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Empire Earth: The Art of Conquest

Last updated: January 10, 2026

Overview

Empire Earth: The Art of Conquest is the official expansion pack for the real-time strategy game Empire Earth, developed by Mad Doc Software and published by Sierra Entertainment in September 2002.1 The expansion was created as a follow-up to what had been declared 2001’s PC Game of the Year by GameSpy.com, and extended the game’s already massive scope by adding a fifteenth epoch—the Space Age—allowing players to conquer not just Earth but the cosmos beyond.2 Covering over 500,000 years of human history from the discovery of fire to laser battles of the future, the expansion pushed the boundaries of the original game’s ambitious premise.3

The Art of Conquest introduced three new single-player campaigns set in ancient Rome, the Pacific Theater of World War II, and a futuristic Asia in the 24th century.1 Each of the 21 pre-designed civilizations gained unique powers, buildings, or units, adding new strategic depth to both single-player and multiplayer modes.4 The expansion also added two new civilizations—Japan and Korea—along with enhanced multiplayer functionality taking advantage of Sierra’s redesigned online matchmaking service.5

Development of the expansion was transferred from Stainless Steel Studios, creators of the original Empire Earth, to Mad Doc Software because the former studio was occupied developing Empires: Dawn of the Modern World.1 Despite mixed critical reception, with reviewers noting it felt more like a mission pack than a full expansion, the game found an audience among dedicated Empire Earth fans who appreciated the new content and the ambitious Space Age additions.6

Story Summary

The Art of Conquest features three distinct campaigns spanning vastly different eras of history and the future. The Roman Campaign covers the events surrounding Gaius Marius and Julius Caesar in Ancient Rome, depicting the rise and political machinations of one of history’s greatest empires.7 Players navigate through the complex military and political landscape that shaped the ancient Mediterranean world.

The Pacific Campaign shifts to the warfare in the Pacific Ocean during World War II, featuring legendary military heroes such as General Douglas MacArthur and Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto.8 This campaign allows players to experience pivotal naval and island-hopping battles that defined the war in the Pacific Theater, bringing historical authenticity to the real-time strategy format.

The Asian Campaign takes place in a futuristic setting involving the colonization of Mars and the United Federation of Asian Republics (UFAR).9 According to the game’s backstory, scientific advancements allowed Mars’ barren land to bear fruit, and the red planet became Earth’s breadbasket.9 The campaign explores the political and military conflicts that arise from interplanetary expansion in the 24th century, as one advisor famously states: “My Khan, most interesting news! The world’s top aerospace experts have made the announcement that colonization of other worlds is both economically and technologically feasible. I suggest we join in this race… once we have dealt with the rebels, of course.”3

Gameplay

Interface and Controls

The Art of Conquest maintains the same gameplay foundation as the original Empire Earth, featuring traditional real-time strategy mechanics with mouse and keyboard controls.10 Players control civilizations through a combination of resource gathering, base building, unit production, and military conquest. The interface allows for attack-moving by clicking CTRL and the right mouse button, making units target hostile forces while moving to a designated location.11 The game supports up to 8 players in multiplayer matches through LAN or internet connections.12

Structure and Progression

The game spans 15 epochs, with The Art of Conquest adding the Space Age as Epoch XV, covering approximately 2200 to 2300 A.D.2 Players progress through technological ages by researching upgrades and meeting specific requirements, allowing them to advance their civilization from prehistoric times through the digital age and into space colonization.

Campaign Structure:

  • Roman Campaign: Events of Ancient Rome featuring Gaius Marius and Julius Caesar7
  • Pacific Campaign: World War II Pacific Theater warfare7
  • Asian Campaign: 24th century Mars colonization and UFAR conflicts7

Variable difficulty was added to scenarios which had not received it in patches of the original Empire Earth, allowing players to customize their experience.13

Puzzles and Mechanics

The expansion introduced civilization powers as a major new strategic element. Powers are special abilities available only in the expansion pack, costing civilization points to acquire during game setup.14 These powers give players significant tactical advantages—for example, the Kingdom of Italy’s Metallurgy power allows paying building costs with gold or iron interchangeably, while Great Britain’s S.A.S. unit can plant demolitions and swim across water.4

