History VideoGame / EmpireEarth

* CyberneticsEatYourSoul: Subverted in the [[20MinutesIntoTheFuture Russian Campaign]]; after General Molotov absorbs a lethal amount of radiation, Grigor II has him [[UnwillingRoboticisation turned into a cyborg]], causing the previously loyal General to begin questioning his leaders methods, concerned with the possibility of losing more of his humanity. Ultimately he [[DefectorFromDecadence defects]] from Novaya Russia when Grigor II callously orders him to [[FinalSolution wipe out the population of Cuba]] for being [[ColdEquation too troublesome to rule in the long term]].

* AlternatePersonalityPunishment: After Grigor II (a giant robot with an AI powerful enough to serve as Grigor's heir) becomes a totalitarian dictator, Molotov (a TrueBeliever in Grigor's cause) returns to the past in the hopes of convincing Grigor of taking Novaya Russia down another path to avoid turning the revolution that returned Russia to a global superpower into a fascist nightmare. Unfortunately, [[StrawHypocrite Grigor turns out to have no problem letting things turn out this way as long as he's in power.]] Molotov shoots him dead and returns to the future, but the ending doesn't show whether this was for good or bad.

** In the Roman campaign, one barbarian army uses wolves (renamed guard dogs) as AttackAnimals.

* RuleOfFunny: Prophets in the modern and future eras wear sandwich boards reading "TheEndIsNear". [[NakedPeopleAreFunny And nothing else.]]

** In [=EE2=], every faction has three unique units that can be built during the first/middle/last five epochs (Stone Age through Middle Ages, Renaissance through World War I, and the modern era onwards). The units start out incredibly advanced (like mail-armored men pushing a mangonel alongside cavemen) and get progressively more obsolete (such as [=WW2=] Zeroes flying alongside space planes or WW1 machine gunners and cyborgs and minigunners).

* CreatorProvincialism: The default WW1-era infantry unit for most factions is the "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doughboy Doughboy]]", that being US soldiers deployed on the Western Front between 1917 and 1918.

* RewardedAsATraitorDeserves: When Grigor II and Molotov convince a Chinese town to join their side and help them with invading China, Molotov hopes that the defectors would at least be rewarded for assisting them; Grigor II's response? Execute them, whether because he perceives them as a future threat or just ForTheEvulz isn't made apparent.

Similar to Emsemble Studios' ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpires'', the player controls a civilization as it advances through "epochs" from the ''Stone Age'' to the ''Robotics Age'' with the Space Age added in the ''Art of Conquest'' expansion. Specific buildings allow the construction of units and the research of improvements. The game employs a complex technology tree, with literally hundreds of land, sea, and air-based units. The goal, outside the preset scenarios, is the military destruction of the opponent or the construction of ''Wonders'' (Big historical monuments). Users can play against the computer or other players online.

The original was very well received, prompting the release of Empire Earth II in 2005. That also did fairly well.

''Empire Earth II'' changed the formula in favor of territory management and tech points obtained from universities and temples that are used to upgrade your civilization's military, economy and infrastruture to advance to the next epoch. A year later it received an expansion titled ''Art of Supremacy'' that includes three new campaigns, two African civilizations and some new skirmish/multiplayer options and modes.

* PoorMansSubstitute: Palisades are a cheaper form of wall and tower that use wood instead of stone and have less health and damage. Averted with the Bamboo palisade tower, since it packs a ''machine gun'' and attacks faster than the standard tower (and thus is unavailable in skirmishes).

** Novaya Russia in the first game has conquered Europe, East Russia and all of the world, but they won't manage to conquer the United States; in fact, that's the turning point that erases Novaya Russia from history.
*** Subverted in that America doesn't actually contribute much until Molotov defects to their side. Considering that Grigor II captured the time machine at some point after Molotov and Molly left, it's quite likely the [[InferredHolocaust America of the future was obliterated by the Novaya Russian forces before they traveled back to the past.]]

* ArbitraryMinimumRange: Curiously enough, averted for catapults and trebuchets, which are capable of hitting units attacking them in melee (it's just horribly inefficient) by flinging their payloads near-vertically. Played straight for gunpowder artillery, who have minimum ranges.

* CoolPet: Caesar keeps two tigers (named Romulus and Remus) which he's trained to attack on command. Sadly, they're nowhere near as strong as standard units, and can't be healed.

** The second game makes them available to all civs, now leaving radiation damage as well. One widespread mod focuses almost entirely on different types of ICBMs and ways to counter them.

* SuperPersistentMissile: A homing projectile will NEVER stop until the unit that it's chasing is dead or the unit that fired it is dead (and in the case of ICBMs, will keep going as well). The same rule applies for torpedoes.

* DidntThinkThisThrough: Count Holck flies through the burning town of Wicznice which starves the engine of oxygen and slows the biplane down long enough for Russian Anti-air fire to hit it.
-->'''Holck''': "Nonsense! We fly straight through!"
-->'''*Biplane Engine Sputters*'''
-->'''Holck''': "What has happened!? I'm losing control! The engine is dying!"

** Emptying a now-advanced Fortress you garrisoned in a past epoch, and receiving an army of outdated troops with long-dead tech trees, such as swordsmen, archers, cavalry, or even rock-throwing ''[[UpToEleven cavemen]]''.

** UpToEleven in [=EE2=], where every faction has three unique units that can be built during the first/middle/last five epochs (Stone Age through Middle Ages, Renaissance through World War I, and the modern era onwards). The units start out incredibly advanced (like mail-armored men pushing a mangonel alongside cavemen) and get progressively more obsolete (such as [=WW2=] Zeroes flying alongside space planes or WW1 machine gunners and cyborgs and minigunners).

* BackToTheEarlyInstallment: The final level of the Russian campaign sends the heroes back in time to the first level, but on the opposite side as they're there to stop Grigor Stoyanovich (the campaign's initial hero) before he can turn evil. Unfortunately, his successor also had access to the time machine, and is helping Grigor by bringing in troops from the future, two or three [[TechnologyLevel Technology Levels]] ahead of you. The mission ends without telling you whether the future changed for good or bad.

* AsceticAesthetic

* AreaOfEffect: The nuclear weapon in the first game. And general artillery, too (although not as stupidly destructive)

* CreepyCoolCrosses: Novaya Russia heavily uses Orthodox tri-bar crosses in their imagery.

* {{Expy}}: Molly Ryan from the later missions of the Russian Campaign is for all intents and purposes a bizarre hybrid of [[Literature/Neuromancer Molly Millions]] and [[Anime/GhostInTheShell Major Motoko Kusanagi]]