Empires: Dawn of the Modern World
Encyclopedia
Empires: 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. Considered an unofficial sequel to Empire Earth, the game requires players to collect resources
to build an empire, train military units, and conquer opposing civilizations.
Based on a slightly compressed version of world history, Empires covers five eras, from the Medieval Age
to World War II
. The game features nine civilizations: England
, the Franks
, Korea
and China
are playable from the Medieval Age to the Imperial Age; the United States
, Russia
, Germany
, France
and the United Kingdom
are playable in the World War I and World War II ages. The game attracted positive critical reaction.
In 2009, Activision
terminated its multiplayer server contract with GameSpy
.
game, Empires requires players to command armies and combat opponents from a complete 3D
perspective to achieve victory. Matches end when all but one player have resigned or been defeated; the last player standing is awarded the victory. To win, players must develop and micromanage balanced and organized armies. The game features land, sea and air units, whose availabilities depend on the selected era. These units have strengths and weaknesses in a format similar to Rock, Paper, Scissors
; each type of unit affects other units differently. Each unit represents one soldier or machine, whose speed and range depend on its type and civilization. A unit can be ordered to scout, guard, act defensively, or act aggressively. Resources—food, wood, gold, and stone—are required in different combinations to build structures and armies. Throughout the game, citizens gather resources and deposit them in Town Center structures.
Empires multiplayer component, powered by GameSpy
, is freely available to any player who has an updated
version of the game. Though as of 2007, this game is no longer supported by GameSpy for online play. Two to eight people or artificial intelligence
opponents compete in either the shorter, battle-oriented Action Mode or the longer, defense-oriented Empire Builder Mode. The modes, civilizations, and map types are available in both single-player and multiplayer. Maps are randomly generated for each match, but conform to a general landform chosen by the host player of the match. The player also chooses the size of the map and the amount of units that each player can create. Multiplayer mode features groups of allied players called clans
, which appear on the Empires Heaven clan list.
There are nine civilizations in Empires. The first four civilizations exist from 950 A.D. to 1900 A.D., which covers the first three ages: the Medieval, Gunpowder and Imperial ages. The other five civilizations roughly cover the years 1900 A.D. to 1950 A.D., which is during the ages of World War I and World War II. The Japanese are opponents in the game's campaign mode, but they are not playable in the game. Age progression requires a large amount of resources, which varies in size depending on the age and game type. Once a new age has been entered, new upgrades become available. New upgrades cost different combinations of resources, and can do anything from improving a civilization's fishing rate to upgrading units with enhanced technology. Once this change occurs, older unit types cannot be created.
's unhistorical revolt against his father, King Henry
, and war with Philip II of France
. The second depicts Admiral Yi Sun-Sin
's battles against the invading Japanese in the Imjin War. The final campaign tracks General George S. Patton
from the Anglo-American invasion of Vichy French
North Africa to D-Day
.
Richard the Lionhearted's campaign details his path to the English throne. The campaign begins as King Henry's first son, Prince Henry
, conspires to take England's throne before his father's death. Ensuing scenarios involve three of Henry II's sons and the imprisonment of Eleanor of Aquitaine
, Henry's wife, during the English revolt of 1173–1174. Phillip II of France, who has ascended unexpectedly early to the French throne, also appears. Richard and Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany
, one of Henry's other sons, are playable units; however, the other historical figures appear only in cut scenes. Even so, this campaign is ahistorical. Several English units such as the highlander were never employed by the English. The French units do not include the Swiss pikemen and German pikemen used by the French armies; it is also not possible to employ battering rams or siege towers as used by both the English and the French historically.
The campaign of Admiral Yi (historically Yi Sun-Sin
) occurs in the 1590s, and chronicles Korea's battles against Manchus and the Japan
ese. The campaign focuses on the Imjin Wars−a six-year period when Japan invaded Korea twice—and the ensuing naval, land, and political fighting. The story includes the development of stronger, technologically superior Turtle ship
s. Yi Sun-Sin
, Kim Shi-min, the king's advisor (Ryu Seong-ryong
), and Kwak Chae-u, a citizen who helped lead a revolution at the time, are playable units; other main characters, such as political leaders, appear only in cut scenes. The campaign's conclusion explains the end of the wars and of Yi Sun-Sin's life.
