" Wanna have a good time? Cheat and attack a computer opponent still in the dark ages with an M1A1 Abrams tank. "

      Title: Empire Earth by Sierra

      Format: Tactical Strategy Game

      Reviewing Monkey: Mojo Jojo

      The Hype: Touted as the most elaborite and involved RTS of all time, Empire Earth draws from some of the minds that created Age of Empires to give you a strategy game that spans from pre-history to the distant future.

      What This Monkey Thought...

      Graphics: As we've come to expect with RTS', graphics are not Empire Earth's strong points. Though technically 3D, they are in truth little more than medium detailed sprites and will certainly not provide you with any real visual enjoyment. That being said, however, they are dominate to a number of the other RTS out there and only pale when compared to higher detail games like Warcraft. 3 out of 5

      Playability: If you're one of those people who bitch because the options in Warcraft are too limited or that the tech tree in Age of Empires isn't elaborate enough, then Empire Earth is for you. Vast beyond words, Empire spans not only through your civilization and your tech tree but also through the ages. You can start as a Neanderthal, work your way up through the dark ages, slog through World War 2, and wage cyber battle with nano-techs all in the same game…and it's an awesome and potentially daunting experience. Of course, you don't have to play from start to finish that way, you can also launch anywhere in between, but far and away it's the time scale and cultural advancements (a la Civilization) that really set Empire Earth apart. And in case that's not enough for you, Empire also employs a marked "rock-paper-scissors" combat and development philosophy that will put you in a constant tech tree and resource management battle to design the army and civilization you want.
          But is that good? The answer is, it depends on who you are. For me, it was a great distraction from the standard drawl of FPS gaming and gave me way too many hours of cultural fun. The bad news, though, is that if you are a casual RTS gamer you won't find enough quick-fix to satisfy you here and the vast amount of trump knowledge you need to know to create an effective force will frustrate you to no end. 3.5 out of 5

      Story and Drama: The story is of your civilization advancing through time…what more do you want? Oh, a plot? Well, you won't find that here. 2 out of 5

      Multiplayer and Replayability: You will grow old and die before you actually finish exploring everything this game has to offer, so really the only limit on replayability is how long you can micromanage a societies existence? Multiplayer is happily all the standard faire, including co-op and last man standing and will give you all the replayability you need. 5 out of 5

      The Verdict:

In the end, your interest in Empire Earth should depend entirely on what type of gamer you are. If you love, and boy do I mean love, an epic cultural struggle on a huge scale look no further. If you need something more casual, keep browsing the shelf.

      The Good: Vast beyond vast with a great rock-paper-scissors trump system.

      The Bad: Vast beyond vast with a trump system that you'd better learn if you want to play.

      The Overall Ugly: Wanna have a good time? Cheat and attack a computer opponent still in the dark ages with an M1A1 Abrams tank.

      What it's Worth: Market