"less-than-stellar voice work and awkward cutscenes"; GameSpy agreed that "Age of Empires IIIs campaign is not revolutionary", but thought that "the voice acting is great". IGN praised the campaign's story, in that it gave the player a "nice sense of purpose"; they thought "The 24-mission campaign is very well designed." Eurogamer said the campaign lacked originality, stating, though "well-written and imaginatively framed", the campaign "offers exactly the same kind of challenges that RTS campaigns have been offering for years;" Game Revolution disliked the campaign more than the other reviewers. Comparing it to Age of Empires IIs campaign, they said: "The plot actually got worse. Age of Empires III...avoids all the interesting and prickly issues like genocide, epidemics and slavery, instead subbing in a wimpy tale of a family destined to protect the Holy Grail from a Satanic Cult." Multiplayer Age of Empires IIIs multiplayer was the first in the series to be integrated into the game interface and was highly lauded, as was the Home City concept. The topic of multiplayer was touched by GameZone, who said "this game demands multiplayer mode, and Ensemble Studios provided this for the players", while at 1UP, the reviewer commented similarly, stating, "Multiplayer support has been significantly upgraded with a slick interface, support for clans and a number of other useful features." GameSpy commented on the Home City as well, saying, "the 'home city' system creates long-term depth and strategy". EuroGamer, however, stated: "Stop with the gifts! ... You do not need to let me flick to a home city screen every few minutes so that I can select a free unit or resource windfall. I'm not some spoilt toddler that needs to be bribed with endless sweeties." Age of Empires III uses the ESO server for multiplayer. Awards Age of Empires III won PC Gamer USs "Best Real-Time Strategy Game 2005" award. The magazine's Brett Todd wrote, "It was astounding how Ensemble managed to stick to the historical RTS formula yet keep the gameplay feeling fresh." The game was presented with two awards by GameSpy in 2005: "Real-time strategy game of the year" and "Best Graphics". GameSpy highly praised the game overall, giving it 5 stars in its review, which particularly noted the graphics and multiplayer experience. The game was named fifth-best game of 2005 by GameSpy. Other awards, including an "Outstanding" from GameZone, reflect the positive critical reception of the game. The