As a rule, the history of humanity's time on Earth is usually summed up by the development of mankind's tools and weapons. Since games about armaments tend to fare better than games about hardware, it is little wonder that Empire Earth charts the 500,000+ history of man by advancements in military might. The title is ambitious in scope, rife with innovative ideas and, while not flawless, is a genuinely fun addition to the ever-growing lineup of RTS games.
Empire Earth follows mankind through 14 epochs, from the Prehistoric Age to the futuristic Nano Age, each made distinctive by weapon and building designs. Four single player campaigns, individual scenarios, and multiplayer skirmishes portray some of the greatest struggles throughout history such as the Trojan War and World War I. Historic personages are also introduced, including notables like Alexander the Great, Napoleon Bonaparte, and even Manfred von Richthofen , otherwise known as the Red Baron.
The third in our CCG F2P strategy trifecta, Magic the Gathering: Arena takes the classic, beloved card game and transfers it to your PC, where you can get a decent amount of starter cards for free. Anno 1800 Free Download PC Game Anno 1800 gives players abundant chance to demonstrate their aptitudes as a ruler as they make enormous cities, plan proficient strategic systems, settle an outlandish new mainland, convey campaigns the world over, and command their rivals by tact, exchange, or fighting.
Lead designer Rick Goodman mostly sticks to the same formula he used in his smash hit Age of Empires. It takes a strong home front economy and an even stronger military force to create the greatest empire of all time. The grand scale of the game is astonishing, and the progression from rock throwing to flame throwing is handled nicely. The reliance on basic materials remains a constant, but production means improve as well; peasants go from dragging items on the ground to using poles and finally incorporating wheelbarrows. Such a large breadth of time and evolution means that only the epic battles and greatest conflicts are featured, however.
Just as new ideas lead to improvements in weapons and technology, Empire Earth uses several new design ideas to improve on the state of RTS games. Civilization points earned after completing objectives can be used to buy specific improvements for buildings, peasants, or military units. Everything from swordsmen to cyberbots can be built faster, stronger, and cheaper, giving players unheard of customization opportunities for their society.
Additional building improvements can be researched and individual unit types will specialize for a modest cost of gold, wood, iron, or stone. Players cannot rely on one unit type, as it is still a highly developed game of rock-scissors-paper, or, in this case, spear vs. sword vs. arrow (and their later incarnations). Still, commanders can shape their strategies around key weapon types using these advancements, giving even more depth and variation to the solid design.
While Empire Earth may be an offshoot (if not spiritual successor) of Age of Empires, it doesn't have the meticulously clean and crisp graphics of that series. The polygons comprising the host of tanks, ships, planes, and people are somewhat blocky even at the best resolution and even worse when viewed close up. After a while, the flat-faced characters develop their own charm, but it is an acquired taste.
Free Download Game Strategi For Pc Windows 10
Movement animations are fairly good. Planes tumble from the sky convincingly and ships sink realistically. Ship battles look better than air and land battles, as the multi-tiered water makes for neat submarine and torpedo effects. The camera, unfortunately, fails to take full advantage of the polygon playing field. While it does a fine job of scrolling in for intimate cut-scenes, there is no swivel command, which would have been helpful in locating hidden units behind trees or buildings. Also, the polygon count adds up quickly in multiplayer games with high populations, resulting in major slowdown for lower end computers.
Free Download Game Strategi For Pc Gratis
Continuity through the ages requires not only cohesive graphics, but sounds as well. Even though the clanging of swords is exchanged later for the clanking of tank treads, the sounds are uniformly superior to most other RTS games. The background music is also decent without being distracting, although after a few hours of play, the looping may start to grate on some players' nerves. The only real blemish is the voice acting. Often cheesy English lines are read with even worse foreign accents that fail to stay consistent, sometimes changing in mid-paragraph.
Despite minor quibbles with graphics and voicing, Empire Earth is a fun game for seasoned gamers. Expect stiff opposition early on, as the scenarios are very challenging and well designed. Those who polish off the campaigns and human opponents will enjoy the sophisticated editor used to make countless encounters including personalized cut-scenes.
Although not the prettiest game in the genre, Empire Earth's expansive timeline of conflict is unmatched. While it would have been nice to see more of the economic aspect of war, it is exciting to help a tribe of troglodytes fight through 500,000 years to become a nano-tech nation. Empire Earth is literally a game for the ages.
