Sierra's Empire Earth is an ambitious game, to say the least. It covers 500,000 years of human history - from our earliest struggles in the age when fire was new, to epic laser battles of the far future. You take control of a civilization and try to have it build an empire to last the ages. The scope of such an ambitious game may seem daunting to pull off, but Empire Earth has veteran designer Rick Goodman at the helm - the lead designer of Age of Empires himself.

You can choose one of dozens of predefined civilizations or customize one to your liking. I saw firsthand the degree of control a player has in customizing his/her civilization and it is impressive.

Once you have a civilization selected, you must advance it through 12 historical epochs from prehistory to the futuristic Nano Age. Those players without such lofty ambitions of grandeur, can choose to simply play their favorite epoch instead.

Conflict can occur on land, sea, or air and is fought with nearly 200 different combat units. In addition, these units can be customized on the fly by improving their combat capability. There are also special leader units to bolster your units' morale and lead them into battle.

For those of you who'd prefer not to win through conquest, the game allows for victory through diplomacy, commerce, and wonder construction.

The game's graphics engine is quite advanced, and includes the ability to zoom in close to your units and day and night lighting effects.