"Empire of the Ants": ant wars in Unreal Engine splendor
For some unknown reason, the prettiest strategy game at Gamescom is about warlike ants. But "Empire of the Ants" also has good ideas.
No graphics dazzler: there are clever ideas behind the breathtaking façade of "Empire of the Ants".
(Image: Microids)
It's not easy being an ant. Collecting food, transporting wood, fighting other critters – being an ant is a back-breaking job. And perfect material for a strategy video game, thought Microids for the second time.
"Empire of the Ants" (2024) is actually the French publisher's second ant strategy game after "Empire of the Ants" (2000). Heise online was able to get hands-on experience at Gamescom and discovered that the new installment also has several exciting ideas beyond the adventurous setting.
The prettiest strategy game in the world
First of all, however, it has to be said that "Empire of the Ants" looks stunning. The developer studio Tower Five, hired by Microids, uses the Unreal Engine in the current version 5.4 to throw breathtaking forest scenes onto the screen. Nanite gives the game a mercilessly detailed level of detail at the micro level, Lumen provides atmospheric forest lighting and grandiose blur effects lend depth to the digital microcosm. No strategy game in the world looks better.
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The graphics come into their own particularly well because "Empire of the Ants" is played from far below: While traditional strategy games, including the original released in 2000, are controlled from a bird's eye view, Tower Five has opted for a much closer third-person view. Instead of controlling the action from above as a disembodied entity, here you move a commander ant across the screen.
Strategy from the shoulder perspective
This player-controlled boss insect is not allowed to participate directly in the battles, but can explore the map, issue orders and occasionally drop a buff. Similar to "Mount and Blade", this works quite simply: first you select the right unit, then you use the right shoulder button to send it to the targeted anthill or send it after the desired enemies. This is followed by nicely animated insect battles in which the six-legged creatures impale each other with their pincers.
You can also construct buildings and recruit units from a shoulder perspective: if you are near an ant hill that serves as a base, a circular menu is projected onto the forest floor around it, which is divided into several sections. Individual sections can be selected simply by walking on them with the ant.
If I want to recruit beetles as a new combat unit, for example, I first scurry to the "Units" section of the circle, which then splits into new circular sections with the individual subtypes. The appropriate unit is then trained at the touch of a button. This is a clever solution because you never have to click through abstract menus, but can always stay in the game world.
Information warfare and parachute ants
Once you get used to the scenario and the controls, "Empire of the Ants" also has a touch of classic RTS game design. Scattered across the maps are food and wood, which must be mined by worker ants and transported to the bases. This is used to construct buildings, defenses and units – essentially no different than in "Starcraft" and the like.
What is interesting, however, is a game mechanic that does not exist in "Starcraft": Information Warfare. There is no minimap at the start of a game; it must first be unlocked by building. Additional buildings improve the radar and provide insight into enemy positions. However, because the building slots per anthill are limited, you cannot place such structures in every base. This means that if you find out where your opponent has built his radar installations, you can take them out and completely deprive your opponent of orientation – and yes, there are paratrooper ants that have been set down by flying insects and are particularly suitable for this.
Graphics and substance
Empire of the Ants" is played primarily in a story campaign based on the science fiction book of the same name by French author Bernard Werber. Over three seasons (the ants are dormant in winter!), players can complete a series of missions that include classic ant battles as well as discovery missions. Players can also engage in battles and multiplayer games outside of the campaign.
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"Empire of the Ants" is full of funny and ludicrous ideas that bring a breath of fresh air to the strategy genre. The result does not always run smoothly: from a shoulder perspective, the normal gamer unfamiliar with insects may find it difficult to distinguish between the different types of ants in the chaos of battle. And Tower Five and Microids have yet to prove that the unorthodox scenario can really carry the 20-hour campaign.
Microids' boldness in investing money in the development of an ant strategy game 25 years after the original "Empire of the Ants" definitely deserves a lot of respect. And one thing is already clear: "Empire of the Ants" is not a graphics dazzler, but also has gameplay substance. Nevertheless, a final tip: players with arachnophobia are better off sticking with "Starcraft".
"Empire of the Ants" will be released on November 7 for PC, Xbox Series X/S and Playstation 5.
(dahe)
