Earth 2150

The Good
This is one of the very few games that comes close to Starcraft (in my book this is still the number one RTS). It not only copies from the large pool of RTS games out there, but it also expands on it.

The most important improvement is the visual change. It's one of the first games that is truly 3D and that gets away with it. Everything looks very good, there is a very good usage of effects, like fog, which hovers over the earth in the morning. The time-changes are very welldone. At night everything becomes dark and the map is only lit by the lights of your vehicles and buildings. And later on in the game also the climate changes (as the earth warms) are very nice.

Another change from the more traditional RTS games is the possibility to compose your equipment out of several parts. This has been done before, but it really works well in combination with the vast research options that are in the game. Researching really does make a difference.

The story itself then, might not be original (the Earth is dying and you have to build a spaceship to escape) but it is presented in a rather original manner. At seemingly random points in the game a television screen pops up and you are threated to a pretty well-done news broadcast in. This really gives you the feeling things are happening and it also raises the time pressure. These video clips are very cleverly used. F.I. The three parties, you can join each have their own advertisement. Each of these three is very distinct and is a very good crash course in not only the ideals of the party, but also in the kind of equipment and warfare you can expect when you choose for them.

A final thing very much worth mentioning is the great orchestral music, it really adds to the atmosphere of the game.

The Bad
There are no major problems or annoyences with this game, just some minor things which might bother you the first 15 minutes you play the game:

It takes some time to get used to moving the camera around, but once you get the hang of it it's no problem.

The interface could have been improved and simplified a little. For example, there are some rather useless tabs (at least for me), which only clutter the desktop. Unit selection is a little confusing at first, but again you get used to it in no time.

The Bottom Line
If you like RTS games, you'll like this one.