Empires is so intuitive in the way it plays, it takes about five minutes to get the hang of. This is a game where 1, years of history is condensed into a few precise mouse clicks and what's more it's a pleasure to play. If you've had any experience at all with RTS games you'll instinctively know which building to construct where, how many subjects you should have gathering wood, gold, stone and food, and more importantly where to place your defensive towers and how many troops it will take to guard it all.
Put simply Empires has one of the best interfaces we have ever seen. The one-click technology we told you about in issue instantly brings into play special abilities and upgrades the moment they're available.
So, unlike other games of this type where you waste precious time pissing about searching through submenus and clicking on buildings to find the upgrade you want, here, all the important upgrades and add-ons are virtually shoved up your nose so that you can't really avoid them.
Sometimes, in dire battlefield situations, when you're pinned down in your bunker, getting hammered by naval artillery, blitzed by high flying planes and down to your last few mortally wounded infantry, it's this one-click feature that saves your sorry arse. And so we've given them that and at the same time made it really easy to play. We couldn't agree more - we lost count of the amount of times the French "Esprit de Corps" ability healed all our units and saved us from certain death, or the English "RAF" boost gave us the edge over the German Luftwaffe.
Ultimately, when Empires is finally released, we have every reason to believe that despite the game's epic proportions you'll be gliding around the interface with the elegance of a supermodel on a Milan catwalk. But let's get back to the civilisations for a moment. There are plenty of RTSs boasting multiple cultures that are all supposedly different. Occasionally, as with Rise Of Nations this claim is completely true - but generally all is not as it seems.
A unique graphics set does not equal unique gameplay. Empires is different though. Firstly, yes - as you can see each nation does have a distinct graphical style. And to be perfectly honest, after watching all the units move and interact with the background, the game is visually Tnuch, much better than we originally thought. The landscapes are extremely detailed, with waves rolling in off the sea and there are some particularly detailed and spectacular explosions to protect jour eyes from.
If you want to see the full, unbridled effects of a German World War II aerial bombardment of a small French village which incidentally includes numerous barbecued cows flying through the air you've come to the right place.
But, as we were saying, the difference between the cultures is significant. Each culture has a bunch of unique units, special abilities, resource needs and economic advantages and disadvantages, all designed with fun firmly in mind. Touches like the English swordsman holding his shield above his head to deflect arrows, the French disguising themselves as trees, and the Chinese sending scouts into the skies on kites hundreds of years before anyone else thought about flying are just some of the myriad ideas the game offers.
Each nation sounds totally different as well. In issue we talked about some of the accents and how they fit perfectly into the underlying Monty Python vibe. What we didn't mention then was how you can distinctly tell the difference between the sound of a shell from a Russian T tank and artillery fire from an English howitzer. There are even multiple sound effects for houses and buildings being flattened.
When we put it to Rick that Empires is acoustically one of the most amazing games we've ever heard, his modest reply of: "I think the sound guys have about two or three different sound effects for things like buildings being hit," doesn't really do justice to what is in our opinion a milestone in PC sound. Empires may well prove to be a benchmark in other aspects too - and we're talking specifically about its obsession with history.
But before you doze off for ten minutes can we just say that this is history with a difference. Historical accuracy doesn't mean being bored shitless, a fact that is easily illustrated with the Russian Commissar unit. If you get this unit to shoot one of your own grunts in the back of the head, the horror of it spurs the rest of your pitiful group into action. They will fight harder, run faster and be less prone to sprinting off into the snowy Russian wilderness never to be seen again.
The scary thing is this kind of behaviour was rife among the Russian forces fighting the advancing Germans in Russian casualties inflicted by other Russians ran into hundreds of thousands. That Stainless Steel has the balls to introduce this shocking tactic into its game while retaining a sense of enjoyment is remarkable.
Other less shocking yet equally accurate observations include details such as the T being about the only vehicle that is a match for the German Panzer tank. Even obscure things such as the fact that the Russian's were the only nation to have a flamethrower tank the KV8 during World War II make it into the game.
There's certainly a resemblance to Sudden Strike or Blitzkrieg in terms of technical accuracy and you can't help feeling that's going to attract some real serious hardcore strategists as well as casual, fun-loving, RTS gamers. On the other hand, Empires contains so much humour and imagination it's virtually impossible to believe that some of the stuff is based on fact.
Take the Chinese for example. On the surface it's hard for your regular cynical westerner to accept that back in AD Taoist Sorcerers actually fought in battle alongside regular Chinese troops. It would be harder still to believe that these guys could freeze armies or cause volcanoes to instantly erupt spewing forth rocks, lava and hot ash. So intense was the mystery and awe surrounding these Taoist individuals that books chronicling the failed attempts of the Japanese and Koreans to invade China actually describe soldiers 'turning to stone' when faced by this arcane enemy.
Sure, our Japanese and Korean friends may have been slightly dazed and confused after their resounding defeat, but in Empires, China's alchemy and ability to manipulate the world around them is nonetheless unrivalled. In fact, in another multiplayer game against less agile opponents than Rick Goodman , we had great fun giving birth to an army of sorcerers and setting them loose in a French town to practice their volcano creating abilities.
Sadly we forgot to tell our reconnaissance units in their kites to bugger off first, so although watching peasants running around in flames is a joy to behold, the burning Chinese scouts tumbling out of the sky ruined the party somewhat.
And that's pretty much the strength of it. With any luck the next time we play the game will be for an exclusive review. As each chapter of history unfolds, you find yourself dealing with new technologies and unlocking more complex examples of advanced warfare. In the final campaign, airplanes and armored vehicles roll into gameplay, as well as flamethrowers, rocket launchers, and atomic weapons.
There are points in the campaigns where players will have to make difficult choices. Empires: Dawn of the Modern World has done something that not many titles have done too recently, drawn me into a world and not let me to till the wee small hours. With a full time line of epochs, theres a lot to keep track of. All the civilizations have different bonuses and that can turn the tide of war.
Russia has weak but cheap infantry in WW2, and gets 7 workers for free. The goal of each mission is to crush the enemy army. The task is considered completed when the enemy army is destroyed or surrenders. The units are represented by ground, sea and air forces. Each individual species depends on the era. There is a multiplayer mode that allows you to fight up to eight people.
Details zum Produkt. Deep campaigns contribute to a weeks of high replay value. One of the best RTS, that has come across these eyes. Resources are plentiful, maps are huge, and battles are insane. Three story-based modes, another 5 eras and 7 civilizations, random map generator, and both single and multiplayer game modes. Enough to keep you busy for hours and hours. You can actually construct complete campaign for play. In the final campaign, airplanes and armored vehicles roll into gameplay, as well as flamethrowers, rocket launchers, and atomic weapons.
There are points in the campaigns where players will have to make difficult choices. All the civilizations have different bonuses and that can turn the tide of war. Russia has weak but cheap infantry in WW2, and gets 7 workers for free. Chinese get two free town-centers, and are very versatile in their economic needs. Command your nation in 1 of 2 distinct game variations: Action-packed lighting warfare or strategic, long-term Empire building.
Lead 1 of 7 completely distinct civilizations during 1, years of history. Copyright, Stainless Steel Studios, Inc. Empfohlene Systemanforderungen:. Strategie - Echtzeit - Historisch. Forum zum Spiel. Ein Fehler ist aufgetreten.
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