Empire Earth, also known as
EE, is a
real-time strategyReal-time strategy games are a genre of computer wargames which do not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
computer game
developedA video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Sony's PlayStation 3, PSP, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Nintendo's Wii, Nintendo DS, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Some...
by
Stainless Steel StudiosStainless Steel Studios was a computer game development company, started in 1997 by Rick Goodman and Dara-Lynn Pelechatz. The company was based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and focused on the development of real-time strategy software titles.-History:...
and released on November 23, 2001. It is the first game in the
Empire Earth seriesThe Empire Earth series is a franchise of real-time strategy computer games developed by Stainless Steel Studios and Mad Doc Software, and published by Sierra Entertainment, Activision, and Vivendi. The games in the series are historical RTS games that are similar to Age of Empires...
. It has been described as very similar to the
Age of Empires seriesAge of Empires is a series of computer video games developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The first title of the series was Age of Empires, released in 1997. Since then, seven titles and three spin-offs have been released...
, and received positive reviews.
The game requires players to collect resources to construct buildings, produce citizens, and conquer opposing
civilizationA civilization is a complex society or culture group characterized by dependence upon agriculture, long-distance trade, state form of government, occupational specialization, population, and class stratification.-Definition:...
s.
Empire Earth spans 500,000 years of
world historyThe history of the world is the recorded memory of the experience, around the world, of Homo sapiens. Ancient human history begins with the invention, independently at several sites on Earth, of writing, which created the infrastructure for lasting, accurately transmitted memories and thus for the...
, which is divided into 14
epochs, beginning with the
prehistoricPrehistory is a term used to describe the period before recorded history. Paul Tournal originally coined the term Pré-historique in describing the finds he had made in the caves of southern France...
age, and ending with the
nanoNanotechnology, shortened to "nanotech", is the study of the control of matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally nanotechnology deals with structures of the size 100 nanometers or smaller, and involves developing materials or devices within that size.Nanotechnology is very diverse,...
age.
An expansion pack was developed by
Mad Doc SoftwareRockstar New England, formerly Mad Doc Software, is a computer game development company founded in 1998 by Dr. Ian Lane Davis. The company is based in New England in Andover, Massachusetts, just north of Boston.-Overview:...
called
Empire Earth: The Art of ConquestEmpire Earth: The Art of Conquest, also known as AoC, is the official expansion pack for the real-time strategy game Empire Earth. Art of Conquest was developed by Mad Doc Software, and was released on 17 September 2002 in the United States. The game was released in Europe later in the year, and...
, which was released on September 17, 2002. It added new features such as a special
powerA special attack is a literary device of fiction, particularly comic books, manga and anime, though this is not universal; videogames, primarily those in the fighting genre, feature these attacks as well...
for each civilization, and a new 15th epoch, entitled the
Space AgeThe Space Age is a contemporary period encompassing the activities related to the Space Race, space exploration, space technology, and the cultural developments influenced by these events...
, which focuses on the colonization of space planets.
Gameplay
Empire Earth is similar to the
Age of Empires seriesAge of Empires is a series of computer video games developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The first title of the series was Age of Empires, released in 1997. Since then, seven titles and three spin-offs have been released...
in that it is a history-based
real-time strategyReal-time strategy games are a genre of computer wargames which do not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
game.
Empire Earth uses 3D graphics instead of sprites like
Age of Empires II, the comparable game at the time. The game itself contains many unique and innovative features, including a well implemented "
moraleMorale, also known as esprit de corps when discussing the morale of a group, is an intangible term used for the capacity of people to maintain belief in an institution or a goal, or even in oneself and others...
" system, which directly affects individual units statistics. It also incorporates a "hero" system. Heroes can be built at the town centre or capital. There are two types of heroes, Strategist heroes who heal surrounding units and can demoralize enemy units while Warrior heroes give morale to surrounding units and have a greater attack power. Finally, the player has the option of creating their own civilization with unique bonuses. Empire Earth has a map editor included.
