Extreme depth has remained the trademark for the Empire Earth series; offering every conceivable technology, every cultural evolution, every weapon and every building created within the entire span of human history. Playing somewhat like a genetic crossbreed of a Civilization game and Rise of Nations, Empire Earth II's biggest feature also spurned its greatest flaw, all that depth created a game that was so confusing that most players left it for simpler fare. The guys at Mad Doc know all this, and know exactly how to avoid this problem in the upcoming sequel, Empire Earth III.

The third installment consolidates that depth while retaining that deep strategic feel, making it much more inviting to new players and to those who traditionally play lighter, less complex games. Empire Earth III brings all of the civilizations together into three super factions: East, West and Middle East. These factions will be amalgamations of traditional civilizations in their region. Thus, West includes western European, North and South American art and science ideals. East blends China, Japan and the rest of the Asian continent, while Middle-Eastern includes Arabic and Semitic peoples and cultures.

These factions play differently, focusing on varying aspects of advancement and combat. The Middle-Easterners focus on speed and stealth, most likely using hit and run and disabling tactics. The East relies on sheer numbers, and their research most likely focuses on improving those numbers via genetic modification. Finally, the West contains the technophiles, using advanced technology like mechs and super units.

The epochs, which function much like ages in the Age of Empires series, have been consolidated as well. In the previous game, these epochs nearly existed in name alone, providing only a historical reference and a resource cap until players could race to the next time-period. In most battles, gamers quickly discovered futuristic technologies and then used it to decimate opponents. Now there will be only five epochs, and each contains a great deal more. These epochs have research that lead to technologies of the next epoch, perhaps a need to research electrical circuitry in the colonial epoch before moving to the modern era, or mechanical units might have trouble advancing.

Even the economics will be somewhat simplified with only two gatherable resourses versus Empire Earth II's eight resources. Players gather these two resources using specific buildings, and this simplification to two resources makes it easy for players to attack their enemies' supplies.

World Domination mode stands out as one of the game's best features. Instead of having a traditional single player campaign, the single player games function a bit like (again) some blend of Civilization IV and Rise of Nations. A randomly generated world with customized features will be spawned when the game starts, and the player chooses a region (country) to begin in. From there, each region will require combat and/or diplomacy to gain. Native tribes can be bargained with or threatened into complacency and service, and all of the units and researched technologies carry on in a persistent world.

With the recent releases of Supreme Commander and Command & Conquer 3, the field feels a bit crowded. By the fall, however, strategy nuts will be craving more, and Empire Earth III could be the perfect fix.

Related Links

Empire Earth III Game Guide

Empire Earth III Official Website

Sierra