User Summary
Empire II, The Art Of War, is the third game in the Empire series, following Empire, Wargame of the Century and Empire Deluxe.
EII is billed as being the tactical level continuation of the two earlier games' strategic foci.
In reality, EII is a powerful wargame construction kit, some aspects of which remain unique among computer wargames, such as the built-in ability to customize the sounds units make during various types of movement and combat, the ability to log entire games and watch the replay and the overall depth of the various editing functions.
The unit editor, for example, not only allows the typical edits, such as strength, movement rate, sighting and firing ranges, but actually includes an easy to use paint program to allow unlimited unit designs.
One of the most unique features of EII is the ability to play any scenario in either sequential mode (aka "I go - you go") or parallel mode (aka "we go").
Battles can be fought between as many as four players, each of whom has the ability to control military units unique to his side. Alliances of 2 vs. 2, 3 vs. 1 or any combination are possible.
The included 33 scenarios cover a wide range of historical battles, ranging from Arbela in ancient times, to Waterloo and modern-day battles, as well as a fantasy battle with wizards and a futuristic battle.