This is actually a pretty good game. It's far superior to EEII, yet it still could have been much better.
Because this game was released in 2000 (I believe), I'm definitely going to be a bit more lenient on it than I would be on newer games.
Sound - 8. Strong soundtrack, but got repetitive after awhile. Certainly not bad, though.
Gameplay - 7. It was pretty fun most of the time. The campaigns were also fun (particularly Novaya Russia), and could get a bit tricky if you didn't use the right tactics. This made for an experience that was a bit more than just sending mobs of random units at the enemy.
Problems:
Unit AI: Medics, AA, and other non 'direct-combat' units have a tendency to charge right into the battle and get killed. It's really, really annoying to have to carefully select all my skywatchers and pull them out, and by then they're usually half dead. Also, there's another problem in that when enemy units are just barely out of a units range, they'll just sit there and do nothing.
Enemy AI: The Enemy AI has a major penchant for building walls everywhere. Around cities is fine, but all over the map gets annoying, tedious, and frankly really doesn't do anything. The AI also knows exactly where you are, which makes things pretty unfair on larger maps. It also seemed as though on harder difficulties that their strategies did not get better, but that they mobbed more units and 'cheated' in terms of resources.
Units: Some units/buildings are too weak. The towers would be one. They fire far too slowly for the amount of stone you pay for them. Some units have a range that is too short, some too long.
Buildings should be more involved. There are only one or two upgrades you could research in each age, and it was pretty linear. They didn't have any recognizable effect on units in the game, most of the time: more upgrades in number and complexity (that could possibly interact with each other?) may have been a good idea) . A few more buildings would have also been nice. Having the artwork change more frequently would have also helped.
SCRATCH THE PRIESTS AND PROPHETS. I'm not asking for perfect realism, but I hate having my laser tanks stolen by some preacher. It ruins the civilization feel of the game and just seems quite corny. Maybe having defenders have a bonus near a temple would be okay, but not this.
Upgrade units more (with corresponding graphic changes). Especially in the later ages. I don't like using bazookas and stinger soldiers in the nano age. I have a feeling that this was just plain laziness.
Work on unit movement a bit. Troop squads would have been a better idea, and having them a bit closer instead of scattering about would have also been nice.
Have a more conspicuous flashing on the map when being attacked. I swear, when I have a lot of bases, I sometimes won't see until it's too late.
Also, citizens should change their 'mining methods' , clothing, style, etc more. Being able to mine other areas aside from patches in later ages would have added more strategy.
Make the game get bigger in later ages. It hardly happens. You have the same buildings, and same size cities throughout.
It's REALLY frustrating having to gather stone the whole game to build towers. Small things like this. More things should become automated, resources should change a bit more, etc.
The transition to all 'lasers' is a bit hasty. The futuristic units are also often named in a corny fashion and look rather stupid. I would suggest having people with real creativity design them. Maybe have three future ages? One from 2000-2030, 2030-2035, and 2060-2100 perhaps?
Lastly, Nuclear bombs barely made a splash. Anti-missile systems would have been nice, too.
Graphics/interface: 6
The graphics weren't bad at all for the time, but the 'zoom in' feature was utterly pointless. It felt more like 'legos' than playing an RTS game. The in game cinematics also were not needed, or could have at least not allowed the camera to swivel so much. I also would have greatly appreciated being able to zoom out a LOT more, especially on big maps. This made it nearly impossible to fight the computer.
Value: 8
I downloaded this game, but it's only about 10 bucks. It's not money poorly spent.
Tilt: 8
Overall, this game is good, but could have been amazing if a few small mishaps were corrected. Keep in mind that I KNOW that there are already sequels out, I just think that instead of correcting these mistakes, the developers instead made the same ones at far higher frequency.