[h1]An old, but gold game that is sadly overlooked[/h1]
Empires is a dated game by all means, it spans back easily 15 years ago if the release date is anything to go by. I remember playing it in my younger years, and it was a game that combined FPS with RTS elements, for [b]free[/b] no less, truly one couldn't complain that that!
Sure on the surface it might seem simple, spawn as an infantrymen, use guns, shoot the enemies, spawn vehicles, kill buildings, ez ez gg right?
[h3]Suprisingly, the game is quite complex, but not so much it overwhelms you.[/h3]
What makes this game charming, [b]especially compared to more modern games[/b] is that the interface is pretty self explanatory in every aspects, even not having played this game for [b]a decade[/b] I can still grasp the controls fairly well (Now some things I do need to check the controls for, like changing squads and loadouts)
But where the real meat of the game shines is the [b]commander[/b] role, and vehicles. You can see in the screenshots that you can customise vehicles in many ways, different weapons, different armour types, different engines, even down to [b]how much armour you put on specific parts of your vehicle[/b], and even a weight system limiting what you put on the vehicle, allowing for interesting tactical gameplay elements.
The Commander gets you all these goodies through researching, which is surprisingly in-depth, requiring you to go through several sections to get what you need. They can take part in the action themselves, but someone has to lead the team, place buildings down, research, and make sure nothing's going to crap!
Unfortunately infantry gameplay can be rather simple at times, you have 4 roles:
[list]
[*] Rifleman
[*] Engineer
[*] Grenadier
[*] Scout
[/list]
The roles can be summed up like this:
[list]
[*] Rifleman - Standard infantryman, shoot shoot, kill kill (Assault Rifle, Heavy Rifle, Light Machine Gun)
[*] Engineer - Building buildings and turrets, psuedo-medic and ammo giver (SMG, Close range SMG, Shotgun, building tool)
[*] Grenadier - Rockets? Rockets. (Rocket Launcher. That's it. That's the primary)
[*] Scout - Sabotaging and reconnaissance (SMG, Close range SMG, Sniper Rifle)
[/list]
Whilst you can make small changes like what weapons and skills you use, you'll regardless find yourself drifting more towards the engineer or grenadier loadout, simply because the engineer loadout allows you to revive / heal people, build personal turrets and ammo boxes, and most importantly: [b]build.[/b] Whilst the grenadier is second due to the primary rocket launcher you get to deal with all the vehicles you'll be dealing with en-masse.
[h2]But there's a slight problem...[/h2]
Now. With all that said in mind, [b]this game still goes on![/b] ...But with only around [url=https://steamdb.info/app/17740/charts/]30 - 50 players on weekends,[/url] with a tiny discord that's not really active but it helps keep track of when games are going on.
I will not sugarcoat it to you and pretend you're getting anything grand, [b]you aren't.[/b]
But to me, playing this game is like stepping through a portal into the past, [b]you get to feel in a sense what it was like playing back in the 2000's[/b] and when things felt more... Simpler. Especially with the tiny community, these people are older in every way, its like joining a clan of sorts, people are just gonna talk about any old ♥♥♥♥♥, you're gonna get people saying some [b]radical things[/b] but this was just what it was like back then.
But yet saying all that, its hard to really feel "out of place" in a sense.
This is [b]not[/b] like games like [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/2807960/Battlefield_6/]battlefield[/url], or [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/393380/Squad/]squad[/url], where you are expected to shut up and follow some deranged squad leaders orders otherwise you're "RUINING MEE IMMERSHIONNN!!!!", here in my experience you are less confined to follow or get kicked/banned (I've yet [b]to[/b] see anyone get kicked/banned).
You'll just have people saying you should go [x] or [y], but only because the maps are symmetrical, if you don't get there first, the enemy will, and these maps are surprisingly very closely made, combat is never really far away unless you choose to stay in the back lines and do your own thing.
[h2]All in all...[/h2]
Empires is a solid, old game. It has a concept I just never really saw take off elsewhere, and whilst it may not be as popular as it was a decade and a half ago, [b]it is still fun and still have a tiny, dedicated community,[/b] it still has that source engine jank that you know and love from other source games, and I just very much enjoy it.
Join the game on a weekend, try the tutorial, get a feel for the game and just... Have fun, honestly I expected this community to be more punishing and non-welcoming of newer or returning players, but that's not the experience [b]I've[/b] had so far. You might likely have the same experience, and you might just see what made this game so fun and underrated.
