A huge evolution in RTS! (Earth 2150 (PC))

Member Name: Stalin

Product:	Earth 2150 (PC)
Date:	22/11/00 (100 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Plenty of depth, lots of improvements over traditional RTS

Disadvantages: Combat still quite basic, 3D not fully exploited, could be overwhelming for some

When Westwood Studios invented the RTS genre all those years ago with Dune 2, it was a smash. The gameplay was new and exciting, never before seen. You could build an army, construct buildings, harvest resources, and send your units to do battle. And today we can... build an army, construct buildings, harvest resources, and send our units to do battle. OK, maybe I'm being a little harsh, but lets face it, things haven't really moved on. While Earth 2150 is no revolution in RTS, it has evolved so much over Westwood's original blueprint (which all developers seem determined to follow) that this is no bad thing. This way, it retains all the simple charms that classic RTSs posses, while adding a whole lot more.

But first a bit of background. The story: Earth is hurtling towards the sun after one-too-many nuclear weapons were detonated, and three sides are battling to get the resources together to escape. A fairly generic sci-fi plot that's difficult to get interested or involved in, but it suffices. The sides are The United Civilized States (average all-rounders) The Eurasian Dynasty (plenty of oomph, but aging technologies) and The Luna Corporation (advanced but lacking in raw power). The sides each have their own campaign and are markedly different in almost every department, including units available and strategies to use. They manage to remain balanced, though. This adds a lot of variety to proceedings.

So, what does this have over other RTSs? There are many features that add some much needed depth to the genre. For example, you need to control two bases, one which is maintained throughout the campaign and another which is specific to the mission. Resources need balancing between the two. Because you are trying to escape, you also need to put some of your funds towards the evacuation fleet which needs careful planning for. In fact (and I never thought I'd say this) things can get a little too complicated in the "administra
tion" side of the game (because that's what it is). This may not appeal to all the action freaks out there, but I think it adds a whole new dimension to the genre.

On the battlefield, things play rather too similarly to other titles. The 3D viewpoint is not fully utilised. You can't - for instance - get onto high ground to get more range on your artillery. In fact, hills and valleys play very little in your tactics, which is a pity. The battles are more tactical than many other games, but in many cases it's a matter of throwing the units of both sides together and waiting to see who survives. The traditional format of "build base, harvest resources, build army, defeat enemy" is still present, but the missions are sufficiently varied for this to be at least partially ignored. As with the management area of the game, the battles can get quite complicated. You need to choose weapons for units and structures, provide ammo supplies etc. There are also plenty of powerful functions which can help you on your way, such as scripts, formations (that actually work!), teams and platoons with specific orders. This can get a bit overwhelming at times, but it is very rewarding.

Graphics-wise, things are quite nice. Weather effects are in; there are long rolling landscapes and shiny metallic surfaces all-round. There are plenty of nice graphical touches too, such as snow building up on units that stand still. The best thing is that the engine can handle large numbers of units on-screen at a decent speed, although those with lower spec machines would be advised to stay zoomed in quite close to keep frame-rates up.

So, just what do we have here? An RTS with significant depth? Yes, it's true! Most of us have been hankering after something like this for a long time. Perhaps there are some areas that are a bit underdeveloped (most notably combat) but that shouldn't stop anyone from enjoying this fantastic work. But be warned,
you need an organised mind to get anywhere with this.

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