Dagobahn Eagle Posted May 30, 2003 Share Posted May 30, 2003 I just bought this game and I have to say that once you get past some of the initial difficulties (the toughest one being that I can't zoom out as far as I'd like) it just rules. If you liked the two Age of Empires games you'll simply love EE. I have to admit that I wasn't planning to buy EE in stores, but I was lucky enough to get my hands on my brother's copy of the game and its expansion pack, the Art of Conquest. From then on, I was just hooked. My first worry was that the large number of epochs (ages in AOK-jargon) would reduce the fun of the game: You've got 15 different Epochs and at least as many civilizations as you've got in AoK (including fictional cvilizations set to the future, such as Novoya Rossia (New Russia, I assume;)) and the United Federations of Asian Republics, or U. F. A. R.). However, EE handles this large variety extremely well. Granted, the civilizations are not too diverse, but they still are unique and have their own fields in which they dominate. The real-world United States, for example, take pride in their economic system, and thus get an economy bonus in the EE game. The Republic of Germany, (in)famous for its blitzkrieg strategy utilizing air power and tanks, get a bonus to air and armored units. The unique abilities and units in the game are entertaining, creative, diverse, and relatively close to modern history. The French get a Camouflage bonus, which makes every stationary unit invisible (to replicate the French Resistance?). The Germans' Bundeswehr drafts citizens, turning them into soldiers. The Brits' S. A. S. Commando can place Demolition Charges on buildings. A new interesting add to EE is the civilization builder. AoK players have wanted it for years, here it is. You create a new civilization, and spend the "Civilization point" of the game on civilization bonuses (such as +10% armor to tanks and +20% fuel to airplanes) and unique units. Then you save the civilization with whatever name you want, and it becomes available for use in every single- and multiplayer game you play, as well as in the scenario editor. Map movement is another aspect I'd like to cover. While in AoK you simply had the units run over each others (if a sail boat went down a river and a Galleon was in the way, sometimes it just ran straight over the Galleon sprite). In EE, the units move out of the way, budge when other units collide in them, and actually sometimes reverse. What's amazing is that this is not done in a time-consuming way, like in Force Commander, but doesn't take up any extra time at all. It looks realistic without hindering performance. The game handles Air units superbly. There are two types of air units: Planes and helicopters. Planes require fuel and a place to land, while helicopters can stay airborne indefinetly. Air battles and air strikes in the game look and sound realistic (a feature I especially liked was the air raid siren that sounds at your base when a large number of enemy bombers close in). The Downside is that it's hard to select a group of fast-moving, circling fighters. Airplanes in the game are built in Airport (no surprise there;)), and, when launched (you actually see it taxi/take off), flies in a limited time until its fuel runs out, circling if it has no orders. When it runs out of fuel, it returns to the Airport it launched from (although it can be redirected to other airports). Planes never crash in EE if they run out of fuel, big relief. However, their pilots will ditch them if they have nowhere to land (if all airports or carriers are destroyed). The fuel system does a great job in reducing the power of air, and thus balance the game. The interface in the game is great. I especially liked the "upgrade shortcut": You don't have to scroll all the way to a Barracks to upgrade a unit; simply click on the Armor Icon of the unit to upgrade its armor, HP bar to upgrade HP, Speed icon to Upgrade Speed, etc. The scenario editor is superior to anything I've ever seen, and EE is the first game I've played that actually features a separate manual for the editor (30+ pages long, actually covering every aspect of the editor. Nice job!). The scenario editor has everything the AoK/GB one had and so much more. The editor lets you change everything from the name to the armor, hit points, armor, fuel, cargo capacity, and even graphics, size, and icons of the units. You name it. You can also change the unit's "Class Name", so that for example every Marine in the scenario are called Stormtroopers, without you having to rename every single one of them. You can also make really cool-looking cinematics. Overall: 5+ out of 6. Good sides: - Extensive Scenario/Civilization editor - Great 3D graphics - Diverse civilizations Bad sides: - I'd have liked to be able to zoom out farther, especially in games with a lot of units. - The scenario editor is relatively unstable. - The campaigns are challenging for those who are new to the games. So if you were wondering about wheter or not you should buy EE, well, if you liked AoK, you'll simply love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kengo Posted May 30, 2003 Share Posted May 30, 2003 Sounds amazing to me, though I still think Medieval: Total War is the greatest strategy game ever Looks like massive replay value, which is really important to me in a strategy title. