Before we begin to woo you all with the incredible intricacies of this expansion, we thought we would start with some of the FYIs first and get them out of the way. We did experience a couple of difficulties with installation of the expansion. You will need to ensure your current version of EEII is patched correctly before attempting to install the expansion. The only other (minor) niggly bit we noticed whilst playing the expansion related to sound. At different intervals during the game, the sound would cut out. We tested the speakers and checked the sound card but everything else was working okay. Just a couple of things to be aware of.

Those things aside, EEII: The Art of Supremacy definitely delivers more to the Armchair Generals out there itching for better ways to out-smart their opponent. But RTS is much more than out-smarting your opponent and The Art of Supremacy taps into this in the best way possible.

For those of you that haven't played Empire Earth II, here is a quick run-down to bring you up to speed. Like most RTS games, you can play opposing forces or you can play co-op teams. There are also single- and multi-player modes available. The single-player campaigns are well worth experiencing if you get the opportunity. The basics of the game depends a lot on which type of game you choose to play.

The several different modes are Conquest (destroying your enemy), Crowns (numbers) where you win 'trophies' specified by the host, Crowns (time of possession) where you hold a 'crown' or set of crowns for a specified time limit, Territory Control where you control a percentage of the map, and King of the Hill where a neutral area of the map must be held for a specific time frame. In addition to these there are also Capitals, Allied Capitals, Regicide and Hot Spots. All of these game types are explained in detail in the game manual but it is good to cycle through the different game types to keep things interesting.