Epochs are the ages a player passes through in
Empire Earth. Each of these epochs represents an age within history. In
Empire Earth, the last two ages (Digital and Nano Ages) are set into the moderate future. In the Art of Conquest, a third future age, the Space Age, is available. It deals with space colonization. Each epoch brings new technologies and units. Epoch advancement requires additional buildings to be built and the costs of advancing increases as more epochs are attained, although the ability to gather the required resources greatly increases as well. With new epochs, some new units are available at the cost of having to abandon the ability to produce old units, though any old units still alive are kept. The epochs in Empire Earth are the
Prehistoric AgePrehistory is a term used to describe the period before recorded history. Paul Tournal originally coined the term Pré-historique in describing the finds he had made in the caves of southern France...
, the
Stone AgeThe Stone Age is a broad prehistoric time period during which humans widely used stone for toolmaking.Stone tools were made from a variety of different sorts of stone. For example, flint and chert were shaped for use as cutting tools and weapons, while basalt and sandstone were used for ground...
, the
Copper AgeThe Chalcolithic period or Copper Age period [also known as the Eneolithic ], is a phase in the development of human culture in which the use of early metal tools appeared alongside the use of stone tools.The period is a transitional one outside of the traditional three-age system, and occurs...
, the
Bronze ageThe Bronze Age of a culture is the period when the most advanced metalworking in that culture utilised bronze. This could either have been based on the local smelting of copper and tin from ores, or trading for bronze from production areas elsewhere...
, the Dark Age, the
Middle AgesThe Middle Ages of European history is a period of European history covering roughly a millennium in the 5th century through 16th centuries. More specific starting and ending points are sometimes adopted by scholars to suit their respective specializations or current focus...
, the
RenaissanceThe Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Florence in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe...
, the Imperial age, the Industrial age, the Atomic
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
age, the Atomic
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Age, the Atomic Modern Age, the Digital Age and the
Nano AgeNanotechnology, shortened to "nanotech", is the study of the control of matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally nanotechnology deals with structures of the size 100 nanometers or smaller, and involves developing materials or devices within that size.Nanotechnology is very diverse,...
. An extra epoch, the
Space AgeThe Space Age is a contemporary period encompassing the activities related to the Space Race, space exploration, space technology, and the cultural developments influenced by these events...
, is available in
Empire Earth: The Art of Conquest.
Several different units are available in each epoch, each being produced in a different building. Some units such as
infantryInfantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of the Combat Arms they are the backbone of armies...
are available in every epoch and can be created at the
BarracksBarracks are living quarters for personnel on a military post. They are typically very plain and all of the buildings in the housing unit are often uniform structures.-History:...
. Other units such as
archersArchery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow. Archery has historically been used for hunting and combat; in modern times, however, its main use is that of a recreational activity...
are available from the Stone age to the Renaissance and are created at Archery Ranges.
HorsemenThe first use of horses in warfare occurred over 5000 years ago. The earliest evidence of horses ridden in warfare dates from Eurasia between 4000 and 3000 BC. A Sumerian illustration of warfare from 2500 BC depicts some type of equine pulling wagons...
are available from the Copper Age to the Industrial Age and are created at Stables. Siege weapons are produced at Siege Factories such as
catapultA catapult is any one of a number of non-handheld mechanical devices used to throw or hurl a projectile a great distance without the aid of explosive substances—particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. Although the catapult has been used since ancient times, it is proven...
s, they are available from the Bronze Age to the Dark Ages then are later replaced by the
trebuchetA trebuchet or trebucket is a siege engine that was employed in the Middle Ages either to smash masonry walls or to throw projectiles over them...
in the Middle Ages and ending their use in the Imperial age, when
cannonA cannon is any tubular piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellants to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
s emerged
and are available then on. In the Atomic Age-WW1 epoch some new buildings are made available to the player, such as Airports, Tank Factories and Naval Yards where certain planes,
tankA tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility and tactical offensive and defensive capabilities...
s and
submarineA submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has only limited underwater capability...
s, etc can be produced. In the Digital age
CyberMilitary robots are autonomous or remote-controlled devices or robots designed for military applications.Such systems are currently being researched by a number of militaries...
