In Empire Earth II - The Art of Supremacy Expansion, you get to choose from a wide variety of ethnic groups as well as time ranges - to try to build your culture's influence and power.

This expansion brings on a few new unit groups - the Maasai, Zulus, Russians and French. They fall under an "African" grouping and you can play in the African region. In addition, you can create a fully customized civilization, mixing in elements from other civilizations that you appreciate. While this might not be historically accurate, it does really expand the fun of gameplay.

For those who have played Age of Empires or Rise of Nations, the general gameplay will make a lot of sense right off. You have troops, buildings, and a map with natives and enemies on it. Your quest is to slowly build up your culture so that it is stable, able to expand and to protect its borders.

The graphics are great. The game isn't going for a 'realistic' look - these are obviously icons of tanks and structures, not actual, detailed versions. Still, it means you can glance at the map and know where your units are and what is going on quickly.

The sounds in general help gameplay without being obtrusive. This isn't a game of deeply moving drama - it is a thinking, strategy game and the sounds help cue you in on what is going on.

Highly recommended for anyone who loves strategy games. It's a game that you can enjoy for months on end.

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