Empires: Dawn of the Modern World, Desktop Computer

Whilst most real-time strategy games tend to focus their attention on one particular era in history, this latest release from Activision snubs that idea in favour of a more all-encompassing timeline. Spanning from the 10th century to the modern era, Empires: Dawn of the Modern World covers 1,000 of the most significant years in the history of war, including such eras as the Middle Ages, the Gunpowder Age, WWI, and WWII. The familiar concept sees players lead their chosen nation's economic growth and military campaigns in an effort to dominate the world. Each civilization has its own historically accurate units and abilities, with gameplay subsequently being based on its traditional strengths and weaknesses. For example, the English were masters of the sea in the Gunpowder Age, the Germans had the superior armor and infantry of WWII and the Chinese used gunpowder years before the nations of Western Europe. The game also includes some of the more interesting units from history, such as the German V2 Rocket and, rather amusingly, a plague-ridden cow carcass that the Medieval English used to chuck at the enemy. The single player mode in Empires gives you the opportunity to battle it out with up to seven computer-controlled opponents across randomly generated maps. Alternatively, there's also the option of taking on story-based campaigns, which include an array of powerful military heroes such as Richard the Lionheart, Admiral Yi and General Patton. Those of you with access to a LAN or the Internet will be pleased to learn that all the usual multiplayer options are included, giving you the opportunity to play against or alongside up to seven of your mates (or people you've never met, for that matter). Covering such a long time period - and therefore such a wide array of civilizations - is a great idea for such a game. It subsequently lends a real element of diversity to the proceedings, which should keep you interested for quite a while.

Buy Empires: Dawn of the Modern World for 4.99 GBP

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