Factories and Laboratories are available and can produce many types of
mechsMecha, also known as meka or mechs, are walking vehicles controlled by a pilot, often appearing in anime, science fiction, or other genres involving a fantastic or futuristic element. Mecha are generally, though not necessarily, bipedal, with arms, hands, and fingers capable of grasping objects...
, which are known as Cybers in Empire Earth.
Like many real-time strategy games, there are technologies available to improve a player's civilization. Technologies to improve farming can be researched at the granary. Health related technologies can be researched at a hospital. Technologies researched at the hospital improve the hit points, speed, and attack of a civilization's citizens, a hospital's healing rate and range, or the population capacity. Education upgrades are found in the university, which can protect units from being converted. Economic upgrades are found in the town center or capitol. These upgrades will increase the rate at which resources are gathered.
Empire Earth has 21 civilizations, (with two additional ones in
The Art of ConquestEmpire Earth: The Art of Conquest, also known as AoC, is the official expansion pack for the real-time strategy game Empire Earth. Art of Conquest was developed by Mad Doc Software, and was released on 17 September 2002 in the United States. The game was released in Europe later in the year, and...
). Civilizations are predetermined in scenarios , but chosen by the player shortly after the beginning of random map games. Each civilization has several bonuses such as increased speed or decreased cost for a type of unit. Any civilization can be played in any epoch but will only be powerful in ages that use units that it has bonuses for. In scenarios, the player receives "civ points" for completing various tasks. The following are the available civilizations, grouped into their recommended epochs. With the exception of the futuristic Novaya Russia and Rebel Forces, all civilizations in
Empire Earth are based upon history. From the Prehistoric to Dark Ages, the civilizations are
Ancient GreeceAncient Greece is the civilisation belonging to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca. 1100 BC and the Dorian invasion, to 146 BC and the Roman conquest of Greece after the Battle of Corinth. It is generally considered to be the seminal culture which provided the...
,
AssyriaAssyria was a civilization centered on the Upper Tigris river, in Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times in history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
n Empire,
BabylonBabylon was a city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
,
Byzantine RomeThe Byzantine Empire or Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered on the capital of Constantinople, and ruled by Emperors in direct and de jure succession to the ancient Roman Emperors...
,
CarthageCarthage refers both to an ancient city in present-day Tunisia, and a modern-day suburb of Tunis. The civilization that developed within the city's sphere of influence is referred to as Punic or Carthaginian...
, and the Kingdom of
IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
. From the Middle Ages to the Industrial Age
AustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west...
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
,
FranksThe Franks or Frankish people were a West Germanic tribal confederation first attested in the 3rd century as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul...
, Kingdom of
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
,
Ottoman EmpireThe Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299 to November 1, 1922 The Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State (Ottoman Turkish: دَوْلَتِ عَلِیَّهِ عُثْمَانِیَّه Dawlet-il ʿAliyyat-il ʿOs̠māniyye, Modern Turkish:...
, and
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
are available. From the Atomic Age to Modern times
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
,
Great BritainThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
, Italy,
RussiaThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
, and the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
are playable, and from Digital Age to Space Age
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
, Novaya
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, and
Rebel ForcesRebellion is a refusal of obedience or order. It may, therefore, be seen as encompassing a range of behaviors from civil disobedience and mass nonviolent resistance, to violent and organized attempts to destroy an established authority such as the government. Those who participate in rebellions are...
are playable.
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and
KoreaKorea is a civilization and formerly unified nation currently divided into two states. Located on the Korean Peninsula, it borders China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the east by the Korea Strait....
are added in the
Art of ConquestEmpire Earth: The Art of Conquest, also known as AoC, is the official expansion pack for the real-time strategy game Empire Earth. Art of Conquest was developed by Mad Doc Software, and was released on 17 September 2002 in the United States. The game was released in Europe later in the year, and...
expansion and belong in the "Digital Age to Space Age" group.
