The story of Earth 2160 revolves around the remnants of humanity fighting out with other factions for control of a new place to live and set up shop. You’ve got 4 different factions to pick from, each with their own campaign. Each faction provides a fairly distinct play style and look, and each campaign ties into another, so it is worth it to play thru each campaign and experience every option available.

However, the campaigns themselves do become quite tedious. Combined with some horrible voice acting and really lame plot devices, you also have a cheap and completely unbalanced enemy to fight against. A typical battle will see you sending wave after wave of units against the enemy, usually seeing these waves struck down in under a minute, as you slowly whittle away at the enemy’s defense. For some of the larger campaign missions you’ll be faced with even greater odds, and individual missions can take hours to complete. Gameplay is easily more enjoyable when pitted against a human opponent though, so much more so that you’ll find yourself ignoring the campaign element and opting for a bit of PvP instead.

2160 makes use of quite a few typical archetypes of RTS games, but also incorporates a few elements to make it a distinct entry into the genre. One of the best things about the game, in fact, is to constantly update your gear based on what you come across while fighting. If you find yourself getting the hell kicked out of you on a constant basis, go back, do a bit of research, and update your stuff. It’s not a throwaway mechanic either, you’ll find yourself needing to do this often. It keeps the gameplay fresh and exciting, especially when it comes to multiplayer mode. You’re also able to keep a hold of your updates from campaign to campaign, instead of constantly having to update and go thru the same old cycles again.

As I mentioned above, the game looks beautiful. At times it even looks better than a lot of the cut scene action seen in most games. You’re able to zoom in on units, and there’s not loss of detail to be had. It doesn’t provide you with the same amount of on screen units that its predecessor had, but it does make up for it with some stunning visuals. The same can’t be said of the sound department though, which isn’t horrible by any means, but it’s not something that stands out above the average fare.

All in all, Earth 2160 is a fun RTS entry for the PC library, albeit an unnecessarily long and poorly constructed campaign mode. You’ll be better off going head to head with a friend, or engaging in small time skirmishes, especially if you can’t afford to spend hours in front of your monitor. The graphical improvements are worth checking out as well, and if you find yourself with a lack of new and exciting RTS games to have a go with, then check out Earth 2160.