The Space Age introduced entirely new mechanics including the building of spaceports and spaceships, orbital space stations as new wonders, and meteor storms as calamities.8 Robots replace Citizens in the Nano Age and infantry in the Space Age, and Space Age farms no longer need citizens to manage them.7 The expansion also added futuristic military technologies such as the anti-missile battery, which can destroy incoming missiles in one hit.14

Reception

Contemporary Reviews

Reception for The Art of Conquest was decidedly mixed, with critics divided on whether the expansion justified its $30 price tag. GameZone gave the expansion a highly favorable 91/100, praising its additions: “It adds so many little things that it will be worth the players hard earned cash. The Space Epoch itself is worth the price of it.”15 GameSpy awarded it 88/100, noting it “provides a number of strong enhancements to a game that already offers immeasurably high replay value.”16

IGN’s Steve Butts gave the expansion 7.8/10, with breakdown scores of 8.0 for presentation, 7.5 for graphics, 7.0 for sound, 8.0 for gameplay, and 8.0 for lasting appeal.6 However, he concluded that “I like Art of Conquest enough but it just falls short of being worth the $30 price tag. Rather than being a full-fledged expansion, this one seems like little more than a mission pack with a few extra novelties thrown in to sweeten the deal.”6

GameSpot’s Tom Chick was particularly harsh, awarding only 5.2/10 and calling it “this disappointing addition to Stainless Steel Studios’ everything-and-the-kitchen-sink real-time strategy game doesn’t do much to justify its steep $30 price tag.”17 He criticized the Space Age content specifically, noting “Compared with the other 14 epochs in Empire Earth, space in The Art of Conquest is almost as empty as the real thing” and describing spaceships as “essentially big, ugly boats.”17

PC Zone UK rated it 84/100, while PC Gamer gave it only 51/100, stating “You’re left with the feeling that someone decided that an add-on was a good way to get you to pay more for ‘Empire Earth’s bounteous content overflow.”18 ActionTrip scored it 51/100, noting “the AI still wasn’t tweaked properly” and that “units still act aggressively; blindly rushing forth to battle and disregarding the orders they’ve been given.”16

Modern Assessment

Over time, the expansion has developed a dedicated following among strategy game enthusiasts, with many appreciating its ambition despite its flaws. Community members have noted that “this program is over 10 years old, but still captivates your imagination.”10 The game maintains an active modding community and fan-maintained servers that keep multiplayer alive years after official server shutdown.

Aggregate Scores:

  • Metacritic: 63/100 (Mixed or Average based on 13 critic reviews)16
  • GameRankings: 66.13%18
  • IMDb: 7.6/10 (15 ratings)19

Rankings (as of archived data):

  • Overall Rank: #8,140
  • PC Rank: #1,976
  • 2002 Games Rank: #582
  • 2002 PC Games Rank: #13818

Development

Origins

The expansion pack was planned before the original Empire Earth was even released, with Sierra Entertainment recognizing the potential for additional content to extend the life of what was already shaping up to be a major strategy title.1 Brand manager Steve Beinner explained the motivation: “People were asking for additional scenarios and extra units. That’s based upon surveys we did and distributors on a worldwide basis.”1 The development team’s goal was simple: “giving the people who love Empire Earth even more of it.”5

Production

Development began in early 2002, but a significant change occurred when the project was transferred from Stainless Steel Studios to Mad Doc Software.1 Stainless Steel, led by designer Rick Goodman who had previously created Age of Empires, was occupied developing their next project, Empires: Dawn of the Modern World.1 All designers working on the expansion had worked on the original game, ensuring continuity in design philosophy.5

The development schedule was tight, preventing the team from showing the game at E3.1 Beta testing began on August 5, 2002, with a single multiplayer map available for testing.1 One IGN preview visitor to the Impressions Games studio in Cambridge noted the creative liberties taken with the Space Age, commenting: “I still find it humorous that the team was harvesting pumpkins on Mars to provide food.”5 The team specifically avoided traditional ship designs for space units and wrote new physics for spaceship movement.5