Multiplayer consists of
Local area networkA local area network is a computer network covering a small physical area, like a home, office, or small group of buildings, such as a school, or an airport...
and Internet play. Players log in as a certain name profile, and search for, or create, a game that concerns several other players. The game is a basic war between all sides, unless diplomacy is involved.
Advancement within Multiplayer comes about most easily when the player populates town centres. 5 citizens per centre, and one centre per age. Patches of the game are unlikely because the developer of the game
Stainless Steel StudiosStainless Steel Studios was a computer game development company, started in 1997 by Rick Goodman and Dara-Lynn Pelechatz. The company was based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and focused on the development of real-time strategy software titles.-History:...
is no longer in operation. The multiplayer servers were permanently shut down by
ActivisionActivision, Inc. is an American video game developer and publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles. Its first products were cartridges for the Atari 2600...
on November 3, 2008, making players only be able to play through
Local area networkA local area network is a computer network covering a small physical area, like a home, office, or small group of buildings, such as a school, or an airport...
.
Campaigns
Like many other real-time strategy games,
Empire Earth has single-player campaigns. However, unlike some games, each scenario has a story to tell and the player takes part in that story. Apart from the Russian campaign, the mission, "
Operation SealionOperation Sea Lion was Nazi Germany's plan to invade England during World War II, beginning in 1940. However, to have any chance of success, the operation required air supremacy over the English Channel...
" in the German campaign, and possibly the first four scenarios in the Greek campaign, all of the battles in the campaigns have actually occurred.
Learning campaign
The first campaign in Empire Earth is the Learning campaign. This campaign is where players are taught how to play Empire Earth. This campaign is available in both the original game and
The Art of ConquestEmpire Earth: The Art of Conquest, also known as AoC, is the official expansion pack for the real-time strategy game Empire Earth. Art of Conquest was developed by Mad Doc Software, and was released on 17 September 2002 in the United States. The game was released in Europe later in the year, and...
. This campaign is not required to be played in order and is divided into two parts. The first part is about the rise of
PhoeniciaPhoenicia what is now modern day Lebanon, was an ancient civilization centered in the north of ancient Canaan, with its heartland along the coastal regions of modern day Lebanon, extending to parts of Israel, Syria and Palestine...
. The second part is about the rise of the Byzantine Empire.
Greek campaign
The first real campaign focuses on Ancient
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
. The opening five scenarios (of eight scenarios total) focus on the rise of Greece. The story tells of the early Helladic people from Anatoly, the
Trojan WarIn Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy stole Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta. The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology and was narrated in many works of Greek literature, including the Iliad...
, the rise of
AthensAthens , the capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the world's oldest cities, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
by unifying
AtticaAttica is a periphery in Greece, containing Athens, the capital of Greece. Attica is subdivided into the prefectures of Athens, Piraeus, East Attica and West Attica.-Overview:...
and the first years of the
Peloponnesian WarThe Peloponnesian War, 431 to 404 B.C., was an Ancient Greek war, fought by Athens and its empire against the Peloponnesian League, led by Sparta. Historians have traditionally divided the war into three phases...
. There are some fictional elements as well (such as the
Trojan horseThe Trojan Horse was a tale from the Trojan War, as told in Virgil's Latin epic poem The Aeneid. The events in this story from the Bronze Age took place after Homer's Iliad, and before Homer's Odyssey. It was the stratagem that allowed the Greeks finally to enter the city of Troy and end the...
being given to the
IthacaIthaca or Ithaka is an island located in the Ionian Sea, in Greece, with an area of 45 square miles and a little more than three thousand inhabitants. It is an independent municipality of the Kefallinia Prefecture, and lies off the northeast coast of Kefalonia...
ns by the gods). The second part is about the life of
Alexander the GreatAlexander III of Macedon, popularly known as Alexander the Great , was an Ancient Greek king of Macedon who created one of the largest empires in ancient history...
