Finally
Rewind 20-25 years, and I used to play Empire for hours, weeks, and months on end, mostly against a friend (as the AI was not so good in those days). I used to love creating large maps, with a lot of ocean space, as for some tactical reason I loved the naval side of the exploration, as well as creating fleets of units for both offensive and defensive duties. The graphics and AI may have been poor by today’s standards, but the gameplay was awesome… and good tactical gameplay overrides any quality of graphics in my opinion.
Oh how I wanted a more up to date version of Empire, and over the years people have suggested the Civilization series and other similar games, however none have grabbed me in the way Empire did all those years ago, until 10 days ago…
I had posted a thread on the Matrix Games forum asking for suggestions, and somebody told me to look at Empires of Steel. At the same time, my laptop blew up, and until today, has been off at the medical centre.
So when Mrs Jones wasn’t looking, I borrowed her laptop, downloaded the Empires of Steel demo, and played it for a bit. The map was small, and the islands too bunched up, but wow… this was a descendant of Empire without a doubt.
Today my laptop was returned, and is working okay so far! I thought I’d post here before buying the full version of the game… as once I’ve done that I’ll be buried in it for a long time I think… or until I’ve a few questions.
Keep up the good work Brit... I’m looking forward to diving in.