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I'm personally not a huge RTS fan, outside of the staples (like AOE here, and the Civilization games), and I'm not what you would call, "well versed". However, I do enjoy them once I get into playing, so I was more than happy to check out the preview build of newest Age of Empires III expansion, The WarChiefs.

As the name implies the expansion circles around the inclusion of the Native American's as a playable group, specifically the Sioux, Aztecs, and the Iroquois. The Iroquois were the only playable group in this preview. From what I understand, the Sioux are a cavalry based group, while the Aztecs are formed around infantry. The Iroquois represent a better mix of Cavalry and Infantry, providing the well rounded group of the expansion.

There are a few things that the Native Americans have that similar to the groups already available. They have a form of a Home City called the Tribal Council, which provides the same abilities already available in the main game. Included with the NA's is the use of a "Fire Pit" which acts a way to advance both the military and economy, done so by having your villagers dance around the pit.

The preview also included a few missions that revolved around the Black family (a storyline also present in the main game) specifically revolving around Nathaniel Black. The story seems interesting enough, but I wasn't really able to reach the gut of it before the preview build ends. It should be interesting to see how the story plays out though. All in all there are 15 different missions that will be included in the final build.

A new feature included in the game (but not available in the build) will be Revolutions. You can opt for the Revolution instead of advancing to the Imperial Age. Upon activating this, your settlers will become militia, and you'll no longer be able to create more settlers. Instead, you trade advancement for a war, becoming a force to be reckoned with. This option is strictly available to the Europeans.

Another feature involves Trade Monopolies. Upon activating the Monopoly feature, a timer will begin. From there on out, your goal is to protect your own trading posts while reducing the amount your opponent has. The player with the most posts when the timer runs out wins. It'll be pretty fun to see how this turns out online.

All in all, The WarChiefs is shaping up quite nicely, and I'm looking forward to checking out the full build soon.

Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs is the latest installment in the award-winning Age of Empires franchise and continues Ensemble's stellar track record of delivering innovative RTS games experiences.

• Playable Native American civilizations. Lead one of three proud Native American civilizations, including the Iroquois Confederacy and the Sioux Nation, to expand their empires and fight for control of the Americas. Each Native American civilization will have its own unique units, led by the powerful WarChief unit, buildings reflecting each culture's architectural style, and a distinct approach to its Home City feature
• Gripping new single-player campaign. Age of Empires: The WarChiefs will introduce a new single-player campaign that continues the saga from Age of Empires III. Play through 15 new missions with a rich story and a cast of characters that interact with real historic figures and events
• Enhancements to European civilizations. The expansion pack will also provide exciting additions to existing European civilizations, with new Home City content, new units including new mercenaries, and new ways to look at your card deck
• Extended gameplay. Experience more of everything, including new random maps of unique locations in the Americas not featured in the original Age of Empires III, additional native allies and units, more statistics tracking, and new ways to play.