Empire Earth II: The Art of Supremacy

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Empire Earth II:The Art of Supremacy
Art of Supremacy box cover
Developer(s) Mad Doc Software
Publisher(s) Vivendi Universal
Designer(s) Dr. Ian Lane Davis
Engine Gamebryo
Release date(s) NA February 15, 2006
EUR March 10, 2006
Genre(s) RTS
Mode(s) Single player, Multiplayer
Rating(s) ESRB: Teen (T)
Platform(s) PC (Windows)
Media 2 CDs
System requirements 1.5 GHz CPU
256 MB RAM
1.5 GB hard disk space
64 MB 3D graphics card[1]
Input Keyboard, mouse

Empire Earth II: The Art of Supremacy, abbreviated to EE II:AoS or AoS for short, is the official expansion pack for the 2005 game, Empire Earth II. Released on February 15, 2006, and developed by Mad Doc Software, Art of Surpremacy presents new features for Empire Earth II.[2] Some of the new additions to Empire Earth II were four new civilizations and several other new features. Several more campaigns were also added, which focused on the Napoleonic Wars, Ancient Egypt and a third which was a futuristic campaign centered on the Maasai.[1]

Art of Supremacy was developed by Mad Doc software, the makers of the Empire Earth II, and was re-released with Empire Earth II in the Empire Earth II: Platinum Edition. Art of Surpremacy was given mediocre reviews by critics, with an average of only 61% according to Game Rankings.[3]

Contents

[edit] Gameplay

For further information see Empire Earth II Gameplay.

AoS adds several new features to the Gameplay of Empire Earth II, one of which is the addition of four civilizations. They are France and Russia for the Western Region, and the Zulu and the Maasai for the new African Region. In regards to campaigns, AoS introduced a custom campaign maker, new turning point scenarios, as well as three new campaigns.

Several improvements were made to units, including a war planner, hero units, surpreme leaders, unit statistics, flags that improved buildings, and persistant units. A couple new game modes were added, as well as "thrown-unit" physics and lightning affects.[1]

[edit] Campaigns

For further information see Empire Earth II Campaigns.

The expansion features three new campaigns, each of which is divided into separate scenarios like the rest of the Empire Earth franchise. The first campaign is in the Egyptian times involving Pharaohs. The second is a based in Russia in the era of the Napoleonic Wars. The third is a campaign based in the future, it involvs Africa and the Maasai tribe fighting for liberation.[4][5]

The Egyptian Campaign focuses on the time period between 2183 BCE and 2152 BCE, focusing on one of the Pharaoh's most trusted generals. In the campaign, the player undertakes a variety of missions, including defeating bandit tribes and eradicating religious cults, leading up to fighting a sworn enemy of Egypt in the last mission. Because of the time period, only units such as swordsmen, archers and rams are playable.

The Russian Campaign takes place from 1805 to 1813, during the era of the Napoleonic Wars. The main character is Tsar Alexander I, the "Czar of all Russia". Most of the scenarios focus on giving resources to allies, so the player can build up his or her army in order to defeat the French Army under Napoleon. This occurs in the second to last mission, where Napoleon has invaded Russia. A favored strategy of players playing this mission is to use a strategy similar to the "Scorched Earth" policy of the German Wehrmacht when they were retreating from the Soviet Union. The player usually will raze all of the buildings in a territory right before it is captured by Napoleon's advancing forces, which, accompanied by harassing attacks, will keep the French at bay.[citation needed]

The Maasai Campaign takes place in the near future, specifically from the summer of 2037 to the spring of 2039. The entire campaign centers on the theme of freedom, as in this campaign greedy corporations are turning the various tribes in Kenya against one another. Eventually, the Maasai gain enough power to liberate Kenya from the clutches of disaster, and Africa becomes a major player on the global stage.

[edit] Reception

Art of Supremacy earned below average reviews, with critics averaging 57%.[6] However, it was generally praised for its new features and gameplay.[7] Some of the critics weren't satisfied; GameSpot gave the game a 5.4 out of 10, saying "French and Russian civilizations have been done to death in other RTS games; many odds and ends would more appropriately have been provided in a patch or in the original Empire Earth II; a lot of the rule tweaks are worthless."[7] GameSpy dissaproved giving it a mere 2/5 stars, saying "Generic civilizations; new multiplayer modes aren't very exciting; bad campaign voice-overs and 'gimmicky' maps".[8]

[edit] References

[edit] External links