. The sixth scenario is about Alexander's ascension to the Macedonian throne and
de facto control of Greece by crushing the revolt of
ThebesThebes is a city in Greece, situated to the north of the Cithaeron range, which divides Boeotia from Attica, and on the southern edge of the Boeotian plain. It played an important role in Greek myth, as the site of the stories of Cadmus, Oedipus, Dionysus and others...
, Athens and
SpartaSparta was a city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the River Eurotas in the southern part of the Peloponnese. From c. 650 BC it rose to become the dominant military power in the region and as such was recognized as the overall leader of the combined Greek forces during the Greco-Persian Wars...
. The following scenario is about the
Battle of the GranicusThe Battle of the Granicus River in May 334 BC was the first of three major battles fought between Alexander the Great and the Persian Empire...
,
Battle of IssusThe Battle of Issus occurred in southern Anatolia, in November 333 BC. The invading troops, led by the young Alexander of Macedonia, defeated the army personally led by Darius III of Achaemenid Persia in the second great battle for primacy in Asia...
and the siege of Tyre. The final scenario is the
Battle of GaugamelaThe Battle of Gaugamela took place in 331 BC between Alexander the Great of Macedonia and Darius III of Achaemenid Persia. The battle, which is also called the Battle of Arbela, resulted in a massive victory for the Macedonians and led to the fall of the Achaemenid Persian...
, the capture of Babylon and the battle for the
Persian GatesPersian Gates was the ancient name of the pass now known as Tang-e Meyran, connecting Yasuj with Sedeh to the east, crossing the border of the modern Kohgiluyeh va Boyer Ahmad and Fars provinces of Iran, passing south of the Kuh-e-Dinar massif....
, a mountain pass which beyond lies
PersepolisPersepolis was the ceremonial capital of the Persian Empire during the Achaemenid dynasty. Persepolis is situated northeast of the modern city of Shiraz in the Fars Province of modern Iran...
, the ceremonial capital of Persia. The campaign ends when Alexander and his army enters Persepolis and Alexander manages to escape an assassination attempt while visiting the tomb of
Xerxes I of PersiaXerxes the Great, also known as Xerxes I of Persia, was a Zoroastrian Persian Shahanshah of the Achaemenid Empire.Xerxes was the son of Darius the Great and his wife Atossa...
.
English campaign
The English campaign is about the struggles between England and France for superiority in Europe. The first three scenarios (of eight total) are about
William I of EnglandWilliam I , better known as William the Conqueror, was Duke of Normandy from AD 1035 and King of England from late 1066 to his death. William is sometimes also referred to as "William II" in relation to his position as the second Duke of Normandy of that name...
, his victory against the rebellion from the barons with the help of
Henry I of FranceHenry I was King of France from 1031 to his death. The royal demesne of France reached its smallest size during his reign, and for this reason he is often seen as emblematic of the weakness of the early Capetians...
in 1047 , and the
Battle of HastingsThe Battle of Hastings was the decisive Norman victory in the Norman Conquest of England. It was fought between the Norman army of Duke William of Normandy, and the English army led by Harold II...
in 1066. The next three scenarios take place during the
Hundred Years' WarThe Hundred Years' War was a prolonged conflict lasting from 1337 to 1453 between two royal houses for the French throne, which was vacant with the extinction of the senior Capetian line of French kings. The two primary contenders were the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet, also known...
between England and France;
Edward, the Black PrinceEdward, Prince of Wales, was the eldest son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault, and father to King Richard II of England. He was called Edward of Woodstock in his early life, after his birthplace, and has more recently been popularly known as The Black Prince...
and his raids in France are featured in the fourth and fifth scenarios. The sixth scenario is about
Henry V of EnglandHenry V was King of England from 1413 until his death. From an unassuming start his military successes in the Hundred Years' War, culminating with his famous victory at the Battle of Agincourt, saw him come close to uniting the realms of England and France under his rule.-Early life:Henry was born...
's story, some parts based on
William ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's
playThe Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eighth is a history play by William Shakespeare, based on the life of Henry VIII of England. An alternative title, All is True, is recorded in contemporary documents, the title Henry VIII not appearing until the play's publication in the First Folio...
