Conquest Earth: First Encounter

Conquest Earth: First Encounter is a 1997 real-time strategy game set in a sci-fi post-apocalyptic future, depicting a war between humans and the Jovians, mysterious inhabitants of Jupiter. Players command either faction’s armies, utilizing unique tactics, menu layouts, and specialized units to overcome environmental challenges like Earth’s obstructing atmosphere for Jovians and Jupiter’s sulphur shrouds for humans, enhanced by an innovative picture-in-picture system for viewing up to three battle locations simultaneously.

Conquest Earth: First Encounter: Review

Introduction

In the golden age of real-time strategy games, where Command & Conquer reigned supreme and titans like Total Annihilation and Dark Reign were reshaping the genre, Conquest Earth: First Encounter burst onto the scene in 1997 as a bold, visually arresting challenger. Developed by the unassuming UK studio Data Design Interactive and published by Eidos Interactive, this isometric RTS pitted humanity against the gaseous Jovians of Jupiter in a sci-fi spectacle of interstellar revenge. Though it promised revolutionary camera systems, asymmetric factions, and atmospheric warfare, its legacy is one of frustrated ambition—a game that dazzled on trailers but stumbled in execution, earning infamy as GameSpot’s worst title of 1997. Yet, for historians of RTS evolution, Conquest Earth endures as a fascinating artifact: an innovative misfire that highlighted the era’s technological growing pains and the high bar set by genre giants. This review argues that while its clunky interface and punishing design doomed it commercially, its creative asymmetries and audiovisual flair cement its place as a cult curiosity worth revisiting via emulation.

Development History & Context

Data Design Interactive, a small Manchester-based outfit known for budget titles like LEGO-licensed games and oddities such as Habitrail Hamster Ball, punched above its weight with Conquest Earth. Led by project leader Eamonn P. Barr and producer Stewart Green (who later worked on 44 other titles), the 12-person team—including lead programmer Steven J. Batiste and art director Robert Dorney—crafted a dual-platform release for DOS and Windows in 1997. Published by Eidos amid their pre-Tomb Raider expansion, it shipped on CD-ROM with a Teen ESRB rating, demanding hefty specs: Pentium hardware, 16MB+ RAM, and up to 200MB install space that reviewers lambasted as “größenwahnsinnig” (megalomaniacal).

The late ’90s RTS boom—dominated by Westwood’s C&C clones—provided fertile ground, but Conquest Earth emerged amid stiff competition from StarCraft (imminent), Total Annihilation, and Dark Reign. Technological constraints like sluggish mouse input, DirectDraw limitations for isometric visuals, and nascent multiplayer (LAN/Internet/Null-modem for 2-8 players) shaped its design. Ambitious trailers teased Saturn and PlayStation ports, but poor PC reception killed them, per MobyGames trivia. The soundtrack by psychedelic trance duo Eat Static added cult appeal, with Red Book audio playable on any CD player—a clever ’90s perk. Ultimately, Data Design’s vision of a “two-level” game (tactical battles + strategic oversight) clashed with era hardware, birthing a title reviewers called a “crude Mixtur” between arcade shooter and RTS.

Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive

Conquest Earth‘s plot is a pulpy sci-fi yarn echoing War of the Worlds: humanity’s exploratory probe unleashes Earth microbes on Jupiter’s gaseous natives, the Jovians, sparking vengeful invasion. Players command either human “Bionics” defending a post-apocalyptic Earth or Jovians adapting to hostile atmospheres. Campaigns span 30 missions across 16 terrain types (Earth deserts to Jupiter’s sulfur shrouds), with non-linear elements via waypoints and commander delegation.

Characters and Dialogue: Sparse but flavorful, voiced narrations feature a German Jack Nicholson impersonator (per PC Joker) and cinematic briefings inspired by Babylon 5. Humans embody gritty resilience; Jovians, alien fluidity via morphing (trees, vehicles, “Predator-mode” stealth). Dialogue is functional—orders barked amid chaos—but thematically rich, underscoring asymmetry: Jovians battle Earth’s fog with scout troops, humans pierce Jupiter’s haze.