The General Patton campaign takes place during World War II, and primarily describes the fighting in Northern Africa
, Italy
, and Normandy
during D-Day
. General Patton—the main leader in the campaign—is playable in several scenarios, Dwight D. Eisenhower
appears in cut scenes, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt narrates the beginning of one scenario.
A custom campaign and scenario editor is also available; several unofficial custom campaigns and scenarios are freely available on fan websites such as Empires Heaven.
. The game is based on an upgraded version of the Titan game engine
used in the company's previous title, Empire Earth. In an interview with GameSpot
regarding development, Rick Goodman
stated, "In my opinion, the development community should spend more time with consumers ... we need to do a better job answering the question, 'What do gamers want?'". Utilizing survey results, the studio focused on gameplay, balance, and innovation.
At E3 2003, Stainless Steel highlighted differences among the game's civilizations, which were created from a civilization tree, a chart of every civilization in Empire Earth. Jon Alenson, the lead designer, said in an interview that a civilization tree is "like a bed of snakes, where the biggest fattest snake represents the biggest strongest civilization." Stainless Steel diversified and balanced the most requested civilizations on their forums by using diagrams, unit families, tactical simulations, and strategy tests. To complement the updated civilizations, the studio revised much of the technology from Empire Earth.
The game became available on Steam on August 30, 2007.
rated it 8.25/10, calling it "definitely worth your time if you dig the genre..."; IGN
gave it an 8.8/10, deemed it "a great strategy game", and stated that "Stainless Steel deserves to be proud of their second effort..."; GameSpy
referred to it as "an excellent RTS
."
PC Game World, an online game site, claimed that the game's sound was "as good as it comes with this type of game, with nuclear weapons exploding, bombs going off, weapons firing, people hitting people with swords." Gamezone liked only certain visual elements, claiming that “the backgrounds of forests, meadows and water are very sharp, and are the best looking part of the game."
In a negative comment, GameSpot
questioned the game's lack of guidance, stating that "[t]he manual starts off saying as much, and there's no tutorial to walk you through the basics...". Gamezone similarly noted, “As there is also no tutorial to speak of, players not familiar with the first Empires game, or who are new to RTS, may find themselves a bit lost.” PC Gamer stated, "The unit formations are crummy and pathfinding is just as tenuous as in most RTS games ... and the missions are somewhat undercut by ... terrible voice-acting." The magazine found that the pathfinding
algorithm often causes units to travel together in a disorganized mass and sometimes take more dangerous routes than necessary to reach locations. Computer Gaming World
complained that the campaigns "are excessively story driven and include little in the way of straightforward build-and-raze missions."
Because critics perceived that Empires lacked significant innovations to the real-time strategy genre, they often drew comparisons to other games. Armchair Empire noted, "It's next to impossible to write about Empires ... without mentioning Stainless Steel Studios’ last project, Empire Earth." Many were surprised that the scope was smaller than that of Empire Earth, but agreed that the gameplay focused more on specific time periods by having fewer ages and civilizations. One critic called the game a "dumb man's Rise of Nations
." Stratos Group wrote that Empires has "very few land-only maps, unlike Rise of Nations which was full of variety on this score." The progressions among ages were also compared: "Rise of Nations often ended in a flurry of age-rushing until everyone was driving tanks, but the offensive power available to the player in Empires means that advancing to the next age is not necessarily your highest immediate priority." Regarding civilization choices, Stratos stated that "After the cornucopia of choices available in Rise of Nations (18 cultures), the four early and five later cultures of Empires may seem a little small. This is not a real problem, though. The choices available are fun and varied." CNET
remarked, "The design puts well-recognized historical action into play and makes believable use of the material, while adding some powerful spell-like effects to keep the action interesting. While it may not have the breadth of Rise of Nations' real-time empire building, the tight scope deals out dividends when it comes to fast-paced battles."
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
-based real-time strategy
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 by Stainless Steel Studios
Stainless Steel Studios
Stainless 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 October 21, 2003. Considered an unofficial sequel to Empire Earth, the game requires players to collect resources
Natural resource
Natural resources occur naturally within environments that exist relatively undisturbed by mankind, in a natural form. A natural resource is often characterized by amounts of biodiversity and geodiversity existent in various ecosystems....
to build an empire, train military units, and conquer opposing civilizations.