. The first part is the internal unrest of
LollardsLollardy was the political and religious movement of the Lollards from the mid-14th century to the English Reformation. The term Lollards refers to the followers of John Wycliffe, a prominent theologian who was dismissed from University of Oxford in 1381 for criticism of the traditional church,...
while the second part sees the occupation of Harfleur and the
Battle of AgincourtThe Battle of Agincourt was an English victory against a much larger French army in the Hundred Years' War. The battle occurred on Friday 25 October 1415 , in northern France...
. The final two scenarios are led by
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of WellingtonField Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, KP, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Anglo-Irish soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the nineteenth century....
, who meets
Napoleon I of FranceNapoleon Bonaparte later known as Napoleon I, and previously Napoleone di Buonaparte, was a military and political leader of France whose actions shaped European politics in the early 19th century.Born in Corsica and trained as an artillery officer in mainland France, Bonaparte rose to prominence...
in battles at
RoliçaThe Battle of Roliça the British under Sir Arthur Wellesley defeated the French under General Henri Delaborde, near the village of Roliça in Portugal...
, Talavera and
WaterlooIn the Battle of Waterloo forces of the French Empire under Napoleon Bonaparte and Michel Ney were defeated by those of the Seventh Coalition, including an Anglo-Allied army under the command of the Duke of Wellington and a Prussian army under the command of Gebhard von Blücher...
.
German campaign
In the German campaign, the first four scenarios take place during
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
, and feature the
Red BaronManfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen was a German fighter pilot known as the "Red Baron". He was the most successful flying ace of the Imperial German Army Air Service during World War I, being officially credited with 80 confirmed air combat victories.Richthofen was a member of an...
. The player follows Richthofen through his early days of flight and the development of his "Flying Circus." The first mission involves directing Richthofen and his pilot, Count Holck, to safety after their aircraft is shot down over
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
in 1914, but in subsequent missions, Richthofen is a minor character. In the next three missions, the player protects shipments of war materials into Germany, directs German forces at the
Battle of VerdunThe Battle of Verdun was one of the critical battles during World War I on the Western Front. It was fought between the German and French armies, from 21 February to 18 December 1916, on hilly terrain north of the city of Verdun-sur-Meuse in north-eastern France...
, and directs the
Kaiserschlacht at the
Battle of the SommeDuring the First World War, the Second Battle of the Somme of 1918 was fought on the Western Front from the end of the summer, in the basin of the Somme River...
. The second part, consisting of three scenarios, deals with
Nazi GermanyNazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany between 1933 and 1945, while it was led by Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Worker's Party . The name Third Reich refers to the state as the successor to the Holy Roman Empire of the Middle Ages and the German...
and the first years of World War II in Europe. The first scenario introduces the
BlitzkriegBlitzkrieg is "a headline word applied retrospectively to describe a military doctrine of an all-mechanized force concentrating its attack on a small section of the enemy front then, once the latter is broken, proceeding without regard to its flank."During the interwar period, aircraft and tank...
, in which the player has to conquer Poland,
ScandinaviaScandinavia is a geographical region in northern Europe that includes, and is named after, the Scanian Province. It consists of the kingdoms of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark...
, and France before an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-Soviet alliance makes it impossible. The next mission deals with the German U-boat and naval blockade of Great Britain and the
Battle of BritainThe Battle of Britain is the name given to the air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940. The objective of the campaign was to gain air superiority over the Royal Air Force , especially Fighter Command...
, which features the
BismarkThe German battleship Bismarck is one of the most famous warships of the Second World War. The lead ship of her class and named after the 19th century German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, Bismarck displaced more than 50,000 tonnes fully loaded and was the largest warship then commissioned.Bismarck...
facing off against the Home Fleet. In the final scenario, the never-attempted
Operation SealionOperation Sea Lion was Nazi Germany's plan to invade England during World War II, beginning in 1940. However, to have any chance of success, the operation required air supremacy over the English Channel...
