Empire Earth

"If there was an award for most phenomenal game, the winner is Empire Earth."

Simply put, this game is phenomenal. Unbelievable. Amazing. If I were a Royal official, I would knight Sir Sid Meier, strategy gaming genius.

NOTE: Assuming you already know about the game, this review will debate the pro's and con's about the game.

First off, the biggest con that most people bring up is the graphics. I think the graphics are fairly comparable to Civilization 3. There is an analog zooming feature, where you can decide the amount of zoom of your view with the mouse wheel. Very nice, since you can zoom out to place your troops for a fierce battle, then zoom in and enjoy the action. When zoomed in the fullest, the graphics are blocky like some people have criticized, think Black & White (the PC game).

I just spent 2 hours in an Industrial Age game. I am a huge fan of the Industrial Age, of the American Revolution, and Civil War. YES, you can pick which Age to start and end in. So I put start and end at Industrial for an Industrial-only game. Magnificent, and truly authentic. It's almost like a scene out of my FAVORITE movie, The Patriot starring Mel Gibson. I can make an army of Dragoons or Cuirassers, and just charge them into enemy lines like shock troops, destroying infantry in my path. Once, I felt evil, and just charged my Dragoons into innocent miners. >:)

When the riflemen meet enemy riflemen, they automatically line up and start firing like the brave men that they are. Never have I seen such a sophistical yet simple interface and game concept. I can change my troop formations, and the ''Guard'' feature is excellent since my troops will engage any threatening forces, and return to their original postion after combat. My favorite feature is the simplest, the ability to drag my troops to go somewhere, then holding the mouse button down on the spot and an arrow appears. Where it points is where your troops will face. Therefore, I can make my troops retreat calmly instead of running with their tails between their legs, and lure the enemy into an ambush that will turn the tide in the war.

Such an unbelievable game should not be dismissed. I admit, there are not a whole lot of diplomatic options or politics, but if you feel Civ3 doesn't satisfy your needs for WAR, this is the game for you. The music fits in well, very well in fact. It makes you feel sympathy for war, yet it is necessary, there is nothing you can do but fight on. The enemy AI is really good. I was planning a siege and put all my troops on standby just outside the enemy base, and the computer wasn't about to take it lying down. He sent a huge army of cavalry and siege cannons, and destroyed half my city. I panicked, I sent all my defenders outside my city inside, and shut the gate on about half of them, and needless to say they got slaughtered. Then their siege cannons destroyed a part of my wall and THEIR WHOLE ARMY OF CAVALRY CHARGED INTO MY CITY!

Okay, my hands are tired, and so are your eyes. Close your gaping mouth, get dressed, and go buy this game. You will not regret it. The campaigns in the game aren't that well, I think there are only 4, but I can't imagine the endless possibilities of the Custom Campaign feature! I can't wait for someone to make an American Revolution campaign.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/28/01, Updated 11/28/01