Empire Earth: The Art of Conquest
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| Empire Earth: The Art of Conquest | |
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| Developer(s) | Mad Doc Software |
| Publisher(s) | Sierra Entertainment |
| Designer(s) | Dr. Ian Lane Davis |
| Release date(s) | September 17, 2002 |
| Genre(s) | RTS |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Teen (T) |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows |
| Media | CD-ROM |
| System requirements | Pentium II 250 MHz, CPU, Windows 98, 64 MB RAM, 4X CD-ROM drive, DirectX 8, graphics card |
| Input | Keyboard, mouse |
Empire Earth: The Art of Conquest, also known as EE: AoC or AoC for short, is the official expansion pack for GameSpy's 2001 Game of the Year: Empire Earth, one of the real-time strategy games made by Age of Empires lead designer, Rick Goodman. The game expansion pack was released in September 17, 2002. The Gold Edition of Empire Earth, which features both the original and the expansion, was released on May 6, 2003.
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[edit] Overview
Unlike Empire Earth, Art of Conquest was not developed by Stainless Steel Studios, but by Mad Doc Software. This was because the team at Stainless Steel Studios instead devoted their time and resources to creating what was then Rick Goodman's latest game: Empires: Dawn of the Modern World, the spiritual successor to Empire Earth.
The gameplay is the same as the original Empire Earth, but with changes discussed below.
The most notible of the changes was the new Multiplayer server which meant that it was now possible to play the game online with up to 7 other players. There are often well other 300 players online at peak times, even now after the release of Empire Earth 2.
[edit] Features
- Three new single-player campaigns
- Two new hero units to aid in battle.
- Two new civilizations: Japan and Korea.
- All civilizations get new unique civilization powers.
- More buildings.
- Additional units.
- Difficulty settings for scenarios (this was given to the original Empire Earth game with the version 2.0 update).
- Orbital Space station wonder of the world with the Inspiration power which boosts morale to all of the owner's spaceships
- Play the game multiplayer with up to 8 other players from around the globe.
- Lobby system and Direct ip/ LAN connect avaible
[edit] New Epoch: Space Age
The Space Age (Epoch XV) allows the building of spaceports and spaceships on maps that allow it. Human soldiers and citizens are now replaced by robots. Farms are now run by robots as well and no longer need citizens to manage them. The Japanese civilization can create Cyber Ninjas, a special cloaked unit which can temporarily disable buildings. Walls change from polarised titanium to force fields, and towers become more sophisticated.
[edit] Civilizations and Powers
In The Art of Conquest, each civilization has its own power, or "civ power". Oftentimes, these powers are only available during certain epochs. A civ power gives each nation a specialty. For example, the French have the power of camouflage, which allows them to hide their military units from the enemy temporarily. Each civilization also possesses a unique unit or building. These civilizations were all real, with the exception of the futuristic Novaya Russia and the Rebel Forces.
[edit] Prehistoric to Dark Age
- Ancient Greece, civ power: Flaming Arrows
- Assyrian Empire, civ power: Slavery
- Babylonia, civ power: Priest Tower
- Byzantine Rome, civ power: Insurance
- Carthage, civ power: Pathfinding
- Kingdom of Israel, civ power: Emissaries
[edit] Middle Ages to Industrial Age
- Austria, civ power: Adaptation
- England, civ power: Exploration
- Franks, civ power: Crusaders
- Kingdom of Italy, civ power: Metallurgy
- Ottoman Empire, civ power: Expansion
- Spain, civ power: Conquistadors
[edit] Atomic Age to Space Age
- France, civ power: Camouflage
- Germany, civ power: Bundeswehr
- Great Britain, civ power: S.A.S commando
- Italy, civ power: Paratroopers
- Russia, civ power: Advanced Mining
- United States, civ power: Market
[edit] Digital Age to Space Age
- China, civ power: Just-in-time Manufacturing
- Novaya Russia, civ power: Missile Base
- Rebel Forces, civ power: Cloaking
- Japan, civ power: Cyber Ninja (Civilization added in Art of Conquest)
- Korea, civ power: Fanaticism (Civilization added in Art of Conquest)
[edit] Campaigns
Three new campaigns were added in The Art of Conquest: a Roman campaign about Marius and Julius Caesar, a Pacific one involving the warfare in the Pacific Ocean during World War II, and a futuristic Asian campaign involving the colonization of Mars.