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ET Warrior Posted May 30, 2003 Share Posted May 30, 2003 To tell you the truth, I own EE, and I was rather disappointed with it, and I no longer play it. I actually play the Conquerors more than Empire Earth, and Age of mythology a LOT more. For me it was just TOO chaotic. You have to build units to counteract the enemy units, but they'll have units to counter THOSE units, and you have to remember your planes and ships you've still got flying around, and there are 74 billion technologies to research and remember. I'll stick with AoM myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
=(BoD)= M.D.B. Posted May 30, 2003 Share Posted May 30, 2003 I agree with ET warrior and the atom bombers are way to powerful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoguePhotonic Posted May 31, 2003 Share Posted May 31, 2003 Empire earth is one of the best RTS games I have played.....I hope they come out with a new one... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ET Warrior Posted May 31, 2003 Share Posted May 31, 2003 There's an expansion pack for it, not sure if it's out yet or not. But it adds another age............ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJackal Posted May 31, 2003 Share Posted May 31, 2003 EmpireEarth SUCKS in single player. But Multiplayer is amazing. Hours and hours of fun with friends. HOWEVER, i strongly suggest you get RiseOfNations. I dont have it yet, but i hear its better than EmpireEarth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dagobahn Eagle Posted May 31, 2003 Author Share Posted May 31, 2003 You have to build units to counteract the enemy units, but they'll have units to counter THOSE units... But this is how AoK is too, isn't it? You build swordsmen, which are countered by archers, which are countered by spearmen, which are countered by swordsmen, which are countered by... This paper-scissor-stone system is found in most RTS games, including Age of Empires II, and it's certainly not a reason to dislike EE specifically, and only EE? For me it was just TOO chaotic.... ...and you have to remember your planes and ships you've still got flying around, and there are 74 billion technologies to research and remember. I agree with this part, in EE you build up a lot of buildings very fast. It's not uncommon to have 4 Tank Factories, 6 Barracks, and 2 Siege Workshops after... 5 minutes of gameplay if you start in one of the Atomic Eras. However, it's got some nice shortcuts like the upgrade shortcut I discussed (and those 74 billion techs are fairly basic stuff really, like upgrade this unit to that units and increase those buildings' LOS, AoK-wise). Another thing I like is that the Airport can be set to automatically launch a bomber/fighter/a-bomber strike against a specific target. Right-click the target and specify the type of attacker, and away the planes go, instead of you having to launch them one by one, which takes ages if you actually do try it. Oh, and a nice hint: If you don't like chaotic games, play with a low unit limit and only a few players. Consider playing as a majority (2v1) so that you won't get too much pressure from enemy attacks. Also, you can use the +/- keys to lower game speed, and "cheat" by pausing the game while giving orders to your units. Not to patronize anyone, just to tell you how I got to know the game. I agree with ET warrior and the atom bombers are way to powerful. The B-24 or something bombers and their battlefield atomic bombs are indeed a pain in the butt, but a decent fighter wing, coupled with those nice 80-mm AA Turrets, and a couple of those Flak Halftrack units fend them off nicely. Oh, and the x-pack is already out. It's called Art of Conquest and introduces the Space Age and two new Civs (Korea and the UFAR). Space battle in AoC simply rules. HOWEVER, i strongly suggest you get RiseOfNations. I dont have it yet, but i hear its better than EmpireEarth. RON is a turn-based strategy game. I've played it and liked it, but it's not really the same genre and the scripted battle system sucked (you can have 12 cossacks get wiped out by a single swordsman because the "random" battle system incidentally turned against you). RoN is good, but if you like RTS games, get EE. Also keep in mind it's an x-pack to Civ 3, not an actual stand-alone game, if you didn't know already. In short, it's an expanded AoK with a lot more features, and an enourmous replay value. