History VideoGame / EmpireEarth

** It's averted with Grigor II himself, as he never actually diverts from the original directive given to him by the first Grigor, the complete subjugation of the Earth under Novaya Russia, he simply takes it to it's logical conclusion and the [[AMillionIsAStatistic results]] inspire rebellion from within.

** It's averted with Grigor II as he never actually diverts from the original directive given to him by the first Grigor, the complete subjugation of the Earth under Novaya Russia, he simply takes it to it's logical conclusion.

* PraetorianGuard: Grigor's Black Robe goons.
* PsychoForHire: Barbarians and Vikings.
--> 'Oo can I kill?

* SpacePlane: Once you reach the Space Age, the only aircraft that doesn't stop at the cliff is the planetary fighter, whch goes in and out of orbit as it pleases. However, ordering an atmospheric fighter to go to an airport on a different planet will result in it cheerfully flying through space until it reaches its destination.

Empire Earth III, by contrast, was a commercial flop, and is [[FranchiseKiller widely believed to have been the end of the series]].

* TheFamine: During the Egyptian campaign in ''2'', one level has a famine strike, and the people are so desperate for food [[NoPartyLikeADonnerParty they break into pyramids just to eat the mummies]] (despite the fact that there are other, normal sources of food around).

* BombardierMook: Bombers unleash a string of bombs and then return to base to reload, while Fighter/Bombers can attack both air and surface units until they run out of fuel and return to an airport.

* TheThemeParkVersion: Of [[VideoGame/AgeOfEmpires Age of Empires]]; whereas Age of Empires at least attempted to maintain a semblance of historical accuracy, Empire Earth decided to include more "unusual" ideas, [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane some fantastical, some mundane, and sometimes a bit of both]]; such as a Euhemeristic interpretation of Greek legends ([[DoingInTheWizard Heracles as a tribal chief who led his people to Greece]]) to some minor fantastical elements (The Trojan Horse as a gift from the gods and Theseus [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence ascending to Mount Olympus]]) to holy men who wield the ability to summon natural disasters on a whim and a [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture near future]] featuring Star Wars-esque aesthetics mixed with HumongousMecha and FrickinLaserBeams. That's not even going into the alternate history aspect of the German campaign, [[spoiler:which ends with the successful invasion of Britain]].

''Empire Earth 2'' 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.

** In EE1, the AI is very bad at amphibious invasions, often sending a single transport with no backup or attempt to clear the landing zone. On skirmish maps, playing on islands and ringing the island with towers is the key to keeping your base unharmed (in later eras, doing the same with AntiAir guns to prevent helicopter drops).
** EE 2's AI is prone to ZergRush with extra resources, but they never seem to get the importance of having multiple territories (which lets you field more troops, get more resources (especially gold via trade), and most importantly get tech points faster), often gaining new territory one at a time where a human player can grab several territories at once and immediately start teching up. If the map is big enough and with a long ceasefire at the start, it's entirely possible to swamp them with troops five or six epochs ahead ([[HopelessBossFight and if aircraft are among those troops...]]).

** The skirmish mode A.I. from ''Empire Earth 2'' [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard is infamous for heavy cheating]]. It will add resources and units to the enemy team instantly if you do too well. Winning is almost impossible as the AI will constantly try to ZergRush your base with more than 100 units at once, mostly artillery/siege guns, tanks/cavalry and bombers in the later ages.

%%* [[UsefulNotes/BolivariansWithBMPs All Latin America is Socialist]]: All of the Mesoamerican civilizations in ''Empire Earth 2'' (Mayan, Aztec and Inca) become this during the Digital Age with their soldiers looking like revolutionary cubans and using russian weaponry and vehicles similar to modern ''UsefulNotes/{{Venezuela}}''.

** EE 2 lets you give units Veteran and Elite training, improving their health and damage. The catch is that if you go up an epoch and they automatically upgrade into that epoch's equivalent, you need to buy the training all over again. Also, unique units can only advance to Elite with a research that's only available in the third/eighth/thirteenth epoch.

** Priests get a serious buff in EE 2, since immunity to conversion is no longer a universally-available condition.

** EE 2 uses this for every unit except cavalry and tanks: a unit of, say, Heavy Infantry will go from maceman to musketeer to assault rifleman, but if converted by a priest of a different epoch will instantly turn into their new owner's epoch-equivalent. Cavalry and tanks, despite being made by the same building, will remain cavalry and tanks of the highest/lowest type, however.

* TheFamine: During the Egyptian campaign in the ''2'', one level has a famine strike, and the people are so desperate for food [[NoPartyLikeADonnerParty they break into pyramids just to eat the mummies]] (despite the fact that there are other, normal sources of food around).

** Accidentally the case in EE 2, where all Heavy Infantry can hit helicopters but Light Infantry can't. Makes sense when those classes wield machine guns and mortars, less so when they wield swords and bows.

