wants to be different but instead it is unenjoyable
The first problem is running the game. The first time you do run it, the game asks you to register it. I didn't want to. Now, I have to play in demo mode!
After all, this game is not such innovative that people say. Earth 2160 is a typical Real Time Strategy game. You start out small, find a source of materials and energy, build different buildings and produce soldiers, tanks and aircraft to then annihilate the enemy or defenses to protect your own base.
The game runs smoothly on my system but There are still some bugs in the game. The game is hard for a commoner to get started with, essentially because there is no real introduction mission, no manual or anything of that kind. There are but only these occasional tips appearing in the upper part of the screen; Tips I would often miss anyway when I'm occupied fighting and/or building.
The command interface is clunky, confusing, and severely lacking. Controls are very confusing. The button for selecting the units also functions as the button for moving them as well as the button for boarding the ships and entering buildings. In the last several years I can't remember playing an RTS game that had the select button and the move button as the same button.
The graphics look good, although a lot of units are poorly animated and stiff. sounds are OK, although voice acting is poor.
Battles are boring and unrealistic; I hate those strategy games where 5 infantry men take 5 minutes to destroy a tank with their BULLETS while their own life is gradually reduced by the direct hits of 75mm tank shells. Earth 2160 would be one such game. Wave of wave of enemies will come and attack your base without any reason whatsoever. For example, the AI isn't the smartest thing around knowing you have many troops and vehicles,the enemy will only send around 5 of it's units to attack you, a minute later send 5 more it never gets anywhere, and overall makes the pace of the game slow.
One of the few interesting feature is customizable vehicles but customization doesn't have a lot of depth. Base construction also is interesting. Your buildings attach to each other like pipes.
Researching will play an important key in the game after without researching you can't add more powerful armor and weapons to your base and army.
Campaign is one of the worst campaigns I've ever played. The story is not interesting, with many parts of the campaign replete with unnecessary sprinklings of crappy dialogue and retarded mission objectives. Some missions are very hard and more frustrating than fun, as the breaking through enemy defenses are almost impossible.
Overall, this game has great potential but brought down by major problems.