Charlemagne would have been proud.
Like many games in its genre, the idea is to build a civilization from scratch, and to conquer your enemy. One might go about this by surrounding their camp with walls and towers, and overtaking the enemy territory with a sustained ground attack supported by cavalry and archers. Or, for the more conservative, one might keep their sharpshooters outside of enemy range to thin the opposition, while guiding aircraft overhead to deplete factorys and seige towers. In short, there are plenty of ways one might go about reigning supreme. And with a countless supply of varying troops, you'll probably never have the same fight twice.
Naturally, this game's strongest component is the online play value. For those that are able to jump right in, they'll find the rather simplistic setup for getting into or starting an online game. If practice is the recipe, then you could play a single play mode against and/or with the computer.
Empire Earth also has four different campaign modes to chose from, each one with a unique storyline. Some of your tasks will seem more like tutorials, but you'll be pitted against the odds much of the time.
Admittedly, this game has its faults. The graphics have seemingly been sacrificed. But it pays out. Largely. For example, you may only notice the blocky heros if you are zoomed in. It's almost unnoticeable from the bird's eye view, seeing as ants can't have too much detail. But in the midst of battle, you'll hardly find any lag. This is a good think, considering the fate of an entire civilization could be hanging in the balance.
If your an online junkie or a more practical player, this game has it all in store for you. It would take many, many hours for any one player to try out everything in the game. So whether war games are right up your alley or you'd like to try out something new for a change, then seek no futher than the PC's very own Empire Earth.