Sierra's Empire Earth: An Age of Empires Clone.
Written: Apr 08 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great graphics, involving engaging game.
Cons: Too ambitious at times in its wide scope of range.
The Bottom Line: Empire Earth is a very good game, that wants to be a great one, it almost succeeds.
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| Ironcladd's Full Review: Empire Earth For Windows |
"An Age of Empires Clone".
“Empire Earth” is the newest real time strategy game from Sierra games, and Stainless Steel Studios, and spans 500,000 years of human history, from the Stone Age through the modern era, through to future times like the “nano” age. Age of Empires lead designer, Rich Goodman, put this game together, and it tries very hard to be the successor to “Age of Empires”, and succeeds in some ways, and takes the other concept a step further into the modern and post-modern eras, and fails in other ways. With some great 3-D graphics, over 200 unique units, 14 different eras or epochs, stone age tribesmen, World War II tanks, nano fighters, jets, chariots, and more, this game is very adventurous in its scope. What follows is a table of information on the game, followed by highlights of the game, game play, and my review of the game.
Information Table on “Empire Earth”.
Software Company: Sierra, Stainless Steel Studios, and Mark Churms The Art of History.
Rating: T for Teen, with Blood and Violence.
Minimum System Requirements:
Pentium II processor PC
64 MB RAM
450 MB Hard Drive Space
Super BGA monitor supporting 1024 x 768 resolution
AGP 3-D video card
CD-ROM Drive
Microsoft Compatible Mouse
28.8 bps Modem or higher
Direct X Compatible Soundcard (for Direct X 8)
Internet Play: ISP provider
Cost: $44.95-49.95
Highlights of the Game/Game Play.
For the experienced “Age of Empires” gamer, “Empire Earth” is a pretty easy game to play. For the newcomer, “Empire Earth” is a really complex game to learn how to play, especially considering the 200 + page game manual that comes with it, technology chart poster, and single sheet information page with information on the “hot keys”. However, the game can be learned in an hour or so, just skim through the manual, then, after installing the game into its huge directory file on your hard drive, you start the game.
Firstly, the introduction cinematics are incredible! The logos of Sierra and Stainless Steel Studios is graphically rich and dramatic, in a purely multimedia way. Then, the introduction to the game with computer graphics that one dreams of, a stone age tribal chieftain being painted and dancing around a campfire, Horatio Nelson at Trafalgar commanding his ships to victory with a round of cannon fired, to General George Patton looking through his binoculars at the German Panzers in the North African desert, giving the order to “fire”, so realistic that it looks like a movie, and finally the nano age of cyber warriors fighting in a post-apocalyptic world. Most of the RTS games starts out with such bravado, and makes you only wish the game itself played like the introduction cinematics!
Game play is basically patterned around the gathering of resources, gold, food, wood, and iron ore, the stockpiling of which helps you to do just about everything in the game, except the actual fighting. As in Age of Empires, you need so much wood and stone to construct buildings, from houses to “settlements”, which are supply depots, to barracks, archery pits, cavalry stables, granaries, airports, tank factories, docks, naval yards, industrial buildings, hospitals, temples and churches, and finally wonders. There are 14 epochs or eras, spanning 500,000 years of human history, from stone age, to copper age, bronze age, iron age, middle ages, imperial age, etc. Advancing from age to age requires building so many unique buildings from that age, researching various technologies, and getting enough food, gold, and iron that is required to advance from this age to that age, and it gets progressively harder as the game goes on. The technologies that you can “research”, as it were, are many, and can be done with an expenditure of food, wood, stone, gold, etc. These “technologies” improve resource gathering capabilities, military strength improvements in offense and defense, improved buildings, powers of priests and prophets, and more.
Empire Earth can be played against the computer, which has a very formidable artificial intelligence, or A/I, interface. Game play can be easy, medium, difficult or impossible. Variation in game play is almost limitless, as the map can be small, tiny, medium, large, huge or gigantic. You can set the beginning age in the Stone Age, and play all the way through the nano age, spanning 500,000 years. You can also predetermine your civilization by choosing a preset one, or customizing your own. You can play against one computer player, or up to eight, or have teams, you and a computer ally, against three or four others. There is also standard play and tournament play. The population limit can be preset as well, from 25-500 units. Other ways to play include head to head Internet play, where you can play a buddy live on the Internet. I haven’t played this way yet, and have only played against the computer so far.