Based on a slightly compressed version of world history, Empires covers five eras, from the Medieval Age
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
to World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The game features nine civilizations: England
England
England 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, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, the Franks
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD 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. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
, Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
are playable from the Medieval Age to the Imperial Age; the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Russia
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
are playable in the World War I and World War II ages. The game attracted positive critical reaction.
In 2009, Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
terminated its multiplayer server contract with 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...
.
Gameplay
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, Empires requires players to command armies and combat opponents from a complete 3D
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
perspective to achieve victory. Matches end when all but one player have resigned or been defeated; the last player standing is awarded the victory. To win, players must develop and micromanage balanced and organized armies. The game features land, sea and air units, whose availabilities depend on the selected era. These units have strengths and weaknesses in a format similar to Rock, Paper, Scissors
Rock, Paper, Scissors
Rock-paper-scissors is a hand game played by two people. The game is also known as roshambo, or another ordering of the three items ....
; each type of unit affects other units differently. Each unit represents one soldier or machine, whose speed and range depend on its type and civilization. A unit can be ordered to scout, guard, act defensively, or act aggressively. Resources—food, wood, gold, and stone—are required in different combinations to build structures and armies. Throughout the game, citizens gather resources and deposit them in Town Center structures.
Empires multiplayer component, powered by 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...
, is freely available to any player who has an updated
Patch (computing)
A patch is a piece of software designed to fix problems with, or update a computer program or its supporting data. This includes fixing security vulnerabilities and other bugs, and improving the usability or performance...
version of the game. Though as of 2007, this game is no longer supported by GameSpy for online play. Two to eight people or artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
opponents compete in either the shorter, battle-oriented Action Mode or the longer, defense-oriented Empire Builder Mode. The modes, civilizations, and map types are available in both single-player and multiplayer. Maps are randomly generated for each match, but conform to a general landform chosen by the host player of the match. The player also chooses the size of the map and the amount of units that each player can create. Multiplayer mode features groups of allied players called clans
Clan (computer gaming)
In computer and video gaming, a clan or guild is an organised group of players that regularly play together in a particular multiplayer games. These games range from groups of a few friends to 1000-person organizations, with a broad range of structures, goals and members. The lifespan of a clan...
, which appear on the Empires Heaven clan list.
There are nine civilizations in Empires. The first four civilizations exist from 950 A.D. to 1900 A.D., which covers the first three ages: the Medieval, Gunpowder and Imperial ages. The other five civilizations roughly cover the years 1900 A.D. to 1950 A.D., which is during the ages of World War I and World War II. The Japanese are opponents in the game's campaign mode, but they are not playable in the game. Age progression requires a large amount of resources, which varies in size depending on the age and game type. Once a new age has been entered, new upgrades become available. New upgrades cost different combinations of resources, and can do anything from improving a civilization's fishing rate to upgrading units with enhanced technology. Once this change occurs, older unit types cannot be created.
Campaigns
Empires features three campaigns, divided into scenarios depicting major events in each civilization's history. The first campaign follows Richard the LionheartedRichard I of England
Richard I was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Nantes, and Overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period...
's unhistorical revolt against his father, King Henry
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
, and war with Philip II of France
Philip II of France
Philip II Augustus was the King of France from 1180 until his death. A member of the House of Capet, Philip Augustus was born at Gonesse in the Val-d'Oise, the son of Louis VII and his third wife, Adela of Champagne...
. The second depicts Admiral Yi Sun-Sin
Yi Sun-sin
Yi Sun-shin was a Korean naval commander, famed for his victories against the Japanese navy during the Imjin war in the Joseon Dynasty, and is well-respected for his exemplary conduct on and off the battlefield not only by Koreans, but by Japanese Admirals as well...
's battles against the invading Japanese in the Imjin War. The final campaign tracks General George S. Patton
George S. Patton
George Smith Patton, Jr. was a United States Army officer best known for his leadership while commanding corps and armies as a general during World War II. He was also well known for his eccentricity and controversial outspokenness.Patton was commissioned in the U.S. Army after his graduation from...
from the Anglo-American invasion of Vichy French
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
North Africa to D-Day
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
.
