Empire Earth: The Art of Conquest - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

The overall reception of Art of Conquest was lukewarm. Game Rankings averaged it at 66%, and Metacritic averaged it slightly lower, at 63%. IGN, who gave it a 7.8 out of 10, stated "While it's a solid game, there's just not enough here to compel me to reawaken the substantial addiction the first game generated. Whether or not it's worth it for you to pick this one up depends almost entirely on how much you enjoyed the original game. With so few significant changes it plays almost exactly the same. For those who couldn't get enough of Empire Earth, the expansion should be a perfect fit. Just don't expect the breadth and scope of the first game." Armchair Empire gave the game a 6.8 out of 10, and commented "AoC doesn’t exactly bring any shame or disgrace to Empire Earth (EE), but it doesn’t do anything to make itself a must have for EE fans. That being said, most EE fans will like what AoC has to offer." Finally, GameSpot gave it a 5.2 out of 10, and said "Ultimately, The Art of Conquest doesn't add enough to make much of a difference." A notable criticism from GameSpot was regarding the way Space was implemented in the game. Spaceships were only available on certain maps and the gameplay was very similar to water—a dock-type building is built and spaceships travel much like naval ships. Other reviewers found fault with the game's price of 30 USD. The IGN reviewer said "I like Art of Conquest enough but it just falls short of being worth the $30 price tag."

Art of Conquest's music was never released as a soundtrack CD, but the music in the game received critical approval, receiving 7 out of 10 from GameSpot. IGN described the sound as "convincing enough, with realistic battle noises throughout the game's various ages. Each type of attack makes a particular sound and, after a while, you can develop a good sense of the scope of a given battle just by listening to it". IGN gave the sound 7 out of 10 overall, but did have some criticism, remarking that "A few glitches detract from an otherwise sufficient soundtrack. Voices are decent and the music is good.