Buildings and their Units
The basic unit is the individual villager or citizen, who can build, gather resources, explore, and even fight if needed. As each age progresses, the language ability of the units advances, from grunting stone agers to modern citizens who say “how can I help?”
The barracks produces infantry units, in the Stone Age they are clubmen, spearmen, and “Sampson”, who drags a large log that he can wield against buildings and towers. In later ages, swordsmen, phalanx men, centurions, grenadiers, doughboys, marines, etc. Similarly, the archery range makes slingers, archers, crossbowmen, longbow men, etc. Cavalry stables make scouts, cavalry archers, cavalry spearmen, Cataphract, etc.
The village center or capital makes villagers and citizens, and also “heroes”. In the copper age, you can upgrade to Gilgamesh, and make this hero, who commands the troops in the field, and makes them stronger, and has great strength himself. Later heroes are Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, Henry V, Charlemagne, Napoleon, Patton, etc. Temples produce priests, who can convert the enemy units, and prophets, who can cause all kinds of disastrous calamities, like earthquakes, a malaria plague, firestorms, volcano power, and the like. These can destroy enemy buildings and enemy units. Siege buildings can make catapults, battering rams, ballistas, and later on, cannons and siege mortars. The docks, and later naval yard, makes fishing boats, transport rafts and units, and warships, from a simple stone throwing war raft, to galleys and battleships, to more sophisticated ships. Later in the game, the naval yard can make battleships, u-boats, and aircraft carriers. Airports make World War I and II, and later modern airplanes and jets. The tank factory produces cool tanks, from Panzers and Sherman’s to M1A1’s.
How to Win.
You can win the game by annihilating the enemy forces totally, or by building wonders. The game parameters that you choose at the beginning of the game determine how the game is to be won. You can require a game to be won by building one, two, three, or seven wonders. Playing the game is very time consuming, depending on the level you have chosen, and winning it is an almost exhausting experience. However, you can save the game and continue it another time later on if you get tired.
My Review of Empire Earth.
What I like about the game.
I love the graphics, the different civilizations, the unique units, and the overall similarity in game play to Age of Empires. The heroes are so cool too, as they are unique to each age, and presumably to each civilization. From Hannibal to Alexander the Great to Napoleon and Patton, all are pretty cool, and can whip the enemy in no uncertain terms. I like the formidable A/I computer opponent, which is extremely challenging, and can crush you at any given time with his military, priests, siege weapons, and naval units, and is really quite relentless. I like the opening cinematics, and the overall 3-D graphics in the game too. I like the different game play modes, and the different wonders you can build. I also like the prophet unit, who can wreak havoc by creating a calamity like an earthquake or a malaria plague on your enemies. I also like the various military units, from the Sampson guy to tanks and F-15’s and naval units.
What I don’t like about the game.
I don’t like the fact that the units are tiny. You almost have to squint to see your guys in this game, and I think that it might be ultimately bad for your eyes. I only wish there was a way to “Zoom” in to see the units better. I also don’t like the fact that things tend to move slowly, that is, your units move slowly, while the A/I seems to maneuver with ease as you stumble and fumble your way around the map, and he picks you off with precision and accuracy until your attack fizzles into nothing. I also don’t like how the game pauses for an auto save every 10 minutes or so, it is really annoying.
But, all in all, Empire Earth is a very good game that tries to be a great game, and succeeds in some ways, and fails in others. I think the game designers bit off a little too much that they could chew, and I think the vast scope of the game limited the end result. Perhaps if they made this into three separate games, dividing the different timelines equally, they could have focused more on a better graphical interface with larger units, and smoother game play. Even so, it is a very good game, I do like it, and with it was smoother to play. Perhaps they will put out “patches” later on to fix some of the “bugs”, perhaps not. I give it 3 1/2 out of 5 stars, and think most Age of Empires players will like it. The price is a bit steep, so I suggest waiting 6 months for it to be $20 or so on Half.com or Ebay, before taking the $49.95 plunge into it like I did.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Ironcladd
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Member: James Zaworski
Location: Shenzhen, China
Reviews written: 505
Trusted by: 157 members
About Me:
I am an English teacher, Archeologist and Anthropologist.
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