Few games are as timeless or as time-obsessed as the city builder. Erectus, an upcoming MMO strategy game currently in closed beta, is no exception. Being developed by Maata Games, Erectus the Game focuses on empire building in the ancient world. Players create cities, maintain economies, and prepare for battle with rival empires or rival alliances. Strategy is at the heart of the game and I found that out immediately when I joined in for the Erectus closed beta.
The game is set 130,000 years in the past. Players take control of Homo sapiens and work to build some of modern man’s first civilizations. Homo sapiens were not alone at that time. Homo erectus, the precursor to modern man, have armies of their own that want to destroy any Homo sapiens they come across. Players can battle one another or they can battle against their common enemy of Homo erectus.
Erectus is a browser-based game. As such, I had a chance to try it on a number of computers. The game ran well on my work computer, my home desktop, and even my Chromebook. It is not a graphically intense game, especially not in its current stage, so Erectus lives and dies by its user interface. I have to say, for the amount of depth and strategy already prevalent in the Erectus closed beta, the interface does a solid job of leading players exactly where they need to go.
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The overworld map for Erectus was confusing at first. While it does show other players, the overworld map seems to repeat over and over. There are hexagonal tiles in which cities, settlements, or scouts can be placed, but the overworld does not reflect each individual map. Once you’ve played a settlement or city, you can zoom in to a micro view of the area which shows the various buildings already built or buildings that can be built as your city grows.
There’s a lot to take in too. Erectus is about empire building, but you start off small. Players maintain both cities and settlements, but start the game with just one settlement. The game’s focus is on acquiring resources to build up your empire, found new settlements, and grow your might however you choose to. Buildings generate resources, such as food, wood, clay, and iron. These buildings have to be run by people, and your population has to be kept happy and well-fed. Furthermore, growing your population requires upgrading your housing as well as upgrading your farms to maintain a certain rate of food production.
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More than just housing, every building can be upgraded in Erectus. Unlike other city building games, Erectus is not about building multiples of the same building or even building placement. Everything is preset at the time of creation. Upgrading a building to level one gives you access to it, and upgrading beyond that improves its functions. Some upgrades have certain prerequisites (such as another building at a certain level), but most upgrades are just a matter of time and resources.
Time is especially important. Buildings are upgraded in real time and can take several hours to complete. Adding more workers helps, but then you sacrifice resource production too. Erectus does have a way to speed up production by spending gold. Gold can be purchased for real money or it is awarded for completing certain objectives within the game. Despite not being a game on Android or iOS, Erectus shares a lot of its design with similar mobile titles.
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Resources are also important. Resource-producing buildings produce resources over time which are then stored for later use. Managing resources includes not only upgrading the buildings that produce them, but also upgrading the storage areas that hold those resources. In addition, there are more advanced buildings like the Stone Mason that can turn resources like clay into stone, which is far rarer than the other resources. Finally, certain advanced buildings like the Butcher Shop can be built to boost overall production of particular resources.
Erectus goes beyond your own empire. There’s a marketplace in which players can trade goods with one another. You can also form alliances with other empires. Players can send valuable resources or their armies to allies to aid them in any battles they may be facing. There is potential for a massive diplomatic meta game, and only time will tell how everything shakes out. As of right now, while in the closed beta and under new player protection, things were quiet for my fledgling empire, but I see great potential in what it may one day be able to do for my allies or against my rivals.
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As much as I liked the idea of Erectus, the first hours of gameplay are all about slowly building up your first settlement and your first city. The on-screen assistant provides missions which reward bonus resources. These ended up being a godsend since they led me in the right direction for advancing my civilization. Even with the help, Erectus is more a slow burn that a rapid explosion of gameplay. The game works exceedingly well as something you play in the background, especially being browser-based. You can take your empire anywhere you have Internet access.
This game is deceptively simple at first, but there’s a ton of depth underneath. While it took some time to get into the rhythm of regularly checking the goings-on of my empire, I began to enjoy the almost passive nature of the game. It is straight-forward enough that the balancing act of managing resource gains and building upgrades will keep most players occupied for a long while. More than just balancing resources, there’s a lot of room for expanding an empire. You can freely found new settlements with the right resources and branch out further on the overworld map. Eventually, you can build up your armies and launch offensive attacks on other empires. I rarely play city builders or strategy games with an eye for conquest, and my time with the closed beta was limited. I did not get a feel for the combat of Erectus, but I did notice a ton of troop options in the buildings that train them. You can even build up cavalry units to aid you in your conquests.
Overall, Erectus is a fun browser MMO and an enjoyable strategy game. I look forward to see where this game goes as the beta progresses.
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