Is Empire Earth worth the wait? Should you buy it with the deal of getting the guide half off, though when you buy it with the book you don't get the discount and the store helper says, "Oh. To bad. Sorry"? My answer is hell yes. This game will blow your mind. If you though Age of Empires/Age of Empires 2: AoK/TC was good, try this on for size.
I personally don't like a whole essay of a review to tell people how good/bad something is. So I will give you a short review, okay? For our viewers and the rest of the team itself.
Map Editor
Probably the thing you care about the most. I must say that the editor is disapointing. Why? Stainless Steel Studios have chagned the whole thing around, mostly. It has a whole new look, and fell. It well take about a week or two to fully utilize it. One problem I have with it is that it is unorganized. Instead of making a new trigger, the hitting condition and effect, that simple all in one window, you have to first make the conditions which are few, and effects which only have half the ones from AoK and a few news ones. But before you make an effect, you have to select an object, then area for it in different menus. I hated this when I first saw it.
You have to go in this order: CONDITION, OBJECT, AREA, EFFECT, TRIGGER, to get a trigger that is futher complicating to make. The Cinematic effects are nice, but so darn confusing. Don't mess with it until you know what your doing through weeks of experience with the editor.
Game Play
This is a very good strategy game. I mean, you have 13 Time Periods, or Epochs to play across: Prehistoric, Stone Age, Copper Age, Iron Age, Dark Age, Medival Age, Imperial Age, Industrial Age, Atomic-WW1, Atomic-WW2, Atomic-Modern, Digital Age, and the Nano Age. I hope I named them correctly, I don't have the guide with me at the momment.
Anyway, this game is deep. The computer is hard, and smart now around. I remember I was in a Naval/Airial Battle against an EASY Computer. I keep using B-52 Nuclear Bombers, and tanks, while defending the home with F-14s flying around vital parts on my base, and Naticus Subs guarding the water, on a large island map. God what a battle. The computer got used to my Airial/ampibious (water to land) attacks. He retailiated with very well placed AA (anti aircraft) Guns, and Heavy Mortars (I think I spelled it wrong). And they rebuild quickyly. I just can't beat the computer at an offensive attack easily, let alone quickly. They are too fast to repair and the computer is smarter. He will get used to your attacks and retailiate. I don't know if I am just seeing things or what.
Battles are dramatic as you have 3+ Airports all with B-2 bombers coming out, willing to attack on site. It is a very fun game. Massive armies blown out the sky in pilot dog fights. Nuclear bombers dropping devastating bombs over horrified land units, defenceless to such attacks. Did I meantion you can improve your units through upgrades on specific attributes? Depending on what type of unit it is, you can click on their attribute to upgrade it for all the units of the type.
Nice, yet your basic looking graphics. Its doesn't excell to much here, but with certain effects like when you dropped an A-Bomb is stunning, Laggy too, but hey).
Sound: 8/10
Though EE has over 200 units probably, they all have I think about 4 unique sounds. And good music too.
Control: 9/10
You can customize your controls like in AoK. There's easy access to selecting your different teams you assigned, and much is well placed to me. You have 5 different settings for performance and quality. You set it to the best way you want it for your system. I personaly go for performance, especially if you have 64RAM and 56k modem.
AoK Vet's Design Opinion: 4/10
It was just disappointing to me. You take space ship to an alien planet where people walk on their ears, and talk through their belly hole and you'll get the idea of playing EE if your an AoK vet. It has some similarity to AoK as in it being a strategy capable of making SCNs and CPNs. Its too different from AoK to me. Not really cattered for AoK Vets.
Stand Alone Design Opinion: 9/10
It is deep with much customizing capabilities, and in-depth playing. If your not an AoK vet, you'll love the game.
Overall IMHO: 8/10
I have to say, all soreness aside, this is a dang good game.
STRONG HINTS!
-I recomment having 128 RAM. If you don't, this game will lag soo much you'll walk away after playing it in slow motion, your brain still thinking slow as when you were playing the game.
-Constantly go to Empire Earth Heaven to be updated on the game. Other players will find out things and release it to the public, best keep yourself informed to be good.
-Don't use TRAINERS! Stainless Steel Studios has concidered this, and has built into the game something that will cancle your multi-player game, and ban your CD# so you can't play anymore. I say its just punishment.