Development Credits:19

  • Director: Rex Bradford
  • Designer: Dr. Ian Lane Davis

Technical Achievements

The Art of Conquest built upon the Titan engine used in the original Empire Earth, adding upgraded graphics including new terrain, lighting, battlefield scarring, and environmental effects.3 The Space Age required entirely new assets including space docks, turrets, spaceports, and an orbital space station wonder.20 The game utilized DirectX 7 for rendering, with the Miles Sound System handling audio.9

Technical Specifications

System Requirements:6

  • Minimum: Pentium II 350 MHz, 64 MB RAM, 8 MB 3D accelerator, 550 MB free disk space, CD-ROM drive
  • Recommended: Pentium III 600 MHz, 128 MB RAM, 32 MB 3D accelerator
  • Operating System: Windows 95/98/ME, Windows 2000, Windows XP21
  • API: Direct3D 721
  • Audio: DirectX-compatible sound card
  • Multiplayer: Up to 16 players over LAN or Internet22
  • Copy Protection: SafeDisc v223

Networking:24

  • TCP Ports: 33334-33336
  • UDP Ports: 33334 and 33336

Cut Content

The original Empire Earth’s English campaigns were removed in the expansion, replaced by the three new campaigns.25 A Global Ranking System was originally planned and described on the box of the European release, but was never implemented.26

Version History

VersionDatePlatformNotes
1.0September 17, 2002WindowsNorth American release4
1.0October 4, 2002WindowsEuropean release1
1.0October 21, 2002WindowsAustralian release27
1.0February 28, 2003WindowsJapanese release (Capcom publisher)28
Gold EditionMay 6, 2003WindowsBundled with original Empire Earth1

Community Patch Versions:24

Game VersionTypeNotes
1.0.0.2657OriginalUp to date official version
1.0.0.7590NeoEE 2.0.0.5Community patch with multiplayer revival

Note: The Art of Conquest never received an official patch from Mad Doc Software or Sierra Entertainment.21

Technical Issues

The game was designed for Windows 98 and relies on components not well-supported on modern versions of Windows.24 Known issues include:

  • Crash on using Hardware T&L on certain modern graphics cards21
  • Game freezes in main menu on Windows 1021
  • Game stuck in 24Hz on HDMI monitors21
  • Crashes after loading Asian mission 3 in Polish language version21
  • Game freezes at resolutions 2560x1440 and above21
  • Star map underlying space terrain doesn’t shift with view, making scrolling confusing6
  • Unit AI behaves erratically—cavalry units turn around during exploration6
  • Path-finding issues with big, slow units, especially with rally points6
  • Cutscenes can trigger during battle, leaving troops uncontrolled6
  • Unit acknowledgements echo with delays when selecting large groups6
  • Script bug in Roman campaign allows player to destroy pyramid without being defeated1
  • Multiplayer has many exploits giving unfair advantages1
  • Intel HD Graphics compatibility issues24
  • Minimap partially white with AMD graphics cards24

Easter Eggs and Trivia

  • The main theme features Latin lyrics composed by Ed Lima: “Terra imperium, Terra imperium, Armipotentis, Hostilis, Formidabilis, Sanguinis, Aedifico, Exploro, Imperator, Supera, Terra tua, Terra tua.”29
  • Roman units speak Latin phrases, with centurions exclaiming “vini, vidi, vici” when selected.6
  • The game features “cyber ninjas” as a unique Space Age unit, which GameSpy highlighted in their review: “It’s got three new campaigns, a new epoch and cyber ninjas. What more could Empire Earth want?”3
  • Robots replace Citizens in the Nano Age and infantry in the Space Age, with Nano Age farms run by robots and Space Age farms requiring no citizen management.7
  • The official forums featured a Latin anti-cheating warning: “O cheaters, if you do not mend your ways, know that you will suffer a dreadful fate.”30

Cheat Codes:11

  • “my name is methos” - All cheats enabled
  • “all your base are belong to us” - 100,000 of each resource
  • “atm” - Lots of gold
  • “boston rent” - No gold
  • “asus drivers” - Reveal map
  • “brainstorm” - Instant building and research
  • “the quotable patella” - Upgrade all units to level 10
  • “friendly skies” - Planes refuel in air
  • “coffee train” - Complete all building construction

