Empire Earth

Empire Earth is what you might call an ambitious project. The final game will boast five campaigns spanning 12 epochs of history. 'Epic' is too cliched a word to describe a game that covers more than 500,000 years of human conflict; and as far as developer Stainless Steel is concerned, the words 'gruelling' and 'painstaking' are probably far closer to the truth.

Still, in our opinion you only get out of a game what you put in, and EE contains everything from Cro-Magnon man to Nazi bunkers and beyond. In other words we're talking Age Of Empires, Sudden Strike and Starcraft in one finely tuned package with more than 200 distinct units. Don't forget that all this is in full 3D, and we were shown how you can zoom down to see the colour of soldiers' eyes, or plant yourself in the cockpit of a Spitfire as it screams out of the sky. As we stood watching the demo it became apparent that Empire Earth is going to be big. The attention to detail is both spectacular and realistic, even smoke from battles slowly starts to drift across the play area making it difficult to see your enemies.

EE is another in a new breed of RTSs attempting to make use of line-of-sight routines, meaning that archers, snipers or laser weapons are much more effective from elevated places such as roofs and hilltops.

Empire Earth was showing a great deal of promise at the show, and is yet another game we'll be keeping close tabs on.

Hailed On Its release as a cross between Age Of Empires and Civ, Empire Earth was one of those games that promised so much but only delivered in part (for the recent expansion Empire Earth II: Art Of Supremacy). All of which wasn't all that surprising, as had it achieved its objective of mixing those two strategic legends in one perfect whole, we could all have happily packed up and gone home, knowing we'd played the ultimate strategy game.

What you do get, however, is an entertaining RTS game spanning 12 distinctly different historical epochs, ranging from prehistoric times to the future. The gameplay is far more akin to Age Of Empires than Civ, and in fact more often than not, Empire Earth feels like Age Of Empires, only with more epochs, a greater selection of units and less intelligent AI.

Graphically, the game has aged poorly, but if you're looking for some basic history-spanning RTS fun, then Empire Earth is still an entertaining jaunt - especially at this price.

Congratulations, you have won the opportunity to rebuild the Earth as only your Imperial Majesty wishes, but don't think that neighboring empires will be happy with such self-will in Empire Earth strategy. Develop your dominions as you please and outdo your opponent to win your right to rule the Earth.

From primitive standing to planetary conquest

As in many strategies, for example in Age of Empires 2, the player needs to create his own empire, which will surpass all other countries. As they say, Rome was not built in a day, so the empire will also develop more than one decade. Travel with your empire through the ages, from the Stone Age to colonies on other planets. Each new era brings new improvements and new units.

Back to the Age of Great Empires

There are twenty-one civilizations in the game. Basically all civilizations except the fictional New Russia campaign are ancient states that once existed in reality. Agree, playing for already destroyed civilizations like Ancient Greece, the Roman Empire, Babylon, the Assyrian Empire, Carthage, and the Kingdom of Israel is like feeling like a great general far in the past.

It's not just war that builds empires

The development of an Empire requires specialized institutions that can improve over time. For example, farming can be developed in the Granaries, where special citizens-agrarians work. New healthcare technologies can be safely developed in Hospitals. Education and new methods are modernized in the University. And the economic side of life is managed in the Capitol. Each new research and improvement helps not only ordinary citizens, but also combat units. For example, technology in the hospital can give troops extra health points, and the University will give new weapons.

Against the world and friends

However, playing against artificial intelligence is not always so much fun. The game allows the player to choose one of two game modes:

• Multiplayer.
• Singleplayer

Battle for the right to rule the world with your friends in multiplayer mode and find out who is worthy to hold the title of Emperor of the World.