Empires of Steel Preview

Perhaps one of the most beloved turn-based strategy games of all time was Walter Bright’s Empire.  First programmed way back in 1977 (in FORTRAN, no less), Mr. Bright made Empire his labor of love and slowly improved and expanded his original design until, in 1988, Empire broke into mainstream consciousness when Computer Gaming World gave it their “Game of the Year” award.  All things considered, the award was long overdue.  Empire was - and in some ways still is - quite a unique strategy game in that it has a remarkably elegant design.  Starting with one city, players were charged with conquering an entire map, city by city, by producing a variety of military units as he went along, including infantry, aircraft, and naval forces.  Because the fundamentals were so easily grasped, players were free to focus their entire attention to strategic planning, from slowly amassing a naval armada to invade a neighboring continent, to setting up aircraft patrols to shoot down any bandits intent on harassing his forces.  Battles could be epic, with nasty fights breaking out across the globe - on the ground, in the air and upon the seas - as each player set his sights on total global domination.

Empire remains such a beloved classic that it has continued to be refined and re-published (mostly recently by Killer Bee Software).  However, the design is starting to show its age and could use something of makeover.  Stepping in to accomplish this task is AtomicBoy Software, with their soon to be released Empires of Steel.  Not content to just dust off the basic design, AtomicBoy Software has set out to thoroughly modernize the core gameplay of the classic original by incorporating a number of features that have become standard gaming fare in the years since Empire first appeared.  GameSquad has been fortunate to be able to glimpse a preview of this intriguing title.

Something old, Something New

Empires of Steel should provide lots of replayability.  Like its forerunner, EoS will allow players to set up a campaign in a variety of ways.  Players can generate an infinite number of maps from scratch, sized to the preference, and can specify whether he prefers a collection of islands or a map dominated by continental-sized land masses.  Up to ten players can join a game with three strengths of AI being available to fill slots.  EoS also allows customized rulesets that control what type of technology is available to the players…but more on that later.
 
Empires of Steel is played on a colorful map that is a welcomed change from the somewhat drab maps of its inspiration.  Players will quickly notice the new addition of resource points scattered about.  These points, which are represented on the map by such things as grain, oil barrels, or gold deposits, generate resources that add to the player’s monetary, oil and food reserves.  Run low in any of these items, and the player’s war machine will come to a grinding halt.  Fortunately, additional resources can be purchased from the global market in a pinch, but since EoS is a game of conquest, most players will probably prefer to overrun such points with their armed forces.

Speaking about military might, the forces in EoS core ruleset roughly spans a period from 1900 to 2030.  Players will begin the game with primitive infantry and zeppelins.  However, in another clever addition to the game, EoS sports a sizable tech tree that allows players to constantly improve their forces with new technology.  With a healthy research budget, players will soon be taking to the field with everything from jet fighters to – get this – cruise missiles, some even with nuclear warheads!  Good times….

Not content to shake things up with the above, EoS also incorporates a new diplomacy system that will allow players make non-aggression and peace pacts, as well as break them with formal declarations of war or, if the player is so inclined, sneak attacks.  Resources, technology and cities can also be traded.  While this new diplomacy system is helpful when playing against EoS’s wily AI, I imagine its full value will only be appreciated when players try their hand in a multiplayer game.

Combat units are rated for a whole host of factors, including such values as movement, sighting range, defensive terrain bonuses and combat values against specific targets, which adds a nice amount of depth to combat, especially when you consider that the factors apply not just ground units, but also to aircraft and naval vessels.  Fortunately, EoS includes a unit analysis screen that allows the player to compare combat factors and movement rates so as to perfect his force mix.  Actual combat is resolved via a ‘we-go’ system, requiring the player to carefully anticipate the actions of his opponent before hitting the next turn button.
 
With the addition of the aforementioned resource points, I found the gameplay in EoS to be noticeably different from Empire, with players no longer simply fighting for control of the all important cities, locales that remain your soul source of production but are now upgradeable with factories, barracks, refineries and shipyards, but also fighting for control of vital resources.  As such, players now need to be doing something more than just ‘turtling’ in their cities as their interests often lie far beyond a city’s boundary.
 
Battles are brought to life with some great sound effects and a few animations, such as plumes of smoke over a city that was just shelled by artillery.  However, I do find myself hoping that at some point players will be able to zoom in closer to the action as the current magnification limit makes it a bit difficult to see just what is going on with some bigger battles.  Either that, or give us an option to slow the action down a bit.  Fortunately, EoS allows the player to replay the past turn…or the entire game!  This is a nifty feature that manages to make a compelling war movie out of EoS’s turn to turn gameplay.
 
Rounding out the package is a well thought out UI that makes it pretty easy to do anything, from stacking units, to viewing details about a city's production rate.   Even unit movement is nicely handled with the game’s engine making smart use of available roads without the player’s input.