Line #2 VideoGame/EmpireOfTheAnts


1	[[quoteright:303:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/empire_of_the_ants.png]]
2	''Empire of the Ants'' is a 2001 RealTimeStrategy game for the [[UsefulNotes/IBMPersonalComputer PC]], based on the [[Literature/EmpireOfTheAnts novel of the same name]] by Bernard Werber.
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4	Players control various hives belonging to the Federation of wood ants (called russet ants, as in the book) over a series of missions, some of which are based off the events of the books.
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6	!! This game contains examples of:
7	* AntWar: The premise of most of the levels is to defeat enemy hives.
8	* AwesomeButImpractical: The tank ants, which are jaw buster ants mounted on workers, are more mobile than guard ants on their own but are still very slow and resource-heavy.
9	* BigCreepyCrawlies: Preying mantids, stag beetles, and other large insects can be encountered, and they will happily shred their way through armies of ants before finally being brought down.
10	* BloodyMurder: The dwarf ants have acidic blood which damages enemies upon death.
11	* ButtCannon: The Gunner and Queen's Gunners castes are specialized to fire globs of formic acid at enemies.
12	* CloseRangeCombatant: The Soldier, Soldier-in-Training, Jaw-buster, and Tank castes are all meant for melee combat and are useless against flying or ranged opponents.
13	* CombatMedic: Honeypot ants and Nurses can feed and heal injured ants on the field, but are weak themselves.
14	* CripplingOverspecialization: The jaw buster ants' oversized heads can be used to block tunnels and shred opponents, but they lack mobility on their own.
15	* FantasticRacism: The russet (wood) ants don't much care for any of the other species of ants, which include dwarf ants, weaver ants, red ants, and harvester ants. Nor do they care much for the wasps, bees, and other eusocial insects.
16	* HiveCasteSystem: The game has a wide number of castes which fit into basic RTS unit categories, to choose from,:
17	** Carpenter - cost 9 food per unit
18	** Gunners - cost 32 food per unit
19	** Honey-pot - cost 9 food per unit
20	** Honetpot nurses - cost 45 food per unit
21	** Jaw-buster - cost 29 food per unit
22	** Nurse - cost 9 food per unit
23	** The Queen's Gunners - cost 32 food per unit
24	** Queen
25	** Princess - cost 60 food per unit
26	** Soldiers - cost 20 food per unit
27	** Soldiers in training - 60 food per unit
28	** Tanks - cost 120 food per unit
29	** Worker - cost 5 food per unit
30	* LongRangeFighter: The Gunner and Queen's Gunner castes are devastating at long range and against flying opponents but abysmal up-close.
31	* MightyGlacier: The jaw-buster caste has insane offensive power with its massive mandibles, but its bulk makes them slow and ponderous. The Tanks compensate by using workers to carry the jaw-busters, greatly increasing their speed and mobility.
32	* PowerPincers: The main weapon of soldier ants, jaw-buster ants, tanks, and soldiers-in-training are their mandibles.
33	* WizardNeedsFoodBadly: In addition to a health meter, units have a hunger meter which goes down over time and can end up killing them if they don't eat. That's where honeypot ants come in.
34	* WorkerUnit: The worker ants, which the player has no direct control over but can assign tasks from the Hive menu.
35	* YouRequireMoreVespeneGas: Worker ants can be assigned to gather building supplies and food, which are placed in store rooms.
36	* ZergRush: The basic battle tactic is to swarm enemy units with ants until they die.

Context VideoGame / EmpireOfTheAnts