Earth 2140
A rather successful Dune 2 clone.
2001-02-13
If you like games in the Real Time Strategy genre founded by Dune II and refined by Command & Conquer (C&C), you will probably love this game for the Amiga. It is very similar to the original C&C for the PC, but fairly more advanced - plus it is of course for our beloved Amiga. If you have never heard of C&C or Real Time Strategy, it is a game where you control one of two forces, in E2140 the United Civilized States and the Eurasian Dynasty. The general purpose of the game is to destroy the enemy during a series of missions using whatever technology available. Installing the game is very simple and is done using the original Commodore Installer. You have several options as to how much you want to install to your harddrive, the minimum being 5 MB and the maximum 100 MB. What is remarkable about the game is that I never managed to make it crash - and that says a lot on my otherwise unstable system. So, what can be expected in the graphics department for a game that requires a Zorro III or faster graphics board, at least a 68060 and recommends a PPC board? Quite a bit, actually. The game starts out with an impressively long, atmospheric introduction in full screen, followed by a smoothly scrolling menu. The game itself can be run in 640x480 or 800x600 and looks well in both resolutions. The 800x600 resolution runs well, except maybe for the window scrolling when moving past several units - but that is not bad, compared to the enhanced graphics available. The battles and explosions are absolutely gorgeous in the game. The battlefield really burns when both sides attack with full power, doing their best to annihilate their enemy with robots, tanks, androids and more. However, there are flaws. The introduction could easily have been in a higher resolution and still be able to play fast on the required systems. Also the units could have been a little more detailed, although they are easily recognized. The game plays really well. It is fast and the battles are awesome. The intelligence of the computer adds a lot of the fun. On several occasions I managed to walk into an ambush, attacking the enemy with a very large group of robots, only to be completely surrounded and defeated. Also there are many buildings, units and research options to ensure the fun for a long time. A unique strategy feature, as the developers put it, is the possibility to turn over some of your units (temporarely) to a computer general, who can be both offensive or defensive. This is a very nifty feature, because it makes it possible to attack the enemy on several locations at the same time - this makes it more even playing against the computer. The only really sad thing about the game is the lack of network support. Networking is a very important part in a game like this, and also a needed thing in recent Amiga games in general. However, according to the manual, network support will be added soon. What adds to the atmosphere of the game is the superb CD audio of the game. Nine awesome tracks are available on the CD, shuffling randomly when playing the game. The sound effects are very scarce, though. There are not many unit sounds, and the ones that are there are really not very good. The movement sounds of the units are generally just plain annoying, and a large battle actually seems very quiet, but this is the same in the original PC version. A sad thing, but nothing too serious. Having said that, the game is still very good and atmospheric. If you are into Real Time Strategy games, E2140 is a must. If you are not, you should still buy the game. If for nothing else then for the music and introduction... There is also an update available on the Pagan Games site that resolves problems with the badly written P96 drivers for Mediator Voodoo 3 and the Pixel64.
Kenneth Straarup
Graphics
The graphics are good and clear, but nothing spectacular.
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8.0
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Sound
The CD tunes are awesome, but the sound effects are not all that good.
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7.0
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Gameplay
It contains a lot of missions, units and buildings, two different forces and three skill settings. This ensures the fun for a long period of time.
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9.0
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Overall
Earth 2140 is a game worth playing. It still lacks the network support, but that should be implemented soon. A definite buy for any Amiga gamer.
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8.5
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