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ET Warrior Posted May 31, 2003 Share Posted May 31, 2003 I dontk now, in Age of Kings, all the counters seem so logical, like, of course the slow infantry will get eaten by the archers rain of death arrows, but the cavalry will smash those archers with their swiftness. In EE I find myself doing this a lot..... "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH WHAT DO I DO!?!?!? MY UNITS!! DEAD. BUILD, SOMETHING, WHAT KILLS THE TANKS? IT'S A BOMBER! AAAAHHHHH" That's is me CALMLY playing EE, it gets worse if i'm high strung at the time. Every army i build EVER gets demolished by the computer on the easiest setting. I just can't figure that game out. It is deffinately a reason not to like Empire Earth. I just don't even feel right playing it. Not saying you shouldn't enjoy it, if it's your game, then play it by all means. You're just not going to be able to convince me that it's any fun atall. Because I really hated it. To me, it was a great concept, with a TERRIBLE follow through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoguePhotonic Posted May 31, 2003 Share Posted May 31, 2003 Rise of nations sucked....was ok but nothing much to it....no real single player..like a story or anything.. I like empire earth because of all the stuff it has with ages...I love upgrading through times....it's allot of fun if you play it right like I did...go through the campaigns in the right order so you start with old tec then work your way up to future ones....but sadly most people jump right into a skirmish and learn everything.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovelamers Posted May 31, 2003 Share Posted May 31, 2003 you should Not buy it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StormHammer Posted May 31, 2003 Share Posted May 31, 2003 I've got AoE and AoE2 and AoM...but I'm still in two minds about EE. I played a demo a while ago, which seemed okay, except I recall getting owned by the computer. I'll have to give the demo another whirl... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
platypus202 Posted May 31, 2003 Share Posted May 31, 2003 I played EE yestrday. I was quite dissapointed. The graphics were okay, but I did not like the camera angles, plus the units were too slow. If you want a good RPS (except for AoE and AoM) det Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos. It is an awesome game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dagobahn Eagle Posted May 31, 2003 Author Share Posted May 31, 2003 The SP campaigns in EE are too hard, so don't get frustrated with the game if you can't handle it. ...I did not like the camera angles... Press F2 to change the zoom mode. ...[and] the units were too slow. Use the plus and minus keys to increase/decrease game speed. Units in EE move at the speed they move at in real life. I dontk now, in Age of Kings, all the counters seem so logical, like, of course the slow infantry will get eaten by the archers rain of death arrows, but the cavalry will smash those archers with their swiftness. In EE I find myself doing this a lot..... "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH WHAT DO I DO!?!?!? MY UNITS!! DEAD. BUILD, SOMETHING, WHAT KILLS THE TANKS? IT'S A BOMBER! AAAAHHHHH" LOL:)! Now I see what you mean. Yes, it's a bit hard to know if the "MkV tank" is used against troops or armor or whatever. I suppose you have to have grown up on war movies and -games and come under the impression that war is "cool", and then studied tanks, etc. to get that. However, units are pretty well labeled (Fighters are called stuff like "F-14 Fighter/Bomber, for example). Fighters can only attack fighters, Fighter/Bombers are decent against both air and ground, and Bombers specialize in ground assaults. The same way, tanks are labeled with AP, HE, Anti-Tank, AA, etc. Just learn all those cute abbreviations. Oh, and rushing the way you did it in AoK won't work. If you think you can do, say, a Marine Rush or Bazooka Rush and expect to win with only Marines or Bazookas, you'll be sorely mistaken. Same goes for Tower Rushes, which are totally ineffective, thank god. Build mixed armies and you'll rule the day. However, IMO, what you're doing wrong is that you don't read the manual. I seem to remember it has all the counters in it. I've got AoE and AoE2 and AoM...but I'm still in two minds about EE. I played a demo a while ago, which seemed okay, except I recall getting owned by the computer. I'll have to give the demo another whirl... Yes, you definetly should:). Word of advice: Don't diss EE because your AoK strategies don't work in it (read