It's been almost a year since Age of Empires III first hit the shelves. Luckily, the developers haven't been sitting still during that time. WarChiefs, the game's first expansion, will offer a completely different perspective in conquering the new world - that of the Native Americans. Time to get those pens out, because here's a chance to rewrite history.

There will be three new Native American factions in WarChiefs, each with their own distinctive look and gameplay. The Iroquois is a well-rounded tribe with some European-influenced units like the light cannon, making them the easiest tribe to transition from the main game with. Their strong economy makes them the ideal choice for beginners. At first glance, they play very similarly to the other factions with one major difference. Native American tribes have access to a Fire Pit, which peasants can be assigned to dance around. Fire Pits can be set to provide specific bonuses, like stronger attacks for military units, faster healing rates for the WarChief, stronger economy, or faster unit creation. When used right, the pit can provide some pretty significant advantages over the European factions. The more peasants the player assigns to dance, the better the bonus becomes. However, while they're dancing, they're not gathering resources.

The WarChief works much like the European Explorer unit in that it can explore the land and grab up treasures. However, unlike the Explorer, the WarChief actually becomes more powerful over time and will provide bonuses to nearby military units.

In addition to new units, buildings, and WarChiefs, there will be a completely new single player campaign centering on the Black family. In the first act, you follow the exploits of Nathaniel Black who leaves his Iroquois village and eventually ends up fighting alongside Washington in the American Revolution. In this case, not only will the player have to work to repel European factions, but rival Native American tribes who have decided to side with the Europeans.

Other unique gameplay additions include a Trade Monopoly victory, where players have a chance to purchase a monopoly after taking over more than half of a map's trading posts. Rival players will have to destroy those trading posts before the timer runs out. However, one of the most intriguing gameplay options is Revolution, which is only available to European factions. Before reaching the Imperial Age, players have an opportunity to revolt. Doing so will convert all settlers into militia. From then on, the only thing they can from a Revolution Home City are military units and Fort Wagons. Unable to move on to the Imperial Age, and unable to create new settlers, revolting puts the player on a constant offensive.

WarChiefs looks like it will breathe some new life into Age of Empires III by offering a different perspective. Players will no longer necessarily be battling to conquer the new world. With Native American tribes, they will have a chance to defend it. The Native American tribes look distinct enough from the European factions to stand out and offer some diverse gameplay while preserving feel of AOE3. Where they were pretty much backdrop NPC's in the original game, they are now living and playable. The developers, Ensemble Studios, seem to be on the right track with WarChiefs, and we're looking forward to seeing how the other Native American tribes fit in to the big picture.