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Five years after Earth 2150, Earth 2160 was launched with lukewarm reception. Even a half decade ago such a title would have had a tough time making it through the swamp of RTS titles, but with blockbusters such as Rise of Nations, Warcraft, Command and Conquer, Age of Empires, and the timeless classic in Starcraft on the market, it becomes even more difficult for a new game to make an impression. Earth 2160 is by no means a bad game, but it plays the same as much of its competition and leaves no desire to return. Earth 2160 is insipid; it lacks the charm that many of the RTS greats have.
Perhaps what is most irritating in Earth 2160 is its complexity. Gone are the normal methods of production that players of the genre are so used to. Earth 2160 allows for various custom unit designs with the three human races, but whether or not said designs are effective in battle becomes a game of chance. To create units, technologies are researched and with them, the player plays a game of mix and match with the researched armors and weapons to create some original units. Many units are far too similar than they should be, however, and one had better hope that the equipped armor and weapons are symbiotic, or an entire army of useless units has been produced as an offering to some crazy god. The alien race gives us something entirely original, though. Instead of building, aliens absorb the various resources and then either clone themselves or morph into some new form of creature. As the aliens continue to absorb minerals and advance, the production tree begins to open up for the player. An interesting take on the old method of mine, collect, and build.
Ironically, despite its complex method of production, Earth 2160 offers a simple campaign. Each of the four races receives their allotted missions, and through it, your typical, boring sci-fi adventure is told. Earth 2160 lacks the flare of Warcraft, and the dull story is worsened by horrid voiceovers. There are times I wish a cut scene would have different voice actors, but rarely do I wish an entire game would be completely devoid voiceovers, and after hearing some of the audio in Earth 2160, I can't help but feel that it detracted from the experience
Despite its shortcomings, Earth 2160 is simply beautiful. Even zoomed in as far as the camera allows, Earth 2160 is one of the most detailed RTS games I've played. I would often find myself just watching instead of managing battles, admiring the amount of detail put into the game, and watching how pretty some of the effects looked in real-time. To compound its beauty, Earth 2160 offers a completely original camera angle to the genre. A unit can be selected and the game can be viewed in full real-time 3D from said unit's perspective. Then you can take that view, and put it in picture-in-picture mode and watch through the unit's eyes as you maintain your base. This option really helps the player keep the base in check; the unit can be placed in a bunker along the edges of the base and the player can keep an eye on the picture-in-picture for any incoming enemies.
Earth 2160 isn't bad. With that said, it's not very good, either. During playtime, I couldn't help but draw comparisons to some of the more famous games that are similar to the Earth series, but for valid reasons, much more popular. It's a drawback of the genre for games to be compared to some of the classics, but it's a fact of life, and Earth 2160 isn't spared from that fate. Its complexity should keep newcomers of real-time strategy away, and its lack of any outstanding aspects should keep those who aren't fans of the genre away as well. For the rest, since Earth 2160 seems to have dropped in the middle of a draught of quality RTS games, Earth 2160 is a recommended title for online play only. Single player should be avoided, but there are definitely vast amounts of fun to be had with multiplayer for experienced players.
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