Empire Earth 2

The Basics:
Platform: PC
Developer: Sierra/Mad Doc Software
Price: $49.99
ESRB rating: T (Teen)

Summary: A challenging, entertaining and potentially educational Real-Time-Strategy game.

Note: EMPIRE EARTH 2 is a Real-Time-Strategy game that has a lot of educational potential, allowing players to explore history, economics and diplomacy along with their military prowess. The game inevitably contains a number of battle scenes, but they are fairly innocuous, and the game includes an option to turn off blood.
Families who play this game may want to discuss how civilizations grow and develop. The game mixes factual history with fictional/alternate histories, which could cause confusion. How is it possible to distinguish between factual history and fictional history? How important is it to have accurate historical records? Why?

Further Breakdown:

Overall rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Best for ages: 12+
Playability: Challenging. Difficult to master/complex controls make the learning curve steep.
Graphics: Good. A little behind the times, but passable.
Entertainment value: Excellent. Although the campaigns are relatively short, instant battles, a map editor and multiplayer options provide longevity.
Educational value: High. The game has opportunities to explore economics, military strategy and history.
Reading Level: 7+. Although the game employs voice-overs, reading is still needed for parts of the game.
KidScore Rating

Ages 3-7: Red
Ages 8-12: Yellow
Ages 13-17: Green
Violence Amount: Yellow
Fear: Green
Illegal/harmful: Green
Language: Green
Nudity: Green
Sex: Green

Review:
EMPIRE EARTH 2 is a good game for players who are looking for a challenging but rewarding Real-Time-Strategy (RTS) game. The design of Empire Earth 2 is similar to the original Empire Earth game, but builds upon it to give players a much deeper experience and more strategic game.

The game has two primary modes of play-single-player campaigns and multi-player skirmishes. Skirmishes have one overarching objective, such as capturing a number of territories, or completely eliminating all other opponents. Most objectives require some sort of military action, but players also need to build a strong economy before they can amass an army of any size. The faster a player can harvest resources like food, wood and gold, the quicker they can build an army and complete the objectives of the game.

Campaigns have similar gameplay to skirmishes, but they contain a series of linked scenarios that build upon each other. In addition, each scenario may contain a number of mini-objectives, such as capturing a certain place on the map or defending a key ally. Players can choose from four campaigns-they can follow the creation and unification of the Korean nation, they can explore the expansion of Germany during the middle ages, they can develop the United States into a world superpower during the 19th century, or they can play several "turning points" battles, such as D-day. In addition to these pre-made campaigns, players can use the map-editor to create their own scenarios and campaigns.

One of Empire Earth 2's strongest selling points is its subtle inclusion of a lot of good educational material. In fact, most kids won't even notice that they are learning history, economics, diplomacy and military tactics while playing this game. Nonetheless, examples abound. For instance, each scenario starts with a snapshot of the historical context of the situation. While most are accurate there are some exceptions, which will be discussed later in this review. During one scenario, players learn how the media influenced American sentiment and helped to begin the Spanish-American war in Cuba.

Other examples of educational material include the use of diplomacy. For instance, it is often vital for players to establish alliances through the use of treaties and counter-treaties. Players learn about economics by buying and selling resources, the values of which shift based on supply and demand. Even military tactics are explored. While brute force is successful in the most lopsided of scenarios, players typically need to employ real strategy to defeat their enemies. Different troop formations and mixes of troops vastly affect the outcome of the battle, and war plans can be drawn up on a map and shared with allies to coordinate an attack.

There are two concerns that parents may have. First is the violence. Although the game has a few objectives based around diplomacy and economics, a significant amount of the gameplay is dedicated to building up armies and destruction of opposing players. This is a legitimate concern that parents may wish to discuss with their kids. However, on a positive note, the game does not contain too much blood and gore. For those that are uncomfortable with the amount that the game does show, there is an option to turn blood off. Most battles are viewed from a wide-angle, meaning the characters are fairly indistinguishable and the violence is less immersive than a first-person-shooter game.

The second concern is that the game contains a fair amount of "alternate history." For example, during the tutorial, the game has the player taking command of the Aztec civilization. However, during the game, the player defeats Cortez and the Spanish, and later levels have the player (and the Aztec nation) allying themselves with the Americans to defeat the now-fascist Incas?!? In and of itself, alternate histories can be an interesting and imaginative way to look at how things could be, but it is confusing when portrayed along side truly historical events like the Spanish-American war. Positively, the game will hopefully inspire players to find out what really happened. Negatively, some players could get a very confusing portrayal of history.

Parents should also be aware that the game requires a fairly high-end machine to run well. It is advisable that your computer meets the recommended specifications (not just the minimum) for the game to perform at an acceptable level. Slower computers may make the game practically unplayable, as the reaction time is too slow.

All in all the game is a worthwhile investment, especially for gamers who like real-time-strategy games. Casual players may find the game slightly less enjoyable-at least initially, as the learning curve can be steep. Nonetheless, players will be rewarded by a game that is both entertaining and educational.