Empire Earth III [PC]

Moving past how the game plays, the looks aren't much better. Though I don't have a problem with the colorful and stylized look of the units, the animations aren't very good and the performance leaves a lot to be desired. Ships jerk their way across the ocean and trebuchets slide around like they're on sheets of ice. The effects are generally nice, particularly the super explosions and the weather effects, but the game runs poorly, even on my brand new Alienware.

The background sounds are generally good but the audio portion of the game is hampered by the ridiculous jokes and Henny Youngman style one-liners that are constantly uttered by your units. Whether it's funny or not, it ruins the mood of the game.

Closing Comments
Fans of the series will be sad to see that this version of Empire Earth has been stripped of the depth and detail that made the first two games so attractive. I mean, it's not as if there's a shortage of shallow RTS games already, so seeing one of our favorite series effectively lobotomized is a real shock. Putting aside the damage that it's done to the brand, we might be able to appreciate the simplicity that Mad Doc was trying to go for here. Unfortunately, the horrible pathfinding and weak AI render any discussion about the overall concept or branding moot.

When you add in substandard performance, outdated visuals and jokes that completely spoil the mood, you've got more than enough reasons to pass this one up. If you're looking for something more worthwhile to waste your money on, why not just buy some of that horrible Ham Soda?

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