The PC strategy game market is dead.
This is what a prominent international (well, US) gaming site proclaimed recently. According to the author of the article (who shall remain anonymous mainly because I forgot his name), the first-person shooter market is moving forwards in leaps and bounds while strategy games have all but stagnated. After all, you can only do so much resource gathering and city building before it becomes repetitive.
This is of course opposed to the riveting storyline most first-person shooters have. You can`t get more compelling than blasting everyone to pieces with a BFG just to notch up more frags.
While I enjoy a good frag-fest as much as the next gamer, to claim that only first-person shooters are redefining gaming boundaries while everything else follows in their wake seems a bit unfair. Admittedly, the expectation created by titles like Unreal Tournament 2003 and Doom III are almost fever pitch, with both games set to become bestsellers. However, titles like Warcraft III and the upcoming Age of Mythology are also doing their bit for the PC gaming marketplace.
This brings me to Sierra`s new city builder, Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom. Refreshingly, Emperor is set in China, a rather neglected part of the world when it comes to strategy games. It spans the country`s early history from the Xia dynasty (circa 2100 BCE) up to and including the invasion of northern China by Genghis Khan (circa 1211 CE).
Critics of strategy titles might not be impressed by this and think the developers merely followed a standard strategy game recipe, slapped together a different tile set with lots of rice paddies and threw in some oriental music for atmosphere. And here I was thinking that only game reviewers were allowed to be that sceptical.
However, Impressions Games went all out to create a game that stays as true as possible to the historical setting. This should come as no surprise since this is the same development house that was responsible for such hits as Caesar and Pharaoh. The game oozes atmosphere right from the opening movie.
Emperor offers two types of game play in single-player mode, historical campaigns and open play. There are seven historical campaigns to choose from, but I recommend new players should start with the first one, the Xia dynasty. This campaign features six tutorial missions that cover all the elements the player will need to know to succeed in Emperor.
The other campaigns follow on from the Xia dynasty and consist of missions that become difficult at an alarming rate. While the player will keep using the same city he/she created in one mission for the next, there are times where he/she must start all over again.
The mission goals range from reaching a population goal to conquering a number of other cities. Overall, there are 11 different mission goals that will challenge even the most dedicated strategy gamer.
The inability to continue with the same city would be very frustrating if it wasn`t for the open play mode. The objective in this mode harks back to the time we all played Civilization. You are allowed to build the best city possible with no time limit or mission restrictions.
While the historical campaigns are fascinating to play through just for the sake of learning about the history of China, I am always attracted to a game that allows me to do what I want. Some gamers want guidance and a sense of purpose while others simply need to be left to their own devices. Emperor caters wonderfully to both these types.
Along with the standard city building fare, Emperor has added a number of interesting features. For one, you must maintain good Feng Shui (don`t laugh) in your city. This means you need to consider where you place your buildings in order to avoid unhappiness among your citizens. Another addition (anyone remember SimFarm?) is the introduction of seasonal farming. Emperor features three different climatic regions, all influencing the quality and level of food production. If you`re not careful, you could see your people scavenging for food because all your farms are harvesting at the same time of year.
The game also has what is referred to as walkers. These walkers are employees of your buildings that deliver goods and services to your residential areas. However, to complicate things, you need to manage the routes your walkers take. You can do this by placing roadblocks that restrict access.
Emperor should be played by anyone who wants a more refined strategy game that focuses on more than just combat. The atmosphere and attention to detail will be lost on gamers who are looking for the Chinese equivalent of Command and Conquer. While the music can become repetitive and annoying very quickly, the graphics and the unique units of the game make up for this.
Couple the challenging resource, trade and warehouse system with the fact that you can play co-operatively with other players online (at last) and you have a title that is set to build a loyal following.
Additional screenshots
Yes, you guessed it, more screenshots.
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