Earth 2160

 PC
  • Publisher: Midway
  • Release Date: Nov 16, 2005
User Score
7.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 104 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 62 out of 104
  2. Mixed: 24 out of 104
  3. Negative: 18 out of 104
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  1. AshC.
    Jun 5, 2006
    6
    Steam version. Great game - really good RTS with loads of great touches. If you like "Warcraft" type games, you will love this (and I mean LOVE it)... ...if you can play it. The problem (at least on Steam) lies with the authentication process. Half the time you won't be able to play - not even in single player - because it says it can't authenticate you, or that there has been a Steam version. Great game - really good RTS with loads of great touches. If you like "Warcraft" type games, you will love this (and I mean LOVE it)... ...if you can play it. The problem (at least on Steam) lies with the authentication process. Half the time you won't be able to play - not even in single player - because it says it can't authenticate you, or that there has been a hardware change on your machine since you last played and you need to re-register. If they could get this sorted out, I would give the game 8 or maybe even 9.… Expand
  2. JaydenPickens
    Feb 20, 2019
    7
    We'll build a wall and have the UCS pay for it. Just kidding, the game is great. It has a few problems here and there, but mostly it's enjoyable rts. Pickens approves!
  3. Gerard
    Apr 13, 2006
    6
    I played the demo version so hopefully some of the quirks are worked out of it. Positives: The game has beautiful graphics. Negatives: It's not a very refined game. It feels like Warcraft or Starcraft minus some of the small intangibles that can make a game either very smooth, interactive and fun or annoying. You have guys that you might consider your 'hero'. Your supposed I played the demo version so hopefully some of the quirks are worked out of it. Positives: The game has beautiful graphics. Negatives: It's not a very refined game. It feels like Warcraft or Starcraft minus some of the small intangibles that can make a game either very smooth, interactive and fun or annoying. You have guys that you might consider your 'hero'. Your supposed to keep them alive but their life box is so small that you either have to zoom in or guestimate how much life they have left. This game could benefit from a 'help' button or a 'quick tips' section.… Expand
  4. keefbaker
    Nov 3, 2013
    7
    Really enjoyable RTS. Not the best, not by far but still quite enjoyable. The characterization of the moon women is a bit..... pink and comes off a bit misogynist. But seeing past that you have a fun RTS albeit with fairly bad graphics these days.
  5. YazzleDazzle
    Jan 3, 2013
    5
    Its always disappointing to see a game with such potential fall so flat. The controls are confusing and the game's learning curve is far too steep. The first few missions, which the game treats as a tutorial, are more of a constant struggle to figure out how to do what the game asks of you. Even the little things like deploying time bombs from you hero's inventory is a lengthy struggle.Its always disappointing to see a game with such potential fall so flat. The controls are confusing and the game's learning curve is far too steep. The first few missions, which the game treats as a tutorial, are more of a constant struggle to figure out how to do what the game asks of you. Even the little things like deploying time bombs from you hero's inventory is a lengthy struggle. That being said, putting the campaign down gives for a bit of fun. The skirmishes show the game's real strength, its diversity. The factions initially feel very different and for a few hours, you'll enjoy just figuring out how they work. Then you realize that the set-up is all that is different. The way the units fight, the strategies you use are all pretty much the same. The martian race does provide a fun and unique challenge but even that gets old fast. Overall, the confusing controls, insufferable campaign and shallow levels of diversity make for a fun couple hours but that is it.… Expand
  6. DudasDrakaan
    Dec 23, 2011
    5
    What I have to say about this game is that it is mediocre, and this -- after its fantastic predecessor, Earth 2150, is a serious let down for previous fans. What I laugh about is apparently the only people who bought this game did so through steam; I did not. I'm one of the true originals who was excited about a sequel for one of my favorite strategies of all time. Therefore: my ratingWhat I have to say about this game is that it is mediocre, and this -- after its fantastic predecessor, Earth 2150, is a serious let down for previous fans. What I laugh about is apparently the only people who bought this game did so through steam; I did not. I'm one of the true originals who was excited about a sequel for one of my favorite strategies of all time. Therefore: my rating has nothing to do with technicals. My reviews never do. It is about a much more crucial facet: the content of the game itself. _____ Allow me to just summarize and say that there is nothing here that really separates 2160 from any other strategy. If you are looking at a new strategy to seek variety, then look elsewhere. Unlike 2150, you cannot really customize your units to be your own, unique design. Furthermore, the pacing is that of Starcraft II: that is to say clicking speed and reaction time is more important than strategy and tactics. And advancing technologically seems irritatingly unrewarding. You'll do it to keep the status quo, but don't expect to come out with some powerful tech that your enemy cannot counter with pure massive numbers. Most will say "so what," but the original did not play with this feature and the fact that they changed it to its current state of merely being a copy of other strategy games from the time. Though SCII was not around when 2160 came out, the experiences are very similar so expect 2160 to be a worse looking, less-balanced game with a practically dead community (what community?). As for the story -- which no one I've seen has mentioned -- is just terrible. Perhaps if you think the Sci-Fi channel movies have good storylines, then you'll like this... but really the story of this game is about like the sequel to Starship Troopers movie (not the book). That is to say a mediocre story with interesting points that suddenly was **** on and left harden in the sun. The story is more a soap now, with focus on personal relationships, than on politics and the cultures of the different factions. Once again, average in itself but terrible in respect to its predecessor. ______ Take this in stride. The game at least functions. There are at least groupings and defense, and so forth. The AI will kick your ass until you figure out its quircks. There is resource acquisition and technological advancement. But advancement will not get you victory unless one side has completely neglected advancing... But is any of this new? It makes me sad that its predecessor from many years before was vastly superior. It was unique and challenging; this one just seems to want to be a Blizzard game. But I say not all games need to be Blizzard games: there needs to be variety, and this game simply is not it. Some people care nothing about variety. Then, please, play this game: you will enjoy the monotony, I'm sure. _____ Perhaps this will sate those who have not played the game yet see fit to give a game a good rating due to not seeing a "reason" for a negative review. _____ Main negatives: -> Gameplay focused on reflex rather than strategy. -> Repetitive, lack of variety and customization of the predecessor. -> Poor, melodramatic storyline. -> Drops cultural and political complexity of predecessor. -> Lack of community. _____ Positive: +> It works. +> It's cheap (now). +> You can laugh at the bad writing. +> There is advancement and neat technologies (though they do not mean much, honestly, during gameplay).… Expand
  7. Sp1ffZ.
    Dec 12, 2006
    7
    This game is pretty good, kinda star craftish. Background story sounds alot like battlestar galactica, homeworld destroyed, only a few thousand humans left. Also kinda like planet side with 3 factions to choose from. w/e shoot me for saying this.
  8. Ensaabahnur
    Feb 26, 2019
    6
    Decent sequel to the earth 2150 series , better visuals and more fluid gameplay but the story i feel is not as good as the original .
  9. pawq
    Sep 18, 2020
    7
    I finally got down and finished the game all the way through, after nearly completing it some 12 years ago, and then not-even-close to finishing it some 5 years ago, so I'm naturally biased with nostalgia, but I think it's an overall great rts, but sadly with a few shortcomings that can ruin the experience if you can't or can't be arsed to learn to avoid them.

