Foundation and empire

[mattd]

http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0102.html

Hari seldon informs me that a new era in pscho-hirstory is about to 
start.The crypto-anarchic milleneum.
The game ranges from the prehistoric era up to and beyond the present day, 
and includes some sci-fi-inspired futuristic combat.
Empire Earth is the brainchild of Rick Goodman, one of the key developers 
behind the Age of Empires games, and this pedigree is immediately apparent.
Indeed, Empire Earth takes some of the most enjoyable aspects of the Age 
series and tosses in a lot more.
The resource model and gathering system, in which you use villagers to 
collect wood, food, stone and gold, is almost identical to that in Age of 
Empires. There is also farming and the use of logical collection points 
such as the town centre.
But the game adds so much more to this basic framework that it would be a 
huge injustice to simply call it an Age clone.
A comprehensive editor lets you create all sorts of scenarios, and there 
are four narrative-driven missions that take you through historical epochs, 
often introducing you to well-known figures who need your help.
The 3D visuals are also brilliant, even though the game is a bit of a 
resource hog and slows down on lesser machines.
There are some great smoke and explosion effects, and the sight of massive 
battleships cruising the seas is extremely impressive.
You also get to define your civilization and choose the bonuses and special 
abilities your people will develop, tweaking them so they are good with 
airborne units, great with cavalry and good at managing their production in 
a specific way.
The options are very comprehensive, which gives you a real sense of 
ownership, as your people can be developed during the campaign to suit your 
style of play.
Empire Earth is a very challenging game, and the computer can be a very 
adept opponent.