Empire Earth is a few months away from being finished but it has all the ingredients of a hit. In September we should see how the multiplayer mode fares with its 300-plus units. But we have good reason to be confident. Rick Goodman, who was involved in the development of Age Of Empires, and his team are working hard to ensure that the game is balanced with celebrated Starcraft and Age Of Empires players providing help and advice. It all adds up to a game that could be a huge smash when it's released.