** 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).

* SplashDamage: For artillery units in all three games and the nuclear weapon in EEII.

!!This video game provides examples of:

** The second game splits its civilizations by geographic location: East Asian (Japan, Korea, China), Middle Eastern (Egypt, Turkey, Babylon), African (Maasai, Zulu), Mesoamerican (Maya, Inca, Aztec) and European (England, France, Italy, Germany, Greece... and Russia and the USA). Slightly better in that each civilization's buildings and 3 wonders are appropriate to its location (but leads to the equivalent of IdenticalLookingAsians), but the trope is still in play when Russia can build the Parthenon, the Brandenburg Gate and, of all buildings, ''the Pentagon''.

** In EE1, the Ai is very bad at amphibious invasions, often sending a single transport with no backup or attempt to clear the landing zone. On skirmish maps, playing on islands and ringing the island with towers is the key to keeping your base unharmed (in later eras, doing the same with AntiAir guns to prevent helicopter drops).

** The Sequel's Scout is always accompanied by a dog.

** In addition to the Mk. II versions of cybers, the factional unique units (Persian Immortals, Spanish Cavalry, German Infantry, etc.) have the same stats as their equivalent unit's upgrade, one epoch early (so the 1800s British Infantry is a WWI Doughboy, WWI's German Infantry is the same as a [=WW2=] Marine, etc.). However, they're only available in the campaign or the editor.

** In the second game, fortresses, towers, and docks can be garrisoned, but it's not permanent and doesn't remove units from the population cap. Instead, each unit inside a defensive building increases its damage, while units in fortresses and docks are healed (and is the only way for ships to heal). City Centers and Warehouses can also be garrisonned, giving extra income whenever resources are returned to the garrisoned building.

** [=EE2=] uses a different mechanic: researching four military, economic or imperialistic upgrades gives you a chance to win the corresponding Crown, giving you a commander with a related power (military units are combat-based, economic units boost resource gathering, imperials boost research and landgrabs).

** 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.

** The potential for such exists in the second mission of the English Campaign: with only 4-5 units to your name, you are faced with a blockade of horsemen standing in the road. The three knights that joined you a little bit ago recommend that they pull a HeroicSacrifice and distract the enemy soldiers while William rides on to Falaise. You ''could'' do that...or you could throw all of your units at them, use William's Battle Cry to weaken the enemies, and have him heal your other units as they fight so that ''all'' of them can live and join the battle at the end of the level!
** Molotov is faced with the prospect of executing defenseless civilians or being charged with treason and killed. [[spoiler:He defects to the U.S.]] instea.

* CityOfWeirdos: [[spoiler:When Molotov and Molly go back in time to Voronezh, nobody says anything about Molotov, a cyborg with a half-robot face, or Molly, whose hair is made of cybernetic cables.]]

* AIBreaker: EE 2's AI is prone to ZergRush with extra resources, but they never seem to get the importance of having multiple territories (which lets you field more troops, get more gold, and get tech points faster), often gaining new territory one at a time where a human player can grab several territories at once. If the map is big enough and a long ceasefire at the start, it's entirely possible to swamp them with troops five or six epochs ahead ([[HopelessBossFight and if aircraft are among those troops...]]).
* AIIsACrapshoot: In the Novaya Russia campaign, AI may not be a crapshoot for Novaya Russia, but from the start, Novaya Russia's advances in robotics prove very disastrous for every other country.

** Hierakles looks exactly like the Barbarian unit (though with a bronze breastplate). One of Alexander's generals ''is'' a barbarian, down to being able to move through trees.

* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard: Computer players don't follow any resource-gathering rules; they just build units at an arbitrarily fast pace. Also computers don't seem to be bothered by FogOfWar, since they commonly send bomber planes after your sneaky armies with impunity. They also know where your forces are strong and weak, so attempts to save scum after the loss of a base and send the bulk of your forces to said doomed base will result in the AI switching targets to the other one, even if they have no legitimate way of knowing where your forces are.
** Computer players also build walls everywhere [[ArtificialStupidity for some reason]] (though how stupid this is depends on the terrain: on maps with small chunks of forest it leaves gaping holes in their defenses, on those with long tracts of woodland it makes getting to them a slow arduous process).
* TheComputerShallTauntYou: In [=EE1=], AI players make threats as soon as you finish building a Wonder. In [=EE2=], they constantly taunt you when attacking or when you advance an epoch. Amusingly, one taunt tells you you should have used cheats... even if you already have cheats active.

** The second game splits its civilizations by geographic location: East Asian (Japan, Korea, China), Middle Eastern (Egypt, Turkey, Babylon), African (Maasai, Zulu), Mesoamerican (Maya, Inca, Aztec) and European (England, France, Italy, Greece... and Russia and the USA). Slightly better in that each civilization's buildings and 3 wonders are appropriate to its location (but leads to the equivalent of IdenticalLookingAsians), but the trope is still in play when Russia can build the Parthenon, the Brandenburg Gate and, of all buildings, ''the Pentagon''.

