle or Filtered. Once you have set up
or joined your game, you can send text messages to your opponent by bringing up the in-game
menu and selecting Send Texts.

Resources
Age of Empires® III on N-Gage has three resource types: Food, Wood, and Gold. Bushes yield
Food, trees yield Wood, and rocks yield Gold. Different combinations of the three resources build
the units and structures available in the game. The Settler unit is used to gather all three resource
types.
 User Guide for Age of Empires® III on the N-Gage Platform  –  5

Experience Points
You gain experience points for killing enemy units, destroying enemy structures, and building
new units and structures. The experience points fill up the green bar at the top of the screen.
When the bar is full, you are awarded a shipment token, which you can spend on the Home City
screen to receive additional units or resources.
 User Guide for Age of Empires® III on the N-Gage Platform  –  6

Ages
The player must advance through the three ages to be able to build all the units and structures in
the game.

Discovery Age
You will usually start the level in the Discovery Age. In this stage you can set up your economy
and start your base. Your military ability is very poor, as you can only build Outposts, the basic
defensive structure, and Pikemen, the basic infantry unit. You should advance to the next stage as
quickly as possible to build more effective military units.

Colonial Age
By spending 800 Food in the Town Center, you can advance to the Colonial Age, allowing you
access to more advanced military units as well as changing the style of your buildings.
 User Guide for Age of Empires® III on the N-Gage Platform  –  7

Fortress Age
Spending 1200 Food and 1000 Gold at the Colonial Age Town Center will advance you to the
Fortress Age, giving you access to the most powerful units and the Fort defensive structure.
When you advance to the Fortress Age, all your Outposts are automatically upgraded to more
powerful Frontier Outposts.

Tips
• Try reconfiguring the controls if you find they don’t function in the way you’d hoped.
• If you’re stuck, check your objectives in the menu screen.
• Try to make sure your settlement is working for you at all times. Settlers should always be
gathering resources, buildings should always be producing units, and so on. Don’t let the
enemy catch you by surprise.
• Outposts can be powerful defensive weapons if placed wisely.
• Some unit types are stronger against certain other unit types. Try to create a varied army to
cover all eventualities.
• Don’t be disheartened if you fail your mission. Next time you play, you’ll have a better idea
of how the enemy will behave.