Richard the Lionhearted's campaign details his path to the English throne. The campaign begins as King Henry's first son, Prince Henry
Henry the Young King
Henry, known as the Young King was the second of five sons of King Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine but the first to survive infancy. He was officially King of England; Duke of Normandy, Count of Anjou and Maine.-Early life:Little is known of the young prince Henry before the events...
, conspires to take England's throne before his father's death. Ensuing scenarios involve three of Henry II's sons and the imprisonment of Eleanor of Aquitaine
Eleanor of Aquitaine
Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in Western Europe during the High Middle Ages. As well as being Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right, she was queen consort of France and of England...
, Henry's wife, during the English revolt of 1173–1174. Phillip II of France, who has ascended unexpectedly early to the French throne, also appears. Richard and Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany
Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany
Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany and Earl of Richmond was Duke of Brittany between 1181 and 1186, through his marriage with the heiress Constance. Geoffrey was the fourth son of King Henry II of England and Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine.-Family:He was a younger maternal half-brother of Marie de...
, one of Henry's other sons, are playable units; however, the other historical figures appear only in cut scenes. Even so, this campaign is ahistorical. Several English units such as the highlander were never employed by the English. The French units do not include the Swiss pikemen and German pikemen used by the French armies; it is also not possible to employ battering rams or siege towers as used by both the English and the French historically.
The campaign of Admiral Yi (historically Yi Sun-Sin
Yi Sun-sin
Yi Sun-shin was a Korean naval commander, famed for his victories against the Japanese navy during the Imjin war in the Joseon Dynasty, and is well-respected for his exemplary conduct on and off the battlefield not only by Koreans, but by Japanese Admirals as well...
) occurs in the 1590s, and chronicles Korea's battles against Manchus and the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, 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...
ese. The campaign focuses on the Imjin Wars−a six-year period when Japan invaded Korea twice—and the ensuing naval, land, and political fighting. The story includes the development of stronger, technologically superior Turtle ship
Turtle ship
The Turtle ship, also known as Geobukseon or Kobukson , was a type of large warship belonging to the Panokseon class in Korea that was used intermittently by the Royal Korean Navy during the Joseon Dynasty from the early 15th century up until the 19th century.The first references to older, first...
s. Yi Sun-Sin
Yi Sun-sin
Yi Sun-shin was a Korean naval commander, famed for his victories against the Japanese navy during the Imjin war in the Joseon Dynasty, and is well-respected for his exemplary conduct on and off the battlefield not only by Koreans, but by Japanese Admirals as well...
, Kim Shi-min, the king's advisor (Ryu Seong-ryong
Yu Seong-ryong
Yu Seong-ryong , also often spelled Ryu Seong-ryong, was a scholar-official and Prime minister of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea...
), and Kwak Chae-u, a citizen who helped lead a revolution at the time, are playable units; other main characters, such as political leaders, appear only in cut scenes. The campaign's conclusion explains the end of the wars and of Yi Sun-Sin's life.
The General Patton campaign takes place during World War II, and primarily describes the fighting in Northern Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, and Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
during D-Day
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
. General Patton—the main leader in the campaign—is playable in several scenarios, Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
appears in cut scenes, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt narrates the beginning of one scenario.
A custom campaign and scenario editor is also available; several unofficial custom campaigns and scenarios are freely available on fan websites such as Empires Heaven.
Development
Empires: Dawn of the Modern World was developed from 2002 to 2003 by the now-defunct Stainless Steel StudiosStainless Steel Studios
Stainless 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:...
. The game is based on an upgraded version of the Titan game engine
Titan (game engine)
-Titan:Titan is a game engine developed by Stainless Steel Studios used in the real-time strategy genre. It was mainly used as a PC game engine in the early 2000s...
used in the company's previous title, Empire Earth. In an interview with GameSpot
GameSpot
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...
regarding development, Rick Goodman
Rick Goodman
Rick 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 and Empire Earth.-Career:...
stated, "In my opinion, the development community should spend more time with consumers ... we need to do a better job answering the question, 'What do gamers want?'". Utilizing survey results, the studio focused on gameplay, balance, and innovation.