[edit] Roman campaign
The Roman campaign revolves around the struggles of Marius as well as the conquests of Julius Caesar.
The campaign begins with a war with the local tribes of Italy and barbarian invaders, in which the player can conscript citizens. The next scenario is Marius's war with Lucius Cornelius Sulla, which the player must liberate Rome to win.
The last four scenarios are about Julius Caesar's years as a general. The first scenario is about Caesar's war in the east against Sulla. The second scenario is very long and details the conquest of Gaul and the invasion of Britain. The third scenario is Caesar's war with his former ally and friend Pompey, which starts with the famous crossing the Rubicon and ends at the battle of Farsala. The final scenario is the conquest of Egypt.
[edit] Pacific campaign
This campaign focuses on American battles in the Pacific Ocean during World War II.
The campaign starts with the Battle of Midway and completes with the sinking of Japanese aircraft carriers Akagi, Sōryū, Kaga and Hiryū. The next scenario is the Battle of Guadalcanal in 1943. It is followed by scenarios detailing the island-hopping campaign derived by Douglas MacArthur which include killing Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, a special mission in Burma and the Battle for Leyte Gulf, and the reconquest of Leyte. The campaign is concluded with Battle of Iwo Jima, completed by sending five marines to the southern tip of the Island (Mount Suribachi). (See Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima.)
[edit] Asian campaign
This campaign consists of two parts, the story being told from the perspective of the Kwan Do family, who claim to be descendants of the Qin Dynasty.
Part One details the colonization of Mars. As soon as it is discovered that it is possible to colonize Mars, the major superpowers of Earth scramble to develop the technologies and resources needed to establish settlements on Mars. One of these powers is the newly-formed United Federation of Asiatic Republics (UFAR), essentially founded and controlled by the Kwan Do family, the rich owner of Kwan Do Electronics and Commnications called Hu Kwan Do. The UFAR government struggles to repress local rebellions and terrorism by those who claim that earth is the only home to mankind. Meanwhile, the UFAR also struggles to develop a colonial programme competing against rival superpowers. UFAR eventually establishes a colony on Mars, with help from Japan, along with settlements built by the US/Canadian Conglomerate, the European Union of Nations, Novaya Russia, and the Republic of Japan, partitioning Mars into five regions.
Part Two is set 250 years after the first part during the Space Epoch. The Kwan Do dynasty had been overthrown from power. Harsh conditions on Mars and an increasingly negative perception of the Earth governments have finally forced the Martian colonists into rebellion. During the revolutions, a descendant of the Kwan Do family, called Khan Sun Do, unites the five territories, and with the acquisition of Space Battleship Yamato, the Martians fight Earth for their independence in an inter-planetary war. The campaign ends with the last battle for Martian independence and the installation of Khan Sun Do as the first leader of Mars.
[edit] Multiplayer Games
Empire Earth supports multiplayer games over LAN connections and online. Multiplayer games are identical in form to single player games. Online games are still active with as many as 300 players online at peak times.
[edit] Initial reactions
The reactions to The Art of Conquest was relatively mixed. IGN gave the expansion pack a 7.9/10 while GameSpot gave a 5.2/10. The new civilization powers were a welcome feature which diversified the game. The additional maps and scenarios were also praised. Space was considered by some to be poorly implemented, as spaceships were only available on certain maps and it used the same sort of gameplay as water (i.e. a dock-type building is built and spaceships travel much like naval ships). The graphics were not improved in this expansion pack, which some reviewers considered a detriment. The initial price was considered steep given the features that were added, but as the expansion became discounted, this was less of an issue.
[edit] Empire Earth II
In April 2005, Mad Doc released the long awaited sequel to Empire Earth, Empire Earth II, with largely renovated features.
