Emperor moves Westwood's games into 3D and does so admirably. The graphics
are top-notch and very detailed. Units kick up dust when they move, cast
shadows, and light up the terrain with headlamps. Battles leave debris and
shell marks littering the landscape.
The game supports full camera control including zooming, panning, and
rotation. A lot of 3D strategy games do not implement the camera control
well, and the player is left with a frustrating experience. Not so in
Emperor - the camera operates smoothly and intuitively. It can also be
left in a default position which provides the standard 3/4 perspective of the
map for players that would just assume not to have to deal with camera angles.
At its core, Emperor relies on the RTS formula that Westwood has been
perfecting over the years. While Emperor is no quantum leap forward in
strategy gaming, it is however fun to play. Those not familiar with the
Dune books might not relate to the story as well as fans of the books will,
however.
Emperor provides a nice array of different units types. Each of the
houses have a different feel, and require different strategies to be most
effective. The addition of the minor houses and factions further enhances
the dynamics of each side by the introduction of their unique units.
On the downside, the AI is not as challenging as it could be. Most
battles can be won by assembling a large force of a couple of key units and
striking at the enemy's base. While Emperor does provide each side with
units that work effectively against massed units to discourage rushing, careful
management of your forces can protect them from this threat.
The AI of your own units also posses some annoying quirks. Personnel
carriers and other weak units will often let themselves be destroyed during an
attack by stronger units. It would be nice if the player did not have to
babysit them and they had the sense to pull back out of harm's way.
The addition of a strategic mode is nice in that it takes the linear feel
away from the campaign game. You get more of a feel of an ebb and flow of
a real war than you do when you simply play your way through a sequence of
missions.
All things considered, if you enjoyed Westwood's previous strategy games,
you'll love Emperor. Interesting units, great graphics, and fast-paced
gameplay make it a welcome addition to the RTS fan's library. It's not an
evolutionary leap forward from Westwood's prior games, but you'll be having too
much fun to notice.
In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated: 88%.
Westwood knows strategy and they prove it again with Emperor. While
heavily influenced by their prior strategy games, Emperor will still provide
strategy fans with a lot of fun and fuel the imaginations of Dune fans.
System Requirements: 400 MHz Pentium II CPU; 64 MB RAM;
16 MB Video RAM; 4x CD-ROM; 600 MB Hard Drive Space; Mouse.
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