IGN has posted the first online Age of Empires 3 Q&A, asking Ensemble's Greg Street and Dave Pottinger about the strategy game sequel. Topics include the setting, the eight civilizations, the campaign mode, gameplay changes, game engine and multiplayer. Several fine looking screenshots are included as well.

We considered a lot of time periods for Age of Empires III but ultimately kept coming back to the one we chose. For starters, we knew the fan expectation was to move chronologically through time. We think it makes a good arc in the overall "Age of" franchise and leaves room for future titles without having to go backwards in time. The colonial time period is a good fit for an Age game. Although military technology has advanced, the fundamentals of combat haven't changed from the Age of Kings time period the way they would, say for WWI. That is, the game starts with a lot of units familiar from Age of Kings, like Pikemen and Crossbows. Even in the later part of the game, where there are lots of gunpowder units on the battlefield, cavalry still fight hand-to-hand with swords. Other aspects of the time period work well with our gameplay, such as exploring an unknown map, starting a new town, eventually coming into contact with other players, and having to resolve differences (usually by force). That is pretty much the story of colonization and conquest of the New World in a nutshell.