Empire Earth III

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

User Rating: 6 | Empire Earth III PC

By Akhmatov | Review Date: November 12, 2007

I have read on the internet that the new approach to Empire Earth was a response to gamers feeling overwhelmed by the number of factions in Empire Earth II. I believe that gamers love a big number of factions and different architectural styles (CIV IV, AOE III); the only thing overwhelmed by Empire Earth II was our hardware. Even on my new PC, a quad-core Dell with two 8000 series NVIDIA cards in SLI mode, Empire Earth II degenerates into a slide show if all of the graphics options are turned on. Empire Earth III is a whole lot less than EE II on every count, however.

First, the graphics are not as attractive. The trees, for example, are downright awful looking, like lettuce wraps. They look even worse than the trees in World of Warcraft. The units in the game look like big blocky toddler toys (but a few of them manage to look relatively cool anyway, like the Tripod Herc). Aircraft formations look ridiculous, like aerial traffic jams, and you cannot build roads or churches. There are no priests, at least in the Western Faction. The variety of units is dramatically reduced from EE II.

I could not figure out how to find idle builder or military units, and formations were not available either. There were also only five epochs, not eight or ten. And I could not figure out how to make distinctive sub-factions within the three factions, for example I could not create French civilization that seemed in any way French. There are no wonders either.

This game is so much less than EE II, I will probably continue to play the latter. EE III makes you want to play EE II! Nevertheless I am looking forward to the other factions; perhaps they will be more interesting. The game is not bad, really, but it is astonishing how much less there is in the box.

Vlad Akhmatov

Other Helpful Reviews for Empire Earth III

• Rating:3

  While Empire Earth I and II were both great games, Empire Earth III feels like 3/4 of the features were removed.

  By Kevin_of_Borg | Review Date: Aug 27, 2008 | PC

  I've played Empire Earth since the first one came out. When the second one came out, I thought it was good, but in a way I still preferred the first. Both games had lots of options in the way of resources, diplomacy, t... Read Full Review

  20 of 20 users found the following review helpful
• Rating:2.5

  This game will kill your love for the Empire Earth series.

  By AlexChec | Review Date: Nov 17, 2007 | PC

  I bought Empire Earth III because I was a devout follower of the Empire Earth series. That was until I bought Empire Earth III. EE3 is a bastardization of the Empire Earth series, as much of a bold, new direction for ... Read Full Review

  16 of 16 users found the following review helpful