It is a great year to be a strategy gamer, because there have been some very good games released this year. Not only will these games capture you into their highly addictive gameplay, but this time they will be oozing with plenty of eye candy. It is amazing how fast RTS games are catching up to the graphics level of the FPS. Even though this leap in graphics is good, it really all boils down to how the game plays. Read on to find out more about how this game plays and decide for yourself if you want to partake in the battle.

If you have been keeping up with the series, you will know that Earth 2160 is the third game in this franchise. If you haven’t kept up let me give you a brief recap of what is going on. In the last game the war between the USC (United Civilized States), ED (Eurasian Dynasty), and the LC (Lunar Corporation), did the unthinkable and destroyed the very planet they were trying to keep for themselves. Billions of people were killed in the destruction of Earth so now all three fractions had to relocate to Mars. Now they are battling for control of the Red Planet, but they have awoken a strange alien race in the process. There is now two choices for the humans to make, band together to survive the new alien threat or try to do it on their own. The fate of the entire solar system is in the players hands.

One of the best things about this game is how each of the game's different factions play and the various tech trees they have available to them. The three fractions from the previous game are still intact and play the same as they did before, with a few minor differences. First the LC is composed of an all-female army which is highly advanced in the technology tree. Next is the ED which features units with cybernetic enhancements, which are extremely useful in battle. The USC has changed slightly because now it is just a bunch of machines trying to exterminate the human race.

The aliens in this game are the most unique and amazing faction in this game. If any of you have played Star Craft, then I would put this race in the same category as the Zerg. This faction only has defensive structures that must clone each other and morph to get into higher unit structures. The defense for this faction is beyond compare and it keeps them alive until they can build up a huge enough army. Once they do they are a force to be reckoned with.

Each faction has a huge tech tree that will keep players actively involved for a long time and the best part is that players can design their own units to help out during various missions. If you are facing seemingly hard situations then you just need to research some new technologies and apply them to older ones to create some pretty powerful units. Players will have fun testing out and trying various combinations to create the ultimate warriors.

There are a few different modes of play to keep players entertained for quite sometime. First there is the skirmish mode which allows players to get into a quick game against computer-controlled characters. There are a various settings that players can choose from in the beginning of the game that will make each game unique and interesting. Next there is the Network game which allows you to either play on a LAN or login to Earth 2160’s matchmaking service. Both provide pretty smooth gameplay to get your multiplayer gaming fix.

The best way to understand how to play this game is to go through the game’s campaign mode. This mode will take players throughout many different difficult missions playing as each of the game's different factions. The campaign mode will enlighten players as to the best way to use each of the faction's units and how to counter and overcome any enemy attacks. The only bad thing about this game is the surprise ending. In order to figure out what happens you will have to play this game for yourself.

One thing that I really liked about this game is how the battles are done. If you go in with a ton of one certain type of unit, they will get demolished in no time. The secret to this game is having a good match of units before going into battle so that you have all of your bases covered. For instance, if you go in with all foot units and don’t have any air support, that could spell instant death for you. Balancing everything, from troop type to researching new technology, in this game is the key if you want to win your battles, and eventually conquering the enemy.

Earth 2160 is a gorgeous game; there is no other way to put it. The developers at Reality Pump put a lot of effort to create RTS game that can compete graphically with many first-person shooters, and they have more than succeeded. Everything in this game is just oozing with graphical eye candy that will leave your eyes watering about how this game looks.

Everything in this game is highly detailed from the bases you will be constructing to the units that you will send off to do your bidding. The environments that players will play on also look really good and give off that futuristic feel to them. The thing the developers did a really good job at is making each of the warring factions look completely different form one another. This game is a blast to play as you will know instantly what enemy you are about to face. Each faction building has their own unique look and feel to them, which helps prevent any repetition while playing.

What I like is when you zoom in close to the game in action, it still looks as great as it did not zoomed in, and everything retains its wonderful look and feel. When you see a battle for the first time you will be amazed at all of the explosions, gunfire, and many other things going on the screen at one time.

The sound effects and music is simply amazing. The music in this game really motivates the players to stick it out to the end and try to obtain the win. In other words the musical score really fits the entire game and players truly reap the reward of this. The sound effects are really well done as well, with the normal explosions, laser fire, and various other sounds that players would expect from a game that is saturated with war. What is disappointing is that the voice acting and the dialog that accompanies it is not as good as the rest of this category. The voice actors really don’t have the emotion that is needed in this game and at times what feels very forced ends up being dull.

Earth 2160 is rated Teen for blood and gore, language, and violence.

The system requirements are:
AMD/Pentium 4 1.5 GHz
512 MB of RAM
Windows 2000 or XP
CD-ROM
DirectX 9.0c
DirectX compatible 3D card with Per-Pixel-Shader 1.3 support
512 MB of VRAM with T&L
1.5 GB of Hard Disk
Keyboard and Mouse.
Broadband connection recommended

Gameplay: 8.1
Earth 2160 has the standard tried-and-true gameplay that has made RTS famous for so very long. The new race is a really unique twist to the game and changes how you play the game if you are that race. Other than that if you have ever played any other RTS in your life you will pick up instantly on how to play this game.

Graphics: 9.3
The graphics for Earth 2160 are nothing short of gorgeous. It is amazing what the developers are able to pull off with current generation graphics for games of the RTS nature, because there is always so much going on in these games, the graphics department always got the short end of the stick. Fortunately for gamers this is not the case anymore.

Sound: 9.0
The musical score for this game is magnificent, because at times it will give players the additional motivation to beat down their enemies. The sound effects are also really good and sound realistic as well. The only bad part is the voice acting which is not as good, but it is decent and palatable.

Difficulty: Medium
Just like any RTS game this game has it really tough moments as well as the moments when you can sleep though an entire mission and still become victorious.

Concept: 8.1
I really liked the addition of the fourth race in the game that kept things really interesting. Also having the ability to research and design your own units really helps players create their own unique strategies.

Multiplayer: 8.2
Playing with a friend online or in a LAN setting is fun, but it would have been nice to have a various new forms of multiplayer gameplay with other objectives than the standard ones that are in practically every other RTS game.

Overall: 8.4
Earth 2160 is a really good RTS game that will capture your imagination as you try to become victorious over your foes. Even though the game does not make great strides over the competitions it is the little things that matter and will keep you playing this gorgeous game for hours.