At E3 2003, Stainless Steel highlighted differences among the game's civilizations, which were created from a civilization tree, a chart of every civilization in Empire Earth. Jon Alenson, the lead designer, said in an interview that a civilization tree is "like a bed of snakes, where the biggest fattest snake represents the biggest strongest civilization." Stainless Steel diversified and balanced the most requested civilizations on their forums by using diagrams, unit families, tactical simulations, and strategy tests. To complement the updated civilizations, the studio revised much of the technology from Empire Earth.
The game became available on Steam on August 30, 2007.
Reception
Empires: Dawn of the Modern World received positive critical reaction. Game InformerGame Informer
Game Informer is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles. It was formed in August 1991, when FuncoLand started publishing a six-page magazine, free in all its retail locations...
rated it 8.25/10, calling it "definitely worth your time if you dig the genre..."; 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 an 8.8/10, deemed it "a great strategy game", and stated that "Stainless Steel deserves to be proud of their second effort..."; 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...
referred to it as "an excellent RTS
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....
."
PC Game World, an online game site, claimed that the game's sound was "as good as it comes with this type of game, with nuclear weapons exploding, bombs going off, weapons firing, people hitting people with swords." Gamezone liked only certain visual elements, claiming that “the backgrounds of forests, meadows and water are very sharp, and are the best looking part of the game."
In a negative comment, GameSpot
GameSpot
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...
questioned the game's lack of guidance, stating that "[t]he manual starts off saying as much, and there's no tutorial to walk you through the basics...". Gamezone similarly noted, “As there is also no tutorial to speak of, players not familiar with the first Empires game, or who are new to RTS, may find themselves a bit lost.” PC Gamer stated, "The unit formations are crummy and pathfinding is just as tenuous as in most RTS games ... and the missions are somewhat undercut by ... terrible voice-acting." The magazine found that the pathfinding
Pathfinding
Pathfinding generally refers to the plotting, by a computer application, of the shortest route between two points. It is a more practical variant on solving mazes...
algorithm often causes units to travel together in a disorganized mass and sometimes take more dangerous routes than necessary to reach locations. Computer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World was a computer game magazine founded in 1981 by Russell Sipe as a bimonthly publication. Early issues were typically 40-50 pages in length, written in a newsletter style, including submissions by game designers such as Joel Billings , Dan Bunten , and Chris Crawford...
complained that the campaigns "are excessively story driven and include little in the way of straightforward build-and-raze missions."
Because critics perceived that Empires lacked significant innovations to the real-time strategy genre, they often drew comparisons to other games. Armchair Empire noted, "It's next to impossible to write about Empires ... without mentioning Stainless Steel Studios’ last project, Empire Earth." Many were surprised that the scope was smaller than that of Empire Earth, but agreed that the gameplay focused more on specific time periods by having fewer ages and civilizations. One critic called the game a "dumb man's Rise of Nations
Rise of Nations
Rise of Nations is a real-time strategy computer game, developed by Big Huge Games and published by Microsoft on May 20, 2003. The development of the game was led by veteran Brian Reynolds, of Civilization II and Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri. Concepts taken from turn-based strategy games have been...
." Stratos Group wrote that Empires has "very few land-only maps, unlike Rise of Nations which was full of variety on this score." The progressions among ages were also compared: "Rise of Nations often ended in a flurry of age-rushing until everyone was driving tanks, but the offensive power available to the player in Empires means that advancing to the next age is not necessarily your highest immediate priority." Regarding civilization choices, Stratos stated that "After the cornucopia of choices available in Rise of Nations (18 cultures), the four early and five later cultures of Empires may seem a little small. This is not a real problem, though. The choices available are fun and varied." CNET
CNET
CNET is a tech media website that publishes news articles, blogs, and podcasts on technology and consumer electronics. Originally founded in 1994 by Halsey Minor and Shelby Bonnie, it was the flagship brand of CNET Networks and became a brand of CBS Interactive through CNET Networks' acquisition...
remarked, "The design puts well-recognized historical action into play and makes believable use of the material, while adding some powerful spell-like effects to keep the action interesting. While it may not have the breadth of Rise of Nations