Published by SSI
Reviewed by Mr. Bigglesworth on 9/7/00

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First Impressions:

Graphics:

Most impressive. This has to be the most detailed game of its kind I have seen. Usually games like this give you unreal looking creatures and environments, but this game gives you vehicles that are rendered well enough to give them a realistic appearance, which plays well to the object/story of the game because you are supposed to feel like you are abandoning the earth. One aspect of the game related to the graphics that was a minor nuisance was the zooming in and out that the camera did as it attempted to keep you a fixed distance from the point of land directly under the center of the screen (as opposed to keeping the camera situated at a height related to sea level or some fixed point). For instance, if you were to scan across the screen, the camera would dip in and back out, following the map of the terrain. At the same time, it seemed like an interesting feature, but when playing the game, it became distracting and made me want it to stay panned out further so I could see more of the battleground. Otherwise, the graphics themselves were top notch.

Sound/Music:

Musically, the game was nothing special. The music seemed like typical 'military' music, giving the impression that there was a pressing mission at hand. There was nothing very original about it, but it did lend itself to the story, so all is not lost.

The sounds of the game were good and bad. The explosions, shooting and sounds of military might were very good. In most games of this type, there are creatures that will talk to you when you select them. In this game, however, all of the units you controlled had voice. The voices are human, and they will invariably talk to you at all times - when you move a unit; when you select a unit; when a unit is being attacked. While, it is a very good thing to know when a unit is under attack, to have to hear everything the entire time it is under attack and all through it's death throes can be a bit much.

In addition to the units, the buildings also speak. That just seemed a bit bizarre to me. I can understand a forge making the sound of hammer on anvil, and I can understand an aircraft manufacturing plant making the noise of a jet engine, but I don't think I liked my buildings actually talking to me.

Gameplay:

The style of gameplay is Real Time Strategy. You are pitted against 2 other forces, vying for resources so that your people can escape earth. In comparison with other games such as WarCraft, Total Annihilation, and Dungeon Keeper, this game is on par. The interface is fairly easy to use, even though it is somewhat complicated in the number of different things you can do and the number of different things you need to control. There were functions so that you could select single units, which, I don't know about you, but I like being able to find a unit that is off somewhere doing something just by right clicking on their icon. One sad part, though, was the fact that you could not do that with your military units. Only units considered to be civilian, or non-tactical, could be located/manipulated in this fashion. In order to control your military units in the same fashion, they needed to be grouped into platoons. So, it was give and take.

As with most games of this style, there is a small map onscreen with which you can affect movements of your troops, relocated your point of view, or get an overall view of the layout of the board. You can also turn off the map to make more room onscreen as well as the main control bar. Other features include a research tab where you could direct the research being conducted by your respective side. Research time is counted in real-life minutes, which can count for a whole day or two (or more) in game time. Another option that was slightly different from the norm was the use of a home base that was still accessible while away on missions. This home base could be used to fuel the campaign in the area where you were by means of a transport shuttle. This shuttle could carry money or reinforcements in both directions. So, if you need more funds at your home, the shuttle could come and pick them up from your current theater. Yet another feature unique to this game was the ability to create tunnels. These subterranean passageways could be utilized to perform sneak attacks on the enemy.

In all, the command structure and control of units is not unlike most other RTS games, but there are a few key unique features which make this one just a little bit better.

Enjoyment:

Earth 2150 is a very enjoyable game. Despite a few minor drawbacks, the overall enjoyment factor for this game is high. The speed of the game is good. There is a diurnal cycle to provide both daytime and nighttime action, which is still one more unique feature to the game. There are varied missions, as well, to aid in the feel of the game. There are research missions where you get to help test what has been researched to see if it is functional. The entire package is there. It is a little tarnished, but Earth 2150 does deliver.

Multiplayer:

The multiplayer option is available on Earth 2150. It is designed for head to head play with one character facing off against another. There are many different scenarios and game goals for multiplayer play. It makes what you have learned playing against the computer more fun, as people just don't think like the machine does.

Overall Impression:

I like it. The game looks good; it plays well; the missions were well crafted and there are 3 different teams to play on, all with different goals, methods, and outcomes. There are a few minor drawbacks to the game, but in all, the pluses far outweigh the minuses. When you serve up a heaping plateful of Earth 2150, you walk away satisfied that you got what you wanted.

Marketing Efforts Towards Women:

This game is a difficult one to market specifically toward a gender. There are no characters in the game for anyone to really relate to. As I have mentioned, the battle units, construction units, and buildings all do have voices, some of which are female. Other than that, the marketing efforts seem to focus on selling the game to anyone who likes RTS games.