Empire Earth III
Encyclopedia
Empire Earth III, also called EE3, is a real-time strategy
computer game
developed
by Mad Doc Software and published
by Sierra Entertainment
, released on November 6, 2007. It is the latest installment of the Empire Earth
series and has generally received widespread negative reviews.
EE3 contains five epochs
, fewer than other games in the series but covering roughly the same time period. The game features three factions: Middle Eastern, Western
, and Far East
ern. Each faction comprises unique buildings, units, and technologies.
game. It introduces several new units and weapons, as well as a new free-form campaign structure that is similar in style to other real time strategy games, such as the Total War series. However, unlike Total War, the player advances through the entire course of history rather than staying in a specific time period.
There are three customizable civilization
s to choose from which are Western
, Middle-Eastern
, and Far East
ern. Each civilization can be customized by the player to their choosing. Furthermore, each civilization features subfactions based on historical nations (e.g. the Far Eastern civilization contains China and Japan). Another new feature in EE3 is certain nuclear weapon
s such as a nuclear cannon. In EE3, each region focuses on different styles of game play; for example, the Middle East has mobile buildings, the West has a few powerful units, and the Far East has masses of weak, swarming units combined with powerful mutants in the future.
The game's World Domination mode allows players to battle across a virtual earth
which is split into many sections/provinces. While playing this mode, quests give the player optional tasks to accomplish while conquering the globe. Furthermore, to help simplify the game, Empire Earth 3 has broken earth's history down to five unique sections: Ancient, Medieval, Colonial, Modern, and Future.
was shipped. The game engine was built on Empire Earth II
's engine using Gamebryo
2.0 middleware, but was almost completely rewritten to allow the developers to create improved visual effects, ragdoll physics
, more detailed models and higher resolution
textures
. Instead of making the units more realistic, Mad Doc worked to achieve a more "cartoonish" look.
On April 27, 2007 the American television show
Numb3rs
aired some footage of the game on CBS
while it was still in development. The demo of EE3 was released on November 1 . The retail version of the game was released on November 6, 2007 in the US and November 16, 2007 in Europe. It was also released on Direct2Drive.
A patch became available two days after the game's release. EE3 is the first game in the series to be a Games for Windows
title.
On November 12, 2007, a Gamespy arena portal was added for updates and stats.
gave it 3.5 of 10 saying "The developer's questionable sense of taste and humor is also on display in the visuals and sound... Empire Earth III has been dumbed down to the point of irrelevance." IGN
gave it a 5.4 of 10 saying "the animations aren't very good and the performance leaves a lot to be desired". GameSpy
had similar complaints: "bugs, muddled combat, or weak AI aren't things that strategy fans have to live with." GamerNode gave it 4.5 of 10 saying "The game tries to reach out to more gamers but fails completely. ... Stay away from this game." Game Revolution gave the game a D-, stating "Honestly, if the game didn't try to make you hate it, it would be perfectly tolerable, maybe even enjoyable." Mad Doc Software has since removed all references to the development of Empire Earth III from their homepage.
Real-time strategy
Real-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
computer game
Personal computer game
A PC game, also known as a computer game, is a video game played on a personal computer, rather than on a video game console or arcade machine...
developed
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
by Mad Doc Software and published
Video game publisher
A video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer....
by Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment Inc. was an American video-game developer and publisher founded in 1979 as On-Line Systems by Ken and Roberta Williams...
, released on November 6, 2007. It is the latest installment of the Empire Earth
Empire Earth (series)
The 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...
series and has generally received widespread negative reviews.
EE3 contains five epochs
Era
An era is a commonly used word for long period of time. When used in science, for example geology, eras denote clearly defined periods of time of arbitrary but well defined length, such as for example the Mesozoic era from 252 Ma–66 Ma, delimited by a start event and an end event. When used in...
, fewer than other games in the series but covering roughly the same time period. The game features three factions: Middle Eastern, Western
Western culture
Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...
, and Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
ern. Each faction comprises unique buildings, units, and technologies.
Gameplay
Similar to its predecessors, EE3 is a real-time strategyReal-time strategy
Real-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
game. It introduces several new units and weapons, as well as a new free-form campaign structure that is similar in style to other real time strategy games, such as the Total War series. However, unlike Total War, the player advances through the entire course of history rather than staying in a specific time period.
