Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Empire Earth delivers an ambitious real-time strategy experience by spanning the entire sweep of human history across 14 distinct epochs, from the Stone Age right through to the Nano Age. You start with rudimentary stone throwers and gradually unlock cutting-edge weapons such as battle mechs and orbital lasers. This progression system gives you a genuine sense of growth and achievement, as you gather food, wood, gold, stone, and later, oil to fuel ever more advanced technologies.

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Building and unit management will feel familiar to fans of Age of Empires, since Rick Goodman led design on both titles. However, the 3D engine brings fresh tactical possibilities: units navigate varied terrain, naval engagements play out with dynamic water physics, and air units add a vertical dimension to battle. You’ll decide whether to invest in a larger army or to upgrade your existing units’ armor, firepower, speed, and range—each purchase shaping your strategic profile.

The campaign mode introduces civilization points as a meta-layer reward for heroic deeds. Spend these points to boost citizen harvesting speed, shorten build times, or enhance specific unit classes. Meanwhile, skirmish and multiplayer modes let you experience the full 14-epoch progression, offering endless “what if?” replay potential. The built-in scenario editor further extends longevity by empowering players to craft their own historical or futuristic battles.

Graphics

Visually, Empire Earth was a leap forward when it launched, moving away from purely 2D sprites into a fully rendered 3D environment. The isometric perspective remains fixed, which keeps controls intuitive and avoids the occasional vertigo of free-roaming cameras. Landscapes vary dramatically from prehistoric savannahs to futuristic cityscapes, each epoch sporting its own palette and architectural style.

Unit models are detailed enough to distinguish early militia from mechanized infantry or hover tanks at a glance. While you won’t find photo-realism, the console-like textures and smooth animations hold up well, even on modern hardware. Water effects in naval battles include realistic wave patterns and reflections, and environmental details—such as swaying trees and changing seasons—add to the immersion.

Cinematic cutscenes between missions provide narrative context and showcase the game’s engine at its best, blending pre-rendered clips with in-engine animations. The user interface remains clean and readable, with clearly labeled icons for resources and unit commands. Occasional pathfinding hiccups—units momentarily stalling at obstacles—are minor gripes in an otherwise polished visual package.

Story

Empire Earth’s story unfolds across four grand campaigns, each anchored in a pivotal era. You’ll begin by building a young Greek empire around the Mediterranean, mastering phalanx tactics and naval warfare. Next, you guide medieval England through Norman conquests, strategic alliances, and the climactic Battle of Waterloo, complete with scripted ambushes and rescue objectives.

The third campaign rewrites 20th-century history, casting you as a German commander who emerges victorious in both World Wars. Strategic bombings, tank blitzkriegs, and espionage missions punctuate this darker chapter. Finally, a speculative future campaign sees you forging a Russian empire in the year 2025, deploying advanced energy weapons, drone swarms, and orbital defenses in high-stakes global conflicts.

Each mission combines traditional base-building and large-scale battles with adventure elements: you might escort a historical figure through hostile terrain or trigger timed objectives that turn the tide of war. While the narrative is not as character-driven as in some modern RTS titles, the sweeping scale and varied objectives keep the saga engaging and provide players with a clear sense of progression through time.

Overall Experience

Empire Earth remains a landmark in the RTS genre thanks to its unparalleled historical scope and flexible unit-upgrade system. The combination of deep strategic layers—resource management, epoch progression, civilization-point customization—and accessible controls makes it appealing to both newcomers and veteran tacticians. The variety of multiplayer options, from LAN skirmishes to online matches, ensures that no two games ever feel the same.

The scenario editor and modding community have extended the title’s lifespan well beyond its initial release, with fan-made campaigns, custom civilizations, and balance tweaks readily available. While the AI can be predictable on higher difficulties and pathfinding occasionally falters, these quibbles are outweighed by the game’s depth and replayability.

In summary, Empire Earth is a richly detailed, thoroughly engaging strategy epic that invites you to rewrite history or imagine the wars of tomorrow. Its seamless transition across epochs, comprehensive upgrade mechanics, and sprawling campaigns deliver a satisfying experience for anyone eager to command civilizations through the ages.

Retro Replay Score

7.4/10