, the player leads German forces in an invasion of Great Britain, under the famous Field Marshal
Erwin RommelErwin Johannes Eugen Rommel , was perhaps the most famous German Field Marshal of World War II....
, ultimately annexing the United Kingdom to the Greater German Reich, also thwarting a surprise attack by the US 5th Fleet (led by the
EnterpriseUSS Enterprise , colloquially referred to as the "Big E", was the sixth aircraft carrier of the United States Navy and the seventh U.S. Navy ship to bear the name. Launched in 1936, she was a ship of the Yorktown class, and one of only three American carriers commissioned prior to World War II to...
carrier) in the process.
Russian campaign
In the Russian campaign, the player leads Novaya Russia, a reconstruction of the Russian Federation. The game begins in 2018, with the Russian political dissident Grigor Stoyanovich heading up a full-sized civil war from
VolgogradVolgograd , formerly called Tsaritsyn and Stalingrad is an important industrial city and the administrative center of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. It is long, north to south, situated on the western bank of the Volga River and has a population of 1.011 millon people...
, followed by a seizure of power in the
KremlinKremlin is the Russian word for "fortress", "citadel" or "castle" and refers to any major fortified central complex found in historic Russian cities. This word is often used to refer to the best-known one, the Moscow Kremlin, or metonymically to the government that is based there...
. The second scenario is about Europe's unsuccessful attempt to free Novaya Russia's oppressed population and Russia's conquest of the continent. In the third scenario the now-old Grigor appoints his robotic bodyguard as his successor, crushes a coup in Moscow with help from loyalist forces and finally succumbs to heart problems. Under Grigor II, Novaya Russia continues its conquest of the world by invading and subjugating China, narrowly averting a time paradox. By this time, Novaya Russia has control over much of
EurasiaEurasia is a large landmass covering about 52,990,000 km
2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface...
. In the penultimate scenario, during an attempted invasion of the United States in 2098, General Sergei Molotov finally realizes that Grigor II became mad with power and deserts. Cooperating with U.S. agent Molly Ryan, he re-enacts the Chinese plan, building a
time machineTime travel is the concept of moving between different moments in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space, either sending objects backwards in time to a moment before the present, or sending objects forward from the present to the future without the need to...
and returning to 2018 in order to set things right. They arrived just a few minutes late, as Grigor already left
VoronezhVoronezh is a large city in southwestern Russia, not far from Ukraine. It is located either side of the Voronezh River, twelve kilometers away from where it flows into the Don. Voronezh is the administrative center of Voronezh Oblast...
. In addition, Grigor II realized their plans and took the time machine, fortifying Volgograd with a sizeable detachment of cybernetic forces. A massive battle ensued, ending in the technologically horribly outmatched Molotov and Ryan destroying Grigor II and assassinating Grigor (who proved to be unreasonable due to knowledge of Novaya Russia's military might). The campaign ends with an unanswered question:
Development and release
Empire Earth was announced by Stainless Steel Studios on March 31, 2000, with an intended release date of the early half of 2001. When first interviewed about the game,
Rick GoodmanRick Goodman is a video game developer and the founder and owner of the now-defunct Stainless Steel Studios. He is best known for the RTS games he created, such as Age of Empires.-Career:...
and Stefan Arnold commented about the progress and layout of the game on December 12, 2000. They mentioned many aspects of the game, including the use of heroes, unit upgrades, the availability of civilizations, economic build up, and polishing of the final product.
On January 18, 2001, Stainless Steel Studios added Damon "Stratus" Gauthier to work on the multiplayer aspect of the game. He was a veteran of several
StarCraftStarCraft is a military science fiction real-time strategy video game developed by Blizzard Entertainment. The first game of the StarCraft series was released for Microsoft Windows on 31 March 1998. With more than 11 million copies sold worldwide as of February 2009, it is one of the best-selling...
tournaments, and was meant to balance the multiplayer of the game.
Empire Earth also made appearances at E3 2000 and E3 2001 about its progress, and a beta test and movie for it were released in early August 2001.
