Earth 2150
- July 07, 2000 00:00 AM PST
Earth 2150 attempts to breath new life into the world of real-time strategy games with a fancy 3D engine and some complex new game mechanics.
- GamePro Score
- User Score
- Write your review!
The year is 2150, and Earth is on a collision course with the sun. Three factions are each racing to build a ship that will evacuate them safely to Mars, while ensuring that their enemies remain behind to perish with the planet. This means that apart from the standard resource gathering necessary to build your base and research new weapons and technology, you will be required to send resources back home to contribute to the evacuation effort. While this adds a new twist to the standard RTS, like many of the features in Earth 2150, it can also be confusing at first.
By introducing new elements to the RTS genre, the developers have crafted a game that, while innovative, is often overly complicated. The split-screen feature, for instance, lets you view three areas of the playing field simultaneously, allowing you to construct your base, build reinforcements, and issue orders to your troops in the thick of the battle, all at the same time. While this sounds good on paper, most gamers will probably find it confusing and will simply ignore the feature completely.
With its steep learning curve, Earth 2150 will likely be a chore for novice players. The tutorial barely covers the basic mechanics of the game and learning to play involves a trial-and-error process that can be frustrating and tedious.
Controlling the action is a simple task using the mouse and just a few hotkeys and the 3D battlefield is easily manipulated. A handy panel at the bottom of the screen lets you select buildings and civilian units for easy access and can be hidden when not in use.
One thing Earth 2150 has going for it is its huge assortment of vehicles. Land, sea, and air units can all be equipped with a variety of weapons, which can be researched in your Research Center, making for an impressively large arsenal.
Another area where Earth 2150 excels is its graphics. The 3D engine allows you to completely rotate the playing field and zoom in and out on the action. Weather effects and day to night changes are quite effective and the buildings and vehicles sport nice details when viewed close up. A great sound track accompanies the action and ranges from triumphant classical music to driving hard rock. The sound effects are also impressive, like the industrial noise of the production centers and the whirring rotors of the helicopters, but the voice acting is sub-par. One vehicle driver in particular sounds just like the Count from Sesame Street.
Hardcore RTS fans looking for a new challenge will definitely find it in Earth 2150 and may even appreciate the added complexity. Casual gamers, on the other hand, would be better off with something a little less involved.