Voice Cast

Voice direction was handled internally, with unit voice lines recorded for various civilizations and epochs. The Roman campaign features units speaking Latin phrases, while the Pacific campaign includes period-appropriate military dialogue.6

Legacy

Sales and Commercial Impact

The base game Empire Earth sold more than 1 million copies worldwide according to Sierra, establishing a strong foundation for the expansion.4 The Art of Conquest sold 50,000 units in France alone by March 2005.1 The expansion retailed at a suggested price of $29.99 USD, which many reviewers considered steep for the amount of content provided.4

Awards

The original Empire Earth received significant recognition which helped promote the expansion:

  • PC Game of the Year from GameSpy.com2
  • Gold Award from PC Action magazine (Germany)2
  • Trophy Award for special achievement in gaming from PC Team magazine (France)2

Collections

  • Empire Earth Gold Edition (May 6, 2003) - Included both the original Empire Earth and The Art of Conquest expansion1
  • Empire Earth: Platinum Edition (Europe) - Alternative regional naming26
  • Empire Earth: Complete (Japan) - Japanese market release26

The game is currently available digitally through GOG.com as part of the Empire Earth Gold Edition package.31

Server Shutdown

Sierra announced that matchmaking services for Empire Earth and The Art of Conquest would be taken offline on November 1, 2008, as part of a shutdown affecting 21 Sierra titles.32 WON servers officially shut down at 7pm GMT on November 3, 2008.1 As Blake Ellison reported: “Online multiplayer in games will still be playable but players will have to use direct IP connections to servers or use third-party server browsing software.”32

Fan Projects

The community has maintained the game through various projects:

  • NeoEE Lobby Client - Replaces official multiplayer servers, adds new language support, fixes bugs, and adds new content21
  • Empire Earth Community (empireearth.eu) - Provides compatibility fixes and maintains multiplayer functionality with no alteration to original gameplay31
  • EPO_EEMOD - A major modification adding new technological trees, buildings, shadows, larger lots, spaceships, anti-missile defense, wall and tower models, special units, gates, and enhanced wall resistance33
  • EE Tweaks Mod - Performance fixes and customization options including 4GB patch support for large maps above 1000x100034

The game is not available on Steam, and according to community sources, “rights holders have no plans for Steam release or game’s future.”31

  • Empire Earth: The Art of Conquest Prima’s Official Strategy Guide - Written by IMGS, Inc., Melissa Tyler, Tuesday Frase, and Prima Temp Authors Staff. Published by Prima Games, October 1, 2002. 240 pages. ISBN: 0-7615-3981-635
    • Features award-winning advice from tournament champions
    • Complete campaign walkthroughs with maps for all scenarios
    • Tips from the developer for all three new campaigns
    • Detailed stats and tips for every unit and building
    • Civilization pros and cons with details on new civilization powers35

Critical Perspective

Empire Earth: The Art of Conquest represents an ambitious but ultimately uneven attempt to expand one of the most comprehensive real-time strategy games of its era. While the original Empire Earth was praised for its unprecedented scope—spanning from prehistory to a speculative future—the expansion struggled to add meaningful depth beyond quantity. As IGN’s Steve Butts observed: “While it’s a solid game, there’s just not enough here to compel me to reawaken the substantial addiction the first game generated.”6

The Space Age additions, while conceptually interesting, failed to live up to their potential. GameSpot’s Tom Chick noted that “compared with the other 14 epochs in Empire Earth, space in The Art of Conquest is almost as empty as the real thing.”17 The expansion exemplified a common challenge in strategy game design: adding more content doesn’t necessarily create a richer experience. Some community members were even harsher, with one fan stating: “To put it bluntly, it is terrible, even for an expansion pack” and “In my opinion, this should have been a patch, not an expansion!”36

Despite these criticisms, The Art of Conquest has maintained a dedicated fanbase who appreciate its civilization powers system and the nostalgic appeal of its epic scope. The active modding community and fan-maintained servers demonstrate that for a subset of strategy enthusiasts, the game continues to offer compelling gameplay more than two decades after release. Its legacy lies not in revolutionizing the genre but in demonstrating both the possibilities and limitations of expansion pack design in the early 2000s RTS landscape.

