Empire Earth Updated Preview

This atomic epoch has units reminiscent of World War I vehicles.

Real-time strategy games seem to flow from an inexhaustible fount that publishers dip into on a whim. With such a crowded field, any new RTS game needs to go the extra mile (or more) to stand out among its peers. If you were to take just a fleeting glance at Stainless Steel Studios' forthcoming Empire Earth, you might shrug it off as another Age of Empires clone with little new to offer. After all, Ensemble Studio's Age of Empires series is one of the landmarks of RTS gaming, with legions of fans and reams of critical plaudits to its credit, not to mention its share of copycats. Assuming that Empire Earth was one of those copycats would be an ironic assessment since Stainless Steel Studios and its maiden title are headed by none other than Rick Goodman, who was the cocreator/lead designer of the original Age of Empires. Instead of working on its hit sequel, Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings, Goodman struck out on his own in 1998 to found a new studio with one basic yet daunting goal in mind: to "become the industry's premier developer in real-time strategy games." Based on the latest beta build of Empire Earth, it looks like Goodman and company are heading down the right path.

One of the most obvious distinguishing traits of Empire Earth is its massive scope. With gameplay stretching from the Paleolithic era to two hundred years in the future, it covers a whopping 500,000 years of human history, dwarfing the scope of Age of Empires--and most games for that matter. In that regard, it calls to mind expansive games like Civilization more quickly than most RTS's. Empire Earth is divided into 14 epochs: Prehistoric, Stone, Copper, Bronze, Dark, Medieval, Renaissance, Imperial, Industrial, Atomic-World War I, Atomic-World War II, Atomic-Modern, Digital, and Nano.

Naval units are well represented in Empire Earth.

You'll be able to play single, epic games through all the epochs or select individual ones. One of the great advantages to the game's huge time span is that it should ideally appeal to players with different interests. If you love science fiction RTS's, the Nano Age should offer plenty of entertainment in its own right. If you prefer more historically grounded action, the earlier ages should offer what you're looking for. Ideally, the ability to pick and choose ages should be like getting a number of RTS's in one package.

It's not merely what's in Empire Earth that should set it apart, but who's behind it. Despite all the QA that publishers send games through, a lot of them clearly could use more detailed input from hard-core gamers before heading to the store shelves. Stainless Steel Studios has made special efforts to corral top RTS players for their team to help ensure Empire Earth's appeal. Designer Richard Bishop, for example, cowrote the official strategy guide for Age of Empires. A number of other top Age of Empires players, some of them money-winning pros, have been enlisted to help balance the game.