Critical reviews
Empire Earth averaged an 82% according to
Game RankingsGameRankings is a website which keeps track of video game reviews from other sites, and combines them to present an average rating for each game. It indexes over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 games. The Ratings show the general critical opinion about a game; thus, Gamerankings has...
, and earned
GameSpyGameSpy, also known as GameSpy Industries, is a division of IGN Entertainment, which operates a network of game websites and provides online video game-related services and software. GameSpy dates back to the 1996 release of an internet Quake server search program named QSpy. The current company...
's 2001 "PC Game of the Year " award. It was rated 8.5/10 by
IGNIGN is a multimedia news and reviews website that focuses heavily on video games...
, who commented "Anyone who's familiar with Age of Empires is going to hit the ground running in Empire Earth. With a few additions and some small changes the economic model and interface is pretty much exactly like that in AoE2."
GameSpotGameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which purchased...
was not as impressed, giving it 7.9/10, saying "Empire Earth is best reserved for hard-core real-time strategy players who won't mind the game's less-than-stellar graphics and sound but will instead relish the ability to relive 14 different epochs of human warfare.".
Game InformerGame Informer is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles...
was disappointed and gave it a 6.25/10, saying "Empire Earth couldn't walk the walk like it talked the talk. Although no one patch can fix either of the aforementioned items, the latter will certainly see some type of quick adjustment in the near future."
Empire Earth sold over 1 million units.
Empire Earth was re-released as
Empire Earth Gold Edition on May 6, 2003. It contains both the original game and the expansion pack,
manualsAn instruction manual, in the context of video games, is a booklet that instructs the player on how to play the game. Manuals can be large, such as the Civilization II manual which runs hundreds of pages, or small, such as the single sheet of double-sided A5 paper included with Half-Life...
, and technology trees for both games, hotkey reference and the official strategy guide.
Legacy
Empire Earth spawned several sequels, and eventually an entire pack for
Empire Earth,
Empire Earth: The Art of ConquestEmpire Earth: The Art of Conquest, also known as AoC, is the official expansion pack for the real-time strategy game Empire Earth. Art of Conquest was developed by Mad Doc Software, and was released on 17 September 2002 in the United States. The game was released in Europe later in the year, and...
was released in May 2002, and a sequel,
Empire Earth IIEmpire Earth II, also called EE2, is a real-time strategy computer game developed by Mad Doc Software and published by Vivendi Universal on 26 April 2005. It is a sequel to the 2001 bestselling game Empire Earth, which was developed by the now-defunct Stainless Steel Studios...
, was released in 2005.
Empires: Dawn of the Modern WorldEmpires: Dawn of the Modern World is a history-based real-time strategy computer game developed by Stainless Steel Studios and released on October 21, 2003...
was considered to be a "spiritual sequel" to
Empire Earth, since it was also made by Stainless Steel Studios and released between
Empire Earth and
Empire Earth II. A cell phone version of
Empire Earth,
Empire Earth MobileEmpire Earth Mobile is a turn-based strategy game for the cell phone based on the original Empire Earth. Empire Earth Mobile was written in Java form, and was developed by Vivendi instead of Stainless Steel Studios...
, was released in 2005. Another sequel,
Empire Earth IIIEmpire Earth III, also called EE3, is a real-time strategy computer game developed by Mad Doc Software and published by Sierra Entertainment, released on 6 November 2007...
was released November 6, 2007.
Death and Rebirth
On Monday November 3, 2008, at 7pm GMT, the WON servers, dedicated to the Empire Earth and Empire Earth: The Art of Conquest online game-play system, were permanently shut down by Activision.
Fortunately however, there was advance warning to the community and several attempts were made to develop a system to replace the official WON servers. A solution was quickly released in the form of a virtual-lobby Windows application, created by Nuckin Futs. This new lobby, which includes automatic game listings pulled directly from the game and many other features, was quickly adopted by the Empire Earth community as the new standard for Empire Earth and Empire Earth: The Art of Conquest online game play, and can be downloaded at the official home of Nuckin Futs’ Empire Earth Multi-player Lobby at
Save-EE.
External links