Downloads

Purchase / Digital Stores

Download / Preservation

Manuals & Extras

Series Continuity

Empire Earth: The Art of Conquest serves as the bridge between the original 2001 Empire Earth and its sequel Empire Earth II (2005). While the expansion didn’t dramatically alter the series’ formula, it established the precedent for the franchise’s continued focus on spanning all of human history and beyond. The civilization powers system introduced in The Art of Conquest would influence later entries, though Empire Earth II would be developed by Mad Doc Software—the same team behind this expansion—rather than original creator Stainless Steel Studios.

References

Footnotes

  1. Wikipedia – Empire Earth: The Art of Conquest – development history, release dates, sales data, reception, developer transfer information ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12 ↩13 ↩14 ↩15 ↩16 ↩17 ↩18 ↩19 ↩20 ↩21

  2. Strategy Informer – Preview (Wayback Machine) – awards, sales data, Space Age epoch details ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  3. GameSpy – Empire Earth: The Art of Conquest – game features, civilization examples, ESRB rating ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  4. GameSpot – Empire Earth Expansion Ships – release announcement, pricing, sales figures ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  5. IGN – Preview Article – development insights, studio visit, design philosophy ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  6. IGN – Review (Wayback Machine) – detailed review scores, technical issues, gameplay critique ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12

  7. Empire Earth Fandom Wiki – campaign descriptions, robot mechanics, multiplayer shutdown date ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  8. Rotten Tomatoes – Overview (Wayback Machine) – features list, ESRB rating, military heroes ↩ ↩2

  9. Manual Machine – Official Manual – lore details, publisher information, system requirements ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  10. eBay – Product Listing – user reviews, product specifications, customer perspectives ↩ ↩2

  11. Neoseeker – Cheats – cheat codes, gameplay tips ↩ ↩2

  12. eBay – Listing Details – technical specifications, player count ↩

  13. Vipansoft – Download Page – variable difficulty information ↩

  14. SuperCheats – Powers Walkthrough – civilization powers system, costs, epoch restrictions ↩ ↩2

  15. Metacritic – Reviews – GameZone review quote, aggregate data ↩

  16. Metacritic – Critic Reviews – multiple review scores, ActionTrip critique ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  17. GameSpot – Review (Wayback Machine) – Tom Chick review, Space Age criticism ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  18. GameRankings (Archive.today) – aggregate score, individual review scores, rankings ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  19. IMDb – Empire Earth: The Art of Conquest – director credit, user rating, release date ↩ ↩2

  20. Scribd – Document Summary – Space Age buildings and features ↩

  21. PCGamingWiki – Empire Earth – technical specifications, known bugs, patch information ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9

  22. GameSpy (Wayback Machine) – multiplayer specifications ↩

  23. GameCopyWorld – copy protection information ↩

  24. Empire Earth Community – Help – technical issues, networking ports, DirectX information ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  25. GameFAQs – Review – cut content, audio issues ↩

  26. GameFAQs – FAQs Page – alternate titles, planned features ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  27. GPstore Australia (Wayback Machine) – Australian release date, pricing ↩

  28. GameSpot – Version Information (Wayback Machine) – regional release dates, Capcom publishing ↩

  29. Reddit – Ed Lima Composer Thread – main theme lyrics ↩

  30. VU Games Forums (Wayback Machine) – anti-cheating warning, forum activity ↩

  31. Empire Earth Community – Download – digital availability, community versions ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  32. Shacknews – Server Shutdown (Wayback Machine) – server shutdown details, date ↩ ↩2

  33. ModDB – EPO Mod – mod features, download statistics ↩

  34. GitHub – EE Tweaks Mod – performance fixes, 4GB patch ↩

  35. AbeBooks – Strategy Guide – guide details, ISBN, page count ↩ ↩2

  36. Wildfire Games Forum – Review Discussion – community reception, criticism ↩

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