The third chapter of the Empire Earth series was released on November 6, 2007 by Sierra Entertainment and was supposed to be a simplified yet dynamic version of the original game and its sequel. This might be the most widely optimistic idea Mad Doc came up with lately and unfortunately it was a failure; instead of winning the masses Empire Earth 3 managed to ruin an otherwise fine concept rendering it virtually unplayable.

Some people complained about the complexity of the game and the fact the dozen distinct eras lead to a long, boring, tedious campaign, and demanded some changes to be made. Unfortunately these ideas were against the basic principles that granted Empire Earth a firm place in the RTS industry, and reducing it to five eras was not the answer. While these epochs are covering roughly the same time period, the game avoids now any resemblance with the historical accuracy and you'll have the unpleasant surprise to see units from different time periods marching side by side.

When embarking in such an epic struggle to conquer the world, one may try to get in the mood by watching the cinematic and this is by no means a bad idea. Sadly, the most you'll play this game you'll get the feeling that in fact, the intro movie was the highlight and from there on, everything just went downhill. Most gamers will start a new game by trying the campaign set, and Empire Earth had a tradition in making this first experience a very entertaining one, with a clear path to follow in order to achieve world domination and a story capable of keeping you wired.

You can choose one of the three factions: Western, Eastern and Middle Eastern with different buildings, units and technologies but otherwise the way you'll evolve and wager wars is pretty much the same. The Western civilization relies heavily on technology so advancing quickly is the key to victory, the Eastern count on the sheer numbers and infantry is the cornerstone of any successful campaign while the Middle Eastern are highly mobile and can deploy buildings where they see fit so constantly harassing the opponent should do the trick.

Trying to complete the entire campaign from the Ancient times to the foreseeable future will require a lot of will power and patience, and it's most likely that the faction you try first will be the only one you'll ever use. The world-domination mode includes a global map and you are free to choose which region to attack first and what improvements to make (imperial, economic, military) in order to move a step closer to the ultimate goal. It might sound pretty glamorous but what you'll actually wind up doing most of the time is fighting these minor tribes scattered all over the planet, as you can't auto-resolve these issues. Furthermore these foes are downright stupid and after expanding for a while, building a decent army are basically sitting ducks waiting to be obliterated; there is no challenge at all in dealing with this opponents and it takes just enough patience to create a medium army and wipe them out.

The lack of imagination is obvious if we take a look at the resources needed for buildings and troops, as you can use wood, ore and fish to create infantry, tanks or any kind of structures while the other type of "resource" is wealth and it is generated by markets and in a lower ratio by city centers. Before rushing to invest more in these lucrative mines and markets, one must be aware that it is perfectly safe to buy more spots for workers inside these structures as the resources are unlimited and one main base is usually enough. Due to this aspect the fights will always be tedious as the opponent can hold on for a long time, building defensive structures and an army capable to slow down the invading force.