Empire Earth – Page 3 – My Game Reviews

Why Empire Earth: The Art of Conquest’s Space Era is still worth playing today

The Original Empire Earth came out in a time when expansion packs were still packaged in boxes. The cover of the Art of Conquest expansion features a Roman legionary, probably a centurion in his armor.

Inside the game, there was inclusion of a strange aspect to the game known as the Space Age.

In this screenshot above, you can see the stars in the background, beyond the Space Age tower.

It is quite apparent that the developers were ambitious with this expansion. Whereas they could have spent the time putting more focus on fleshing out the various civilizations in the game, they spent it on adding an entirely new part to the game, namely space.

In some sense, it is clear Empire Earth’s engine just wasn’t up to the task of rendering space.

When one looks at the planets in Empire Earth, they look like floating pieces rock in some High Fantasy story that have been transferred onto the great vastness of space. In my opinion, it looks out of place here

Space in Empire is similar to water but there is a big distinction here. There are no resources available in space. Everything that you need has to be on the land parts of the map. This means that space is merely just a physical barrier, which separates you and your opponents.

The walls in the Space Age get an upgrade. In this age, they shimmer like force fields in Star Wars. Stylistically, they are not as imposing as the Laser Walls that appear in the Digital Age.

The Clunky nature of playing a 2002 game

I remember playing Empire Earth in 2002. I did not touch the expansion at that time.

Now that I am playing it with having more 20 years of foresight, I can see how old software is having issues playing on what would seem like a supercomputer in those early Aughts.

In the game that I was playing, the game was running slow as various robotic citizens were being added to my planet. It was clear that the game was not optimized properly for modern computers.

GOG.com has done a great service for bringing older games back onto the computers of gamers.

The Space Era in the Empire Earth: Art of Conquest expansion is still worth playing now.

What makes it exciting is that clunky integration of space and land into the game.

Empire Earth in its futuristic ages has something that the sequel does not have; it simply seems more holistic.

In some sense, I can understand why Empire Earth is still more popular than the sequel. That ability to build move units and build buildings wherever you want is important aspect of the game.

As I play the Space Age of Empire Earth: The Art of Conquest, I reminded of how games were once affordable and were actually worth the time and money you spent on them. That is why Empire Earth still holds a speical place in my gaming catalog.

Sometimes, a bit of clunkiness goes a long way to building character.

Empire Earth 2 and the sounds of war

Empire Earth 2 Naval Combat with Helicopters

Empire Earth 2 is a tricky game when it comes to the ages after the Atomic Era. One of the weaknesses of the sequel is the mis mash of contemporary units with the futuristic units. The original Empire Earth had a more holistic approach with how its futuristic ages looked like while Empire Earth 2 seemed to forget about that the trade vans still looked like 1940s era trucks.

However, the game is not skimping on the sounds of war which makes these mistakes seem less noticeable.

When you get into the modern ages with machines with engines and robotic walking machines, there is huge increase in the sounds you hear on the battlefields.

When a tank blows up in the game, the sound is more impactful than in comparison to the OG Empire Earth. In the original game, the tanks tended to blow up with this strange sound like a tank gun was going off and the graphic of it wasn’t the best in my opinion. While serviceable, I feel like in Empire Earth 2, there is a greater weight to the explosions. To me, this is why I enjoy playing Empire Earth 2 in the more modern ages.

There is one pre-modern sound effect that I enjoy hearing in Empire Earth 2. That is the sound of muskets firing. It has such a weight just like how the shells and missiles flying in the modern ages.

Empire Earth 2 Muskets Battle in the Game.

Empire Earth’s original musket sound was bit too repetitive for me. However, in the sequel, the game’s sound for this weapon have bit more weight to them.

This is another reason why Empire Earth 2 has become one of my favorite games.

Empire Earth 2: This 2005 RTS surpasses modern games

Empire Earth 2 Synthetic Age City Center

Empire Earth 2 is growing on me, and I enjoy it in spite of it being 20 years old now. That the game is so playable is a testament to how the developers managed to create a worthy sequel. While some may say that it strays too far away from the original game, I think that it is a worthy game that is well worth your time. Even if you are RTS aficionado who only plays Starcraft games, I think that this game is a great addition to one’s catalog.

Empire Earth 2 Rain Weather Effects in game

One of my most favorite aspects of this game is the weather. It is great to see the rain falling in the Spring and the snow falling in the winter. This adds so much character to the game. Empire Earth was great at its use with the day and night cycles, especially in the campaigns. However, Empire Earth 2 took it to another level and make it even better.

The great thing about the weather in Empire Earth 2 is that it is integrated into the game. The game actually tells you about weather in the game. The outposts which function as the equivalent to towers from Empire Earth are also able to tell the Weather to the player. In comparison with most games, this is one of the most innovative features in the RTS space that I have ever seen. It is very rare for any video game to take weather seriously except a couple games. However, in Empire Earth 2, the weather is a player of its own.

Empire Earth 2 Snow Effects in Ancient Age

In the screenshot, you can see that the weather effects in Empire Earth 2, despite being 20 years old, have a weight to them. In many games that I have been in have had this effect. Being a man who loves the winter, seeing these winter storms is a treat.

Even when it is raining, you can really get the feeling of those rainstorms. The lightning strikes and noise of thunder all add great character to the game.

Another aspect which shows the attention to details is that the amount of snow that is collecting on the roofs of buildings in the game. Unlike in older games, the game was made in a way that shows this change instead of treating like an static weather effect. Star Wars: Empire at War, which came out a year after Empire Earth 2 also heavily utilized weather effects in gameplay. Interestingly, there was a cluster of games in the mid 2000s that seemed to really emphasize such features in their games.

It shows that experimentation while respecting the past is an important part of making video games. In my opinion, the video game industry has simply become too comfortable with rising sales on the backs of their subscription services and the mobile app stores.

I think that looking back at the past is what the video game industry really needs right now. If anything, it shows that older isn’t necessarily worse than the new. There is much that older video games can teach us.