Graphics: Graphics are a tad blocky, but unit movement animations look decent, especially the death spirals of airplanes and ships sliding to a watery grave.
Sound: Barring the questionable voice acting, the sounds are consistently accurate and reflective of the proper time period.
Enjoyment: While the game is mostly military in nature, the battles are exciting, more so if at sea. Customization reaches a new high with civilization points, tech research, and unit improvements.
Replay Value: Multiplayer fights and long campaigns will occupy gamers for quite a while. Those with a creative urge can recreate scenarios from history, complete with cut-scenes and event triggers.
How to run this game on modern Windows PC?
People who downloaded Empire Earth have also downloaded:
Empire Earth II, Age of Empires 2: The Age of Kings, Age of Empires, Age of Empires III, Age of Mythology, Empires: Dawn of the Modern World, Command & Conquer: Generals, Empire Earth III
Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines is an addictive, well-produced game. It is the kind of game that tricks you into playing it until the wee hours of the morning. By the time you finally stop, it is time to get out of bed.
Graphically, Commandos is great. Each level contains many intricate details. Trees, snow, rocks, flowing water and other organic scenery comprise most of the background. The decay and destruction of World War II also leave their marks on the terrain.
The game's overhead view and your team's ability to scan the landscape for Nazis force the characters presented in Commandos to be very small. This can make it difficult to spot your men, especially in areas with heavy foliage. Still, the good looks so good that it is hard to fault it for some tiny details.
The sound in Commandos is good. The rumble of tanks, the slice of a knife, the bang of a gun and the spring of the sapper's bear trap all meld to form a decent soundscape. The limited number of phrases that each commando utters can become repetitive and annoying.
I particularly disliked the French-accented Fins. Whenever I called on him to move, he sounded annoyed. There was a definite drop in his voice as he said, 'Yes, sir.' It bothered me so much that I eventually turned the sound off whenever a mission called for a lot of marine action.
I enjoy playing Commandos a lot. It is a tight game that misses few details. Commandos offers a great challenge, and it is the type of game that allows you to learn from your mistakes. Even if you cannot complete a level without losing one of your men, the effort usually shows you a new way to attack the mission.
Commandos is also the kind of game that teaches you to save your games periodically. I am the type of gamer who gets so enveloped into a game that I always forget to save my progress. Playing Commandos is like being hit in the head with a hammer with 'SAVE' written on the handle. After losing several hours of play time because I forget to save my game, I quickly became aware of the CTRL+S function.
While I like Commandos a lot, there are a couple of features I simply do not like.
First, if one of your men dies, the mission is over. Now, I can understand this in some cases. If a mission depends on your team escaping on a boat and your marine gets killed so no one can row a boat, then maybe ending a mission is justified. Sometimes, however, a casualty does not necessarily prohibit the completion of a mission. This is war, after all, and people die in war.
Second, the intelligence exhibited by the Nazi soldiers is not consistent. Sometimes, soldiers will spot a Commando and chase him. Other times, he will chase and then give up. The same is true whenever an enemy solider spots a dead body. Sometimes, he will become agitated. Sometimes, he will not. This inconsistency makes it hard to predict what the enemy soldiers will do. This can be frustrating, especially if you are close to solving a mission and an enemy guard spots you in an area where he should not be able to see you.
Finally, there are certain tasks to complete in Commandos that are no adequately explained. In one mission, Spooky the spy is supposed to infiltrate a camp and shut down the power. I managed to use the spy to infiltrate the camp, but I had no idea how to shut down the power. I ended up killing most of the soldiers within the camp so Inferno could sneak in and steal the explosives he needed. This took much longer than simply shutting down the power to the electrified fence around the camp, so Inferno could cut it and sneak in.
Overall, Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines is a terrific game. Like every game, it has a few bugs, but if you like games that force you to think and act, you will love Commandos.
Graphics: The graphics are terrific, although the characters are very small.
Sound: Sound is good, but the team's repetitive phrases can be annoying.
Enjoyment: Commandos is addictive, brain-teasing fun. There is always a solution to the problems you encounter, you just have to figure it out.
Replay Value: This is the type of game you will have to play several times to get right. Plus, if you forget to save your progress, get ready to play a level again.
How to run this game on modern Windows PC?
People who downloaded Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines have also downloaded:
Commandos 2: Men of Courage, Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty, Commandos 3: Destination Berlin, Age of Empires 2: The Age of Kings, Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2, Commandos: Strike Force, Command & Conquer: Red Alert, Age of Empires