    The graphics in the game    I finally got down and finished the game all the way through, after nearly completing it some 12 years ago, and then not-even-close to finishing it some 5 years ago, so I'm naturally biased with nostalgia, but I think it's an overall great rts, but sadly with a few shortcomings that can ruin the experience if you can't or can't be arsed to learn to avoid them.

    The graphics in the game are often complimented, and at times they're really amazing for 2005, but it kinda depends where you look. What I'm most impressed with though, is that each of the four factions has a COMPLETELY different gameplay. Literally every mechanic is altered: completely different vehicles with completely different types weapons, different ways to harvest resources (which require very different planning and sometimes microcontrol), different ways to set up bases and interconnect buildings, different defence systems (which require completely different base layout), etc. It's literally a different game depending on what faction you play with, which is incredibly enjoyable. Crucially, the factions are all really well balanced, so that every faction has a fair chance against every other. Together with expansive unit customisation and cool base expansion options, it makes for tremendously fun gameplay once you get a hold of the basic faction mechanics. On top of that, the soundtrack is wicked!

    HOWEVER. The story is pretty mediocre, and voice acting is poop. Literally. And cutscenes, which are rendered mostly in regular 3rd person, seem to use exactly the same models and textures as the zoomed-out RTS gameplay, so they look like poop too. Some campaign missions are rather poorly designed and boring to play, and difficulty can vary from no-effort to super unfairly hard at random. But maybe worst of all, movement AI of ground units is the worst in the history of ground unit movement AI. Units get stuck constantly, passing groups of units past each other is a nightmare, and it happens a lot that you suddenly realise you're missing some units, only because they decided to go around half the map (and through enemy bases) to get 1cm closer to their target position that was blocked by other units from the same group. This can be partly avoided by using small groups of units and a lot of microcontrol (sending groups to checkpoints instead of the whole way at once), but it can get very annoying indeed...

    Overall, despite the issues I had lots of fun playing the game, but I probably wouldn't recommend it to everyone :)    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

85
#85 Best PC Game of 2005
30
#30 Most Discussed PC Game of 2005
80
#80 Most Shared PC Game of 2005

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
73

Mixed or average reviews - based on 31 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 31
  2. Mixed: 17 out of 31
  3. Negative: 0 out of 31
  1. Eurogamer
    70
    No matter how good it is - and in Skirmish mode, it really is pretty good - it's a bit saddening. The future never seemed so far away.
    Read full review
  2. IC-Games
    83
    If you are sick of the countless WW2 RTS games on the market today you’ll be a fool if you let Earth 2160 pass you by. With four campaigns and an extensive multiplayer mode we can see this one lasting well into the development of "Earth 2170."
    Read full review
  3. PC Format
    72
    It's the sci-fi game for RTS fans who found "Dawn of War" a little too streamlined. A game by fans for fans, but few others. [Sept 2005, p.90]
See all critic reviews »