You can call me a cynic (and you’d probably be right) but every time I hear about a new sci-fi RTS game, I can’t stop thinking “Oh boy, here we go again”. I don’t even need to hear the story, because I already know what the general idea is going to be like: the human race, having reached a very high level of technology in the near (or not so near) future, has begun to colonize the galaxy and in so doing has met a more antisocial alien race that now intends to wipe us from the face of the Earth. Earth 2160 is a little different, in that it continues the story already set in place by its two predecessors: thanks to a “small” nuclear conflict between the Eurasian Dynasty and the United Civilized States, the orbit of the Earth has shifted and the planet is on a collision course with the Sun (the Moon included). Instead of trying to work together, the three human factions (ED, UCS and The Lunar Corporation) start fighting over what few resources are left in order to build a huge ship and escape the doomed planet to a new beginning. It’s the year 2160 and the Earth has been destroyed. Very few people managed to escape, and now they’re trying to terraform Mars, in order to make it more hospitable for human life. In the purest of human fashion, instead of cooperating, the three factions are working independently and it doesn’t take long before a new conflict starts to escalate. However, all this is about to change, because it appears that we're not alone in the Universe after all.

     Judging from the way I started the article and presented the story, you might think that I’m paving the way for the conclusion that Earth 2160 is a bad game. No, far from it, Earth 2160 isn’t a bad game. It’s a good RTS, but the fact is, if you’re a strategy genre fan, you’ve probably already seen most of this stuff in other titles by now. The basic rule is the same as in any other RTS game: build a base, gather resources, create an army (preferably larger than that of your enemy) and then go kick his ass. Each of the four warring forces (there are Aliens too, you know) has a different style of gameplay: the three human factions share a more traditional approach; build a main building and then expand the base on top of that.

     The building creation is modular, meaning that all the buildings will mostly be connected to each other. However, the building style for each faction can also be its Achilles’ heel. For instance, the LC builds their bases in a skyscraper like manner. If you take down the base of a tower, you take down all the buildings built on top of it. The Eurasian Dynasty however doesn’t have this problem, since all their buildings are connected via connector tunnels (those of you who played M.A.X – Mechanized Assault & Exploration, will certainly notice the similarity between these two titles). Nevertheless, if you destroy a tunnel linking the power plants to the main complex, you can shut down the entire defense grid of an ED base in one swift move. This, cumulated with the different visual style of each faction gives them a much needed uniqueness, each one being tailored for a different kind of player: the ED can be considered your standard army. The LC is an “all girls” kind of thing, relying of some very advanced technology and weapons. The UCS has a soft spot for bi-pedal robots (also called mechs) and the Aliens… well, they’re the most interesting of the lot, but also the most difficult to master, especially in multiplayer. However, they compensate this with some of the meanest units on the battlefield.

     There are also a lot of technologies that you can research, each faction having its own tech tree. The great thing is that you can also design your own units, according to your needs or a particular situation. Having problems breaking the defenses of a heavily fortified player? Research some siege weapons, put them on a chassis and kiss that base goodbye. Are his aerial units giving you hell and mowing your units before they can even fire a single shot? Some mobile anti-aircraft batteries should be just what the doctor ordered. There are tons of combinations that you can try out, which makes the multiplayer matches kind of unpredictable, since you can never know what your opponent might have in store for you this time. Also, the number of technologies available isn’t just to fill the research screen. Like in every other RTS, combined armies are the key to victory. Otherwise, if you research only laser of energy weapons for instance, at one point during the game you might discover that your enemies have outfitted all their troops with reflective armor, negating the advantage you had over them.