Empire Universe 3

Empire Universe 3 (also aptly known in abbreviated form as simply EU3) is the third installment in the relatively cult underground-revered Empire Universe series. With this recent third installment, however, publisher Looki Publishing has by all accounts done everything in its power to get the series a bit more attention in popularity. And what with the recent and surging boom in general MMO game popularity, there’s likely never been a better time for them to do so then now.

So how does it play? What do you even do in the game/series? And, most importantly, is it worth your time? Well, we’ll get to all of that and then some in due time, young padawan, but until then let’s firstly take a quick look at the basics.

Cue em’!

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Publisher: Looki Publishing

Number of players: Average

Type of MMO: MMORTS

EXP Rate: Moderate

PvP: Yes

Filesize: Browser-based

Worth Your Time: Most likely

Pros: Refreshing, in-depth, rewarding MMORTS gameplay; Strong strategic aspect to both playing the game itself as well as mapping out your best shot at winning (or in this game’s case, not losing/being wiped off the map); Solid, enjoyable tutorial; Plethora of various character race, class and customization choices.

Cons: Playerbase could be larger (and hopefully will be soon); Graphics and design are sub-par (but perfectly understandable considering the niche); Several under-explained aspects to initial character/empire creation.

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>> GAMEPLAY

What Empire Universe 3 sets out to do, it accomplishes quite greatly. Ultimately, this game is about combining a cornucopia of variously addicting gameplay mechanics and winding them together into a tight, deep, surprisingly enjoyable title the likes of which you’ve probably never even come close to playing in a browser-based game before.

Seriously, what Looki Publishing has done here with EU3 (despite it having puzzlingly enough taken three whole attempts to finally and truly nail) isn’t rocket science. They’ve merely combined such beloved, hyperly-addicting gameplay mechanics such as empire building, resource/logistics and military fleet management, tech research, real-time strategy (RTS) and simply throw it into a bucket along with a healthy dollop of massively multiplayer online (MMO) capabilities and BAM! As Emeril would so famously say, “Aw yeah, babe!”

Aw yeah, babe’s right — spot on!

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>> GRAPHICS

Ah, here we are. We’ve finally and officially arrived at the site of the other shoe dropping for this game. If you’ve been waiting expectantly for it to occur, good on you and here’s a gold star. However, since Empire Universe 3 is an MMORTS, it almost technically gets a pass for having sub-par graphics. And adding in the fact that the rest of the game is so finely-tuned, deep and well-made, well… you’ll excuse us for not docking too much points from Empire Universe 3 for somehow not having managed the miracle of producing breathtakingly beautiful graphics in the title.

Yes, the game could use a tad more color and a bit more “oomph” design-wise perhaps, but then again, this is a dark and gritty sci-fi setting we’re playing with here. And as we learned oh-so-well from Mass Effect 3, sometimes a game’s setting and overall atmosphere simply dictate that overall presentation, color-scheme and mood of the finished in-game setting.

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>> THE BOTTOM LINE

Empire Universe 3 ultimately manages to present an intriguing mixture of addicting MMO play, deep and classic RTS strategy and a plethora of various character, world and empire customization options all into a refreshing, well-made browser-based title. Don’t let the dreaded browser-based tag scare you off or cause you to get it twisted any other way: this game is solid and you’d do well to give it a shot even if you’re only vaguely interested. Because there’s an extremely good chance you won’t be disappointed.

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FINAL SCORE:  8.0 out of 10 stars

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