Empire Earth (PC) RTS

[ƒORM]

Empire Earth

I guess if you’ve ever liked games such as Ages Of Empires or Command & Conquer you’ll love Empire Earth. Upon first trying it I was hooked and pleasantly surprised by the small but noticeable changes and improvents (over the previously mentioned). The single player and multiplayer are meant to challenge any previous AOE or C&C fan by taking the basic fundamentals of previous titles and challenging the player with a new set of commands and rules. I highly recommend this to any person that is a fan of real time strategies.

Now it’s time for the good stuff. The game intro is enough to inspire you to head right to the multiplayer menu and desert the entire single player side of it. I always pay attention to intros because I often find it can paint a fairly clear picture of what the game has to offer. The simple rule is to never trust intros but if you’re already at that stage (recently purchased the title and installed it) then it’s best to check it out. First thing I do is always scope out the user menu. I sneak through the controls, graphics, menus and options until I’m absolutely happy with what I see. Next I load a one-player game and sit back and watch the intro. To be honest I haven’t spent a lot of time with the single player games (scenario based). I played through the first level and I found that it had a decent story line and also taught the basics of movement in the game. Multiplayer games are definitely this games highlight.


The intro for the game is decent and compelling. After playing the single player missions and having remembered some scenes from the intro I quickly grew very curious of the multiplayer mode


Test System: XP- P3-800Mhz - 800mb Ram - Geforce 2 Ti

AI: 8/10
-Cpu is extremely tricky on the hardest setting
-The computer is very capable of killing off your entire island over and over while you learn the game. Be prepared to lose a few rounds
-The computer seems to know your moves at times and will punish you for your advancements before you’ve made an honest attempt
-Depending on the settings the computer is very capable of challenging your skills


Graphics: 8/10 – for its class
-Requires a moderate-decent computer and moderate-decent video card
-Smooth animations and detailed textures
-Good explosion and flame effects
- Detailed tanks, mechs and infantry
-Very cool spell casts by priests and effects by certain mech’s


Sound & Music: 8/10
-Epic intro music
-Decent game music although I keep the volume low
-Humorous grunts, decent radio messages, aircraft, gunfire and explosions
-female voices, accents, environment sounds and attack messages



Highlights:
-The intro pans over a mech-soldier that looks like Arnold Schwarzenegger
-Excellent multiplayer capabilities for up to 8 players
-Peer to peer connection
-Team Islands (download) that enables 2 players to use one island (great for 2 on 2)
-Excellent coverage of epochs. Prehistoric through Nano age
-WW1, WW2, modern and mech technologies
-In multiplayer matches, the starting and ending epoch can be specified
-Mineral pits rarely disappear and resources are well placed
-Custom civilization builder (great for making deadly combinations)
-Map editor for single player missions
-This game has at least 7 WONDERS of the world, each possessing their own special powers, which you can build in multiplayer matches and use it to your advantage
-Apparently designed by the guy who helped make Ages Of Empires and left Microsoft to create his own version of it called Empire Earth
-Very cool zoom in function that enables you to drop from birds eye to ground view
-Nice custom game user menu for selecting terrain, map size etc…
-**If the game crashes or a player drops the host has an option of quick saving the game. Once the host has saved the game, the host can now load the game and the client will be able to dl the map from him in less than 100 seconds.


Weak Points:
-Computer seems to have an unlimited bank account at times
-Computer seems to know your every move at times
-Computer has a funny way of breaking through the walls and or sneaking through forest to get inside your base (some troops have that capability)
-No multiplayer map editing (as of yet)
-The zoom camera view is cool but very limited
-Annoying “We’re Under Attack” voice message
-Computer will taunt you (after building a wonder) even if he has 1 man left standing
-No map selections in multiplayer. Computer randomly generates maps at will


If you enjoy RTS based games then Empire Earth is certainly a game worthy of your attention. Not only will you have fun building your own civilization you’ll also have fun advancing through the ages and exploring all the different types of units. Highly recommended for those who like anything similar to AOE of C&C.


~fORM