Project Earth is a 3D space based real time strategy game produced by Lemon Interactive and Dreamcatcher Games.  Their are two races available each with their own strengths and weaknesses.  The central conflict between the Earth Forces and the Daemons grows from stubbornness and misunderstanding when the Daemons arrive unexpectedly in earth space.  

The interface is easy to learn, but not at all intuitive.  It took me a few minutes of reading through the instruction book before I was able to do anything beyond moving my ship.  However once learned, the control system is simple and quick to use.  The camera movement in a 3D space can be a little confusing but with a radar and a spatial map its easily managed.

The graphics are on par with other space games on the market.  The ships, weapons and environment all look great.  They all have a smooth and fluid feel to them that has become the hallmark of the genre.  In addition Project Earth has a great soundtrack that keeps pace both with the majesty of flying among the stars and the gritty reality of ship to ship combat.

The games major shortfall is it's terrible multiplayer system.  With the growing popularity of persistent world gaming like that found in Everquest, Anarchy Online, and the upcoming Final Fantasy XI, the single battle style multiplayer games seem to be in decline.  There are notable exceptions such as Warcraft III, but it succeeds because a large customer base and an established support structure.  Project Earth has neither.  Without a central system for bringing players together over the net, it relies mostly on LAN based games though it is doubtful that one household will have an 8 computer LAN network set up.

Project Earth is a fun game that anyone cursed with a poor internet connection should buy immediately.  For those of you not confined by dialup or simply poor networking you can probably find something better.

Gameplay: 8
Project Earth features an easily learned interface along with a variety of building options for the two playable races.  However, the game would have greatly benefited with better AI.  If I have to watch my fighters just sitting in formation while my mothership is blasted to bits, one more time, I'm going to send this game into orbit.

Graphics: 8 
Great graphics though options to customize your ships or better ship design would have gotten it a better rating.

Sound: 9
A funky futuristic techno beat that made me actually want to turn off my music and listen to this music for a while.  The voice acting needs some work and the constant sound of laser fire can become annoying. 

Difficulty: Medium
The game progresses in difficulty pretty quickly.  The difference between the first and second missions is immense.

Concept: 7 
RTS space games have been out for a while now and this one doesn't really offer much to the genre.  The way the story progresses is decent but not spectacular.  Apparently this is a universe where shoot first and ask questions later is the norm.

Multiplayer: 4
A LAN or IP based multiplayer system with no central organization to put players into games with other players makes multiplayer difficult to do under most circumstances.

Overall: 7.5
Project Earth is a great game for those of us either, cursed with dial up connections, or the inability to constantly pay for games that feature persistent worlds.  A decent storyline great music and graphics as well a good general game play make Project Earth a good buy.