There are three customizable civilization
Civilization
Civilization is a sometimes controversial term that has been used in several related ways. Primarily, the term has been used to refer to the material and instrumental side of human cultures that are complex in terms of technology, science, and division of labor. Such civilizations are generally...
s to choose from which are Western
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
, Middle-Eastern
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, and Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
ern. Each civilization can be customized by the player to their choosing. Furthermore, each civilization features subfactions based on historical nations (e.g. the Far Eastern civilization contains China and Japan). Another new feature in EE3 is certain nuclear weapon
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
s such as a nuclear cannon. In EE3, each region focuses on different styles of game play; for example, the Middle East has mobile buildings, the West has a few powerful units, and the Far East has masses of weak, swarming units combined with powerful mutants in the future.
The game's World Domination mode allows players to battle across a virtual earth
Virtual globe
A virtual globe is a 3D software model or representation of the Earth or another world. A virtual globe provides the user with the ability to freely move around in the virtual environment by changing the viewing angle and position. Compared to a conventional globe, virtual globes have the...
which is split into many sections/provinces. While playing this mode, quests give the player optional tasks to accomplish while conquering the globe. Furthermore, to help simplify the game, Empire Earth 3 has broken earth's history down to five unique sections: Ancient, Medieval, Colonial, Modern, and Future.
Development and release
Development of the game began in 2005, shortly after Empire Earth IIEmpire Earth II
Empire Earth II, also called EE2, is a real-time strategy computer game developed by Mad Doc Software and published by Vivendi Universal Games on April 26, 2005. It is a sequel to the 2001 bestselling game Empire Earth, which was developed by the now-defunct Stainless Steel Studios...
was shipped. The game engine was built on Empire Earth II
Empire Earth II
Empire Earth II, also called EE2, is a real-time strategy computer game developed by Mad Doc Software and published by Vivendi Universal Games on April 26, 2005. It is a sequel to the 2001 bestselling game Empire Earth, which was developed by the now-defunct Stainless Steel Studios...
's engine using Gamebryo
Gamebryo
Gamebryo is a game engine, originally from Numerical Design Limited , and the successor to NDL's NetImmerse engine.Since the creation of Gamebryo, NDL merged into Emergent Game Technologies...
2.0 middleware, but was almost completely rewritten to allow the developers to create improved visual effects, ragdoll physics
Ragdoll physics
In computer physics engines, ragdoll physics is a type of procedural animation that is often used as a replacement for traditional static death animations.-Introduction:Early video games used manually-created animations for characters' death sequences...
, more detailed models and higher resolution
Image resolution
Image resolution is an umbrella term that describes the detail an image holds. The term applies to raster digital images, film images, and other types of images. Higher resolution means more image detail....
textures
Texture mapping
Texture mapping is a method for adding detail, surface texture , or color to a computer-generated graphic or 3D model. Its application to 3D graphics was pioneered by Dr Edwin Catmull in his Ph.D. thesis of 1974.-Texture mapping:...
. Instead of making the units more realistic, Mad Doc worked to achieve a more "cartoonish" look.
On April 27, 2007 the American television show
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
Numb3rs
NUMB3RS
Numb3rs is an American television drama which premiered on CBS on January 23, 2005, and concluded on March 12, 2010. The series was created by Nicolas Falacci and Cheryl Heuton, and follows FBI Special Agent Don Eppes and his mathematical genius brother, Charlie Eppes , who helps Don solve crimes...
aired some footage of the game on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
while it was still in development. The demo of EE3 was released on November 1 . The retail version of the game was released on November 6, 2007 in the US and November 16, 2007 in Europe. It was also released on Direct2Drive.
A patch became available two days after the game's release. EE3 is the first game in the series to be a Games for Windows
Games for Windows
Games for Windows is a brand owned by Microsoft and introduced in 2006 to coincide with the release of Windows Vista. The brand represents a standardized technical certification program and online service for Windows games, bringing a measure of regulation to the PC game market in much the same way...
title.
On November 12, 2007, a Gamespy arena portal was added for updates and stats.
Reception
The game was received poorly by critics. GameSpotGameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 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...
gave it 3.5 of 10 saying "The developer's questionable sense of taste and humor is also on display in the visuals and sound... Empire Earth III has been dumbed down to the point of irrelevance." IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave it a 5.4 of 10 saying "the animations aren't very good and the performance leaves a lot to be desired". GameSpy
GameSpy
GameSpy Industries, Inc., known simply as GameSpy, 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...
had similar complaints: "bugs, muddled combat, or weak AI aren't things that strategy fans have to live with." GamerNode gave it 4.5 of 10 saying "The game tries to reach out to more gamers but fails completely. ... Stay away from this game." Game Revolution gave the game a D-, stating "Honestly, if the game didn't try to make you hate it, it would be perfectly tolerable, maybe even enjoyable." Mad Doc Software has since removed all references to the development of Empire Earth III from their homepage.