Themes: Environmental hubris dominates: humanity’s microbial “genocide” births cosmic retribution, critiquing blind expansionism. Post-apocalyptic sci-fi vibes amplify survival stakes, with adaptive warfare (Jovian shape-shifting vs. human tech hierarchies) exploring identity and invasion. Reviewers praised the “bärenstarke Story” (bear-strong narrative, PC Action), but pacing falters in repetitive generator-smashing objectives. Still, its dual campaigns offer replayable asymmetry, rare for 1997 RTS, foreshadowing Homeworld‘s narrative depth.

Gameplay Mechanics & Systems

At core, Conquest Earth is a C&C-esque RTS with tactical twists, but its dual modes—standard skirmish and “Strategy Mode” (global management + real-time battles)—demand manual mastery.

Core Loops: Harvest resources, build hierarchies (humans: factories to mechs; Jovians: morphing bio-units), assault enemy power generators. Units follow waypoints for pathing, with direct control for micro (e.g., manual fire in brawls). AI adapts via ambushes and fog generators (toxic smog mimicking traditional fog of war), but flaws abound: troops circle ineptly, self-destruct buildings, or fire sluggishly.

Combat and Progression: Asymmetric delight—Jovians morph (trees for ambushes, Predator invisibility for hilarity in multiplayer, per Gameplay Benelux); humans deploy rigid tech trees. Picture-in-Picture (PiP) cams monitor three sites TV-style, innovative but fiddly. Multiplayer shines for 2-8 players, but no mid-mission saves frustrate.

UI and Flaws: The Achilles’ heel. “Ultra-trägen Mauszeiger” (ultra-sluggish mouse, PC Action) and spacebar-held menus clog screens; icons are “krümelige” (crumbly). High difficulty spikes (P166+ reqs, endless enemy spawns) force rote rushes. Strategy Mode links macro planning to missions but feels dated, like Amiga-era hybrids (Power Play). Patches existed, but core issues persist—yet morphing and PiP set precedents for StarCraft II‘s observers.

Mechanic	Innovation	Flaw
PiP Views	Multi-location monitoring	Overwhelms UI
Morphing	Jovian tactical depth	Slow execution
Fog Generators	Dynamic visibility	Aggravatingly opaque
Waypoints/Commanders	Pathing delegation	AI pathfinding fails

World-Building, Art & Sound

Set in a gritty solar system duel, worlds feel alive: scanned terrains host 65,536-color rendered sprites amid sulfur storms and Earth fogs. Isometric vistas evoke Babylon 5, with 1,000+ screenshots on MobyGames showcasing explosive FX by Scott Shore.

Visuals: Pre-rendered assets gleam—gerenderte Objekte (PC Joker)—but hardware demands stuttered play. Environments matter: Jovians need visibility troops; humans shroud-piercing gear.

Sound Design: Eat Static’s “fetzigen” (punchy) cosmic trance pulses missions, immersive yet “nervt” (nerve-wracking) after hours (Power Play). Stereo distancing and effects enhance chaos; voiceovers add gravitas.

These elements forge atmosphere—sulfur-veiled Jupiter battles feel alien—but clunky controls dilute immersion, per PC Player’s “ausnehmend schöne Präsentation” undercut by tedium.

Reception & Legacy

Launch reception split: MobyScore 6.0/10 (critics 58%, players 2.8/5). Highs from Reset/Gameplay (90%): “grafikę i dźwięk – jest to prawdziwa perełka” (graphics/sound pearl). Lows from GameSpot (37%): “boundless problems”; CGW (40%): “skip this one”; satirical “Strategy Coaster of the Year.” Germans decried UI (“Amnesty International,” PC Games 48%); French called it “navet mal dégrossi” (poorly polished turd, Joystick 45%).

Commercially, it flopped—cancelled consoles, palettenweise stock (PC Games). Legacy: Obscure, influencing none directly (related games like Earth 2160 coincidental). Yet, it pioneered PiP/multi-views (echoed in modern RTS) and asymmetry, a footnote in RTS history amid C&C shadows. Abandonware status aids preservation; emulators revive its quirks for retro fans.

Conclusion

Conquest Earth: First Encounter is a noble failure: visionary in Jovian morphs, PiP innovation, and dual-mode depth, yet crippled by ’97 tech woes—sluggish UI, AI blunders, and unforgiving design. Amid RTS luminaries, it faltered, but its audiovisual highs and thematic bite reward patient historians. Not a masterpiece, but a definitive ’90s relic—play for curiosity, not mastery. Verdict: 6/10 – Ambitious cult oddity, forever the “Coaster of the Year.”