The usage of “network” effect to basically dismiss calls for other search engines or any other institution is a common phrase. The people who use it to say there is something transhistorical about Google and that people should be just accept Google. The thing that Google has is the ability to just control the access to information and also installing their search services on every Android device here. Microsoft got in trouble for the same thing, but now they are basically the underdogs here in the search space with Bing, which is good but is basically unable to gain traction because Google keeps people within their systems. This means that people only see Google and not other competitors.
I use Google’s products as they are not incompetent at making email services such as Gmail. However, they are often used as the only service and the “nerds” or power” users are trying to use other products. For example, think about DuckDuckGo or other search engines such as Bing as I mentioned earlier. However, Bing is the only one that is capable of challenging Google. In the early 2010s, its market share was higher than it is now but it is unable to get beyond a small percentage.
We need more search engine choices.
Why is that we allow people to congregate in the “best”
This best is being propped up with all sorts of trickery and manipulations. The most important thing that can happen now is that we need to break up the app stores of both Google and Apple. This duopoly has allowed for the ossification of many aspects of the internet. It has led to the decline in the quality of desktop sites. Previously, desktop sites had all their charm and qualities. Now it the same throughout and it is not interesting now. Even the corporate sites, the front page of a company’s brand have become little more than portals to their social media sites.
We need competition and while we may have alternatives, we do not currently have competition.
Search engines should be an area of competition and growth and not beholden to only one company. The internet is a space without any limit in space only bandwidth. We should have many choices.
In 2003, a spiritual successor to Empire Earth was released. It was known as Empires: Dawn of the Modern World and it is an intriguing game. Made by the same people who made Empire Earth, Stainless Steel Studios, it is game that refines Empire Earth by giving it a new coat of paint. That paint is quite effective and transforms Empire Earth into a lush if somewhat more shallow game.
Unlike Empire Earth 2, which sought to push the franchise into the direction of being more like Rise of Nations vs its original game, Empires takes what made Empire Earth successful and refines it.
In Empires: Dawn of the Modern World, every civilization has their own unique architecture and some even have unique structures.
Empires plays very similarly to Empire Earth. Much like many other RTS in that era, it is mainly about the military rather than the economics. Empire Earth 2 would have a much greater emphasis on economics. Empires in fact simplifies the resource mix in the game. Iron has been taken out of the game. Population is not dependent on technology anymore and is simply built through houses. This simplifying makes the game easier to play though it lacks some of the depth of Empire Earth and especially the sequel, Empire Earth 2.
The game has beautiful reflections and water effects, especially when you consider that the game came out in 2003 and just two years after Empire Earth.
The game plays quite well and does not require reading a manual in order to learn is mechanics.
Some civilizations are easier than others. England for example, allows you to build any building without need the citizen to participate in the process of building. England also can build mining camps on stone and gold mines in order to mine them automatically without needing citizens at those camps to been getting the resources with their pickaxes.
Empires has a neat gameplay mechanic where roads are automatically built whenever you build a building close to another one, making the game seem more stylistically interesting than Empire Earth.
The civilizations are all unique but I think they sometimes make the game too easy, especially on some maps and difficulty settings.
The game has some really beautiful skyboxes.
What is remarkable about this game is its skyboxes. They are truly beautiful to look at in this game. While the game has some of those angular landscapes, I remember that it is a early 2000s game and not Oblivion Remastered with Unreal Engine powering it. This is the charm of these games that were made in that era. This same sentiment is why Oblivion Remastered managed to sell so many copies within its release.
The small details in Empires is what makes it special to me. Look at the clock on the England Town Center. It is not simply static, it actually moves
What the game is probably best at it is graphics, most importantly the presentation of those graphics.
Graphics are much more effective when you have good presentation of how the graphics work in a game. Instead of just plastering good graphics everywhere, using them effectively is what makes a good game a great game.
Empires is that great game and while it may more simplistic, the character and charm of this great game can be found in those graphics.
In the screenshot above, you can see English Town center towards the left of the screen. The hands of the clock in the tower actually move in the game. Other nice touches are that when a house or fortress is garrisoned with citizens or soldiers, you will see a flag appear next to that building. Such visual presentations were also seen in Empire Earth 2.
The game has many map types and it looks better than the original Empire Earth, especially with the interaction of the water coming onto the beaches.
Empires is a very nice early 2000s game in its landscapes. The greenery of the forest one is better than the desert one in my opinion, but they are both one of the game’s strengths.
In the screenshot above which takes place on the Peloponnese map, which is a unique map type one does not see often in video games. It is a map type which simulates Greece’s most famous area which is filled with highlands and seas on both sides. Here you can see two vicars and three longbowmen on the top of a mountain near a sea. This is the game’s graphics at its best. Unlike Empire Earth’s graphics palette, the greenery in this game looks more appealing. This is quite impressive considering that the game came out only roughly two years after the original Empire Earth.
The graphics close up in this game are truly beautiful and have like wine. Unlike Empire Earth, they are not too rough.
Another nice touch in this game is that the roads are automatically built between buildings. Such little additions are what gave Empires its character back when it was released. Unlike Empire Earth, I feel like its 3D graphics are nice and cleaner to look at and that is why I think that some players prefer playing it.
The coastline in this game is probably one of the strongest in aesthetical presentation I have seen in this era of RTS games.
Empires: Dawn of the Modern World is a magnificent game that is well worth playing in 2025, especially with the dearth of RTS games on the market now. It is a fun game with just the right amount of complexity to keep casual players interested in the gameplay and coming back for more experiences.
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.
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.
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.
My Game Reviews 