* GarrisonableStructures: Forts are available, but they only serve to reduce your headcount. And for certain structures (especially in the first game) it is wise to do so as garrisoning a certain number of units in them will upgrade the structure. But you won't get the units back after you upgrade said buildings.

* MegaCorp: The UFAR is run by one, and later the Martian colonies are taken over by mega corps more concerned with profits than the miners' well-being.

* MisplacedWildlife: One of the tutorials has you fight off tiger attacks in the Mediterranean.

* MoneyForNothing: Generally averted, you'll need all the resources you can get.

* MusclesAreMeaningless: Animals will spawn tiny offspring that slowly grow to their adult size, but have exactly the same stats including health and food provided. Similarly, the male caveman is much bigger than the female but no stronger.

* NuclearOption: One civ power in the expansion is a missile base, which fires an (extremely expensive) ICBM at a target, even on another planet. It can easily be countered by having anti-missile batteries everywhere.

* OneHitPointWonder: In the scenario "Waterloo", If one french soldier makes it to Brussels, the Bourbon Monarchy will panic and surrender to Napoleon, causing Wellington to automatically lose.

* RevolversAreJustBetter: UsefulNotes/WW1, UsefulNotes/WW2 and Modern heroes use revolvers where other units use rifles or machines guns.

** Novaya Russia of the original game may be considered a minor example, especially after Grigor II comes to power; his obvious preference for mechanical, as opposed to organic, troops certainly gives the impression for it.

** In "The Rise of Athens", Theseus AscendsToAHigherPlaneOfExistence before the final part of the level, defeating both Thebes and Sparta. It is entirely possible to destroy both before he does so, and is in fact easier to do so as they won't send attacks towards your base, can be aggroed one at a time and Theseus provides a big defense aura.

** The Maasai campaign features the discovery of a new element that can absorb enormous amounts of kinetic energy and is found in vast quantities in a single African country, allowing said country to become a glabal superpower... are we talking about Kenya or [[ComicBook/BlackPanther Wakanda?]]

* SpiritualSuccessor: It's no coincidence that this game is identical to VideoGame/AgeOfEmpires.

** [=EE2=] takes it in a different direction, dividing troops into infantry, mounted (cavalry/tanks/mechs), and artillery, with each type divided into light and heavy, each effective against two classes of units.

* TakeAThirdOption: The potential for such exists in the second mission of the English Campaign: with only 4-5 units to your name, you are faced with a blockade of horsemen standing in the road. The three knights that joined you a little bit ago recommend that they pull a HeroicSacrifice and distract the enemy soldiers while William rides on to Falaise. You ''could'' do that...or you could throw all of your units at them, use William's Battle Cry to weaken the enemies, and have him heal your other units as they fight so that ''all'' of them can live and join the battle at the end of the level!
** Molotov is faced with the prospect of executing defenseless civilians or being charged with treason and killed. [[spoiler:He defects to the U.S.]]

* UnusableEnemyEquipment: In the sequel, converting an enemy unit or building turns it into to the new owner's equivalent for that era (a modern priest converting an archer or an ancient priest converting a mortar will get a mortar and archer respectively). The only exception are unique units and units that are only available up to/starting from certain eras, such as medics, rams and horsemen/tanks in which case it the unit becomes the lowest/highest tier version available. Averted in the first game and its expansion, however, since units aren't part of a long class-line like they are in the sequel: if you convert an enemy unit from a later era, it stays that way when you convert it, which can be useful in the campaigns such as converting the one siege weapon that the Trojans have and turning it against them in a level when you otherwise have no access to siege weapons. This can sometimes have amusing results of units that you shouldn't have which are named differently in a campaign level when they're controlled by the enemy have their regular names when you take control of them and it no longer makes sense. This can particularly show up in the first level of the Roman Campaign when your Celtic/Germanic enemies send "Light Spearmen" against you but, if you convert them, they turn into the default unit of "Chinese Infantry".

* UnusableEnemyEquipment: In the sequel, converting an enemy unit or building turns it into to the new owner's equivalent for that era (a modern priest converting an archer or an ancient priest converting a mortar will get a mortar and archer respectively). The only exception are unique units and units that are only available up to/starting from certain eras, such as medics, rams and horsemen/tanks in which case it the unit becomes the lowest/highest tier version available.

* TheQueensLatin: In the first game, even though the Bronze and Dark Ages are themed on Ancient Greece and Rome, the units speak with English accents.

* REsourceGatheringMission:

** Units ordered to attack will sometimes run like hell the other way, no matter the difference in power between the two.

!!This video-game provides examples of:

* UsefulNotes/TheTeutonicKnights: Available as a Heavy Mounted unit in Empire Earth II to the German Civilization. The first few levels of German campaign focus on the Teutonic order.