the rest of my post, above the stuff mentioned here). you should Not buy it I won't listen unless you tell me why not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ET Warrior Posted June 1, 2003 Share Posted June 1, 2003 Well, I am not one to EVER rush in RTS games, I think that it's against the spirit of the game. And I DID read the manual, I just for some reason can NOT remember the counters, there are just too many and i dont care to study them for a week to be able to actually NOT get decimated every time I play. I'll just stick with AoE and AoM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XERXES Posted June 1, 2003 Share Posted June 1, 2003 I got that game last summer it was pretty fun at first but it really isnt different from Age of Empires at all. its just newer with a poorly made 3d engine. The game itself is just meh and gets old really fast because weve all played through the middle ages before in AOE and weve all played through modern ages with Red Alert and other ones. It is a cool game but deffinately not worth the 45-50-ish dollars they ask for it. There is just too much stuff that has been done before. The only real difference and uniqueness in it is the Digital and Nano ages. Also there is just waaay too much going on in the game when you get flight you gotta manage airforce, economy, army, navy all at once it gets hectic. I liked the single player campaigns because they were actually challenging and I liked seeing World War 2 from the German prespective. The greek campaign was ridicilously easy and meh. But really if you are thinking about buying this game, dont...just get Age of Empires 1 and 2 and youll be more fullfilled. The 3d engine and graphics for EE are just boring and there is nothing special about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jed Posted June 2, 2003 Share Posted June 2, 2003 Originally posted by XERXES But really if you are thinking about buying this game, dont...just get Age of Empires 1 and 2 and youll be more fullfilled. The 3d engine and graphics for EE are just boring and there is nothing special about it. And to add to that, get Age of Mythology, the sequel to those two. It's very, very fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandalorian54 Posted June 2, 2003 Share Posted June 2, 2003 Empier Earth really does suck, don't waste your friken money. If your at all interested in it download it. But the expansion pack is a waste of your time, not even worth downloading, wow a woping one age more. The only game where the expansion pack is worse than the origonal. Ive played more entertaining games on NES.......Duckhunt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dagobahn Eagle Posted June 2, 2003 Author Share Posted June 2, 2003 The game itself is just meh and gets old really fast because weve all played through the middle ages before in AOE and weve all played through modern ages with Red Alert and other ones. Just curious, does that mean that you'll never play another RTS game because other games have been made using the Middle Ages and the present? You kind of sound that way;) "Gran Turismo sucks, because we've all raced cars in Test Drive:D". Just teasing;). What you should do if you like RTS games is buy EE, then if you don't like it, fine, return it and try some other game for the money. However, I don't see how you can dislike it so much. Graphics.. they're cool, but by today's standards, nothing revolutionary. However, if you are content with AoK's graphics, like most people, inculding me, are, well, the graphics are definetly better than AoK:). Empier Earth really does suck, don't waste your friken money. If your at all interested in it download it. But the expansion pack is a waste of your time, not even worth downloading, wow a woping one age more. The only game where the expansion pack is worse than the origonal. The x-pack doesn't "just add one more freaking age", it adds one age, two new civs, several new units, and three campaigns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJackal Posted June 2, 2003 Share Posted June 2, 2003 Wow, i just played Rise of Nations. I think its a lot better than Empire Earth in allmost every aspect. graphics, gameplay, etc. The nuke effect is beautiful. Its a Terminater-esque style. The map goes black and white and there's the flash with the mushroom cloud. beautiful. much better than the blocky nuke from EmpireEarth. HOWEVER. Empire Earth does have a few things that in my opinon are still better. + population size : in empire earth armies can be HUGE!!! + custom units: in empire earth you can improve the attack, shields, speed, radius, etc of your units. these upgrades make your empire made to your needs. That's pretty much it in my opinon. If Rise of Nations allowed more units I'd be 100% happy. But i still like it. Its fun. The new concept of expansion and research is refreshing and quite nice. I STRONGLY RECOMMEND THIS GAME. However, i ALSO STRONGLY RECOMMEND EMPIRE EARTH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reborn Outcast Posted June 2, 2003 Share Posted June 2, 2003 Well sorry if this has been said but I would have to agree with ET Warrior. It was just to chaotic. All the counter units and everything. AoM doesn't really have any MAJOR counter units. There is no huge disadvantage for a swordman or horseman but there are some slight ones that would be erased with a few more units in your group. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJackal Posted June 2, 2003 Share Posted June 2, 2003 And RiseOfNations ISNT TURNED BASED in multiplayer! Its just like Age of Kings. Just thought some of you SHOULD know this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandalorian54 Posted June 2, 2003 Share Posted June 2, 2003 WHAT THE EXPANSION PACK ONLY GIVES YOU THREE MORE CAMPAINGS!!! How much does it cost?!? if it's more than five bucks I couldn't imagine myself buing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ET Warrior Posted June 3, 2003 Share Posted June 3, 2003 Originally posted by Reborn Outcast AoM doesn't really have any MAJOR counter units. There is no huge disadvantage for a swordman or horseman but there are some slight ones that would be erased with a few more units in your group. That's the thing that REALLY bothered me, I'd forgotten about that. The unit counters are SO extreme in EE....like, you can have 50 of a unit, and they could have 20 of their counter and they will KILL you. WTF? I dont care how effective they are, that big an advantage SHOULD allow you to win, and it does in AoK and AoM. I remember the first time my 30 snipers all got demolished by 10 men on horses.....and he only lost like, 3 horses.......I was mad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dagobahn Eagle Posted June 4, 2003 Author Share Posted June 4, 2003 WHAT THE EXPANSION PACK ONLY GIVES YOU THREE MORE CAMPAINGS!!! How much does it cost?!? if it's more than five bucks I couldn't imagine myself buing it. I can't remember, how many new campaigns did AoK: AoC give you? I remember the first time my 30 snipers all got demolished by 10 men on horses.....and he only lost like, 3 horses.......I was mad. It's called tactics. If the snipers really did kill everyone with 1 shot they would have been so overpowered and everyone would hate them the same way every new player hates nukes. This is, IMO, a good thing about the game. While SOME counters are overclocked, this example certainly isn't. Snipers are supposed to be guerilla soldiers, not a frontal battle group unit. Realistically, the horses came at the snipers who are trained to snipe stationary targets. You can't hit a fast-moving horse with the long rifles that snipers use, unless you score a lucky shot. This is reflected in EE by letting snipers do little damage every time they hit a horse. Next time, escort your snipers. Snipers and S. A. S.'s are supposed to go in, shoot/destroy a target, then go back out. They harrass rather than directly confront. ...you can have 50 of a unit, and they could have 20 of their counter and they will KILL you. WTF? I dont care how effective they are, that big an advantage SHOULD allow you to win... 20/50 means that every unit in the minority army has to fight +- 2 units in the other army. I can definetly see 20 spearmen, each with 2 targets, take down 50 horsemen. 1 spearnan could probably beat 2 horsemen in a lucky fight, so 20 spearmen could beat 50 horsemen. Just knock them off the horses. Same goes with 20 archers vs. 50 soldiers, if that's a counter. Shoot one guy, prepare a new arrow, shoot another guy. It might be annoying, but IMO it's good because it adds a challenge. And you can't complain it's less realistic: It's actually a good deal more realistic. Just train diverse armies (which is more fun, but, I agree, a bit more complicated). With a diverse army, you don't really need to worry about counters, as, ie. if you have an army of 20 archers, 20 spearmen, and 20 swordsmen, you've got every counter covered and you'll do well. Also recon the enemy base before you attack. Find out which units they have, and focus on training counters against those units. Recon is really important in EE, which is another thing I love about the game. All in all, I agree EE is a good deal more challenging than AoK, but I don't see that as a reason for not playing the game. Just get used to that it plays different than AoK and AoM (why do you use realism as an argument in AoM anyway? It's a fantasy game, for crying out loud;)). Hmm.. did I mention that the soundtrack rules in EE? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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