Released: March 3, 2009
Publisher: SEGA
Developer: The Creative Assembly
Developer: The Creative Assembly
Platform: PC, Mac
Type: Turn Based Strategy, Real Time Tactics
Graphics: Narly
Game Play: Narly
Originality: Narly
How many hours I’ve wasted: Narly
The Nostalgia Factor: Nary
Empire Total War is an excellent RTS/Turn based strategy game and probably the best of this type I've ever played. It's also one of the few games I play that's been released within the last five years (as most people have probably noticed, most of the games I've reviewed so far, predate the Pentium processor!)
Empire Total War focuses on the historical colonial period leading up to the French Revolution and the Napoleonic wars, featuring several theatres of conflicts including: North America, India, Europe and North Africa. Players can play in either single or online multi-player mode, and the game features a veritable bounty of nationality choices to play from, each with unique military units and government styles.
I'm of course drawn to any form of digital entertainment where I get to slaughter French troops en masse.
There are certainly enough options and unique game play features in Empire Total War, however two things that are simply outstanding about this game: graphics, and the unique game controls.
Graphics
Normally I'm not the type to be bothered much by graphics, but when I was first introduced to this game, I was completely blown away by the exquisite realism, and incredible attention to detail, both graphically and historically. The game will certainly play well on any system, but a high end gaming system will certainly do it better justice. To give you an idea of the difference, the naval picture to the right shows significantly nicer graphics rendered by a higher end system, while the picture below is on a run of the mill system.
Controls
The game controls in this game (and as far as I know) were the first to really be introduced on a level that allowed 18th and 19th century tactics to be realistically controlled. One can move units in rank and file, and move them into other formations, such as infantry squares to ward off cavalry attacks. No more random brawls disintegrating into an unmanageable mess.
Finally, Ships of the Line
I also have to mention that the naval combat sequences, while rudimentary is some ways (the AI ships will simply turn in circles once battle has commenced) is exceedingly well developed and exciting in others. Ships must be controlled as real sailing ships would be... making for significantly challenging battles when you don't have the weather gauge. And there's nothing more thrilling than crossing an enemy warships stern and raking her with a broadside or three, then watching as her crew throw themselves into the ocean as the ship burns and sinks!
Stupid Artillery
I have only two complaints about this game: One, the game is at times a little buggy. Sudden crashes in the middle of an epic battle that I was just barely winning against insurmountable odds happen far too often for my liking. Additionally, the computer AI controlling the firing of my artillery was more than just a "bit" stupid. I would signal a charge to my cavalry to finish off a retreating enemy unit formation that had just been shattered by grapeshot, and just as my cavalry crossed in front of one of my artillery positions, they're cut down by a massed volley of grapeshot from a "friendly" artillery unit that was supposed to have been holding fire. Too frequently, many of my casualties would be due to friendly fire.
Still, if you like history and RTS games, and you like slaughtering digital Frenchmen, Empire Total War is worth checking out... particularly now as it's being sold on Steam at a significantly reduced price.
Empire Total War is an excellent RTS/Turn based strategy game and probably the best of this type I've ever played. It's also one of the few games I play that's been released within the last five years (as most people have probably noticed, most of the games I've reviewed so far, predate the Pentium processor!)
Empire Total War focuses on the historical colonial period leading up to the French Revolution and the Napoleonic wars, featuring several theatres of conflicts including: North America, India, Europe and North Africa. Players can play in either single or online multi-player mode, and the game features a veritable bounty of nationality choices to play from, each with unique military units and government styles.
I'm of course drawn to any form of digital entertainment where I get to slaughter French troops en masse.
 |
| Naval combat |
Graphics
Normally I'm not the type to be bothered much by graphics, but when I was first introduced to this game, I was completely blown away by the exquisite realism, and incredible attention to detail, both graphically and historically. The game will certainly play well on any system, but a high end gaming system will certainly do it better justice. To give you an idea of the difference, the naval picture to the right shows significantly nicer graphics rendered by a higher end system, while the picture below is on a run of the mill system.
Controls
The game controls in this game (and as far as I know) were the first to really be introduced on a level that allowed 18th and 19th century tactics to be realistically controlled. One can move units in rank and file, and move them into other formations, such as infantry squares to ward off cavalry attacks. No more random brawls disintegrating into an unmanageable mess.
 |
| Cavalry charge |
I also have to mention that the naval combat sequences, while rudimentary is some ways (the AI ships will simply turn in circles once battle has commenced) is exceedingly well developed and exciting in others. Ships must be controlled as real sailing ships would be... making for significantly challenging battles when you don't have the weather gauge. And there's nothing more thrilling than crossing an enemy warships stern and raking her with a broadside or three, then watching as her crew throw themselves into the ocean as the ship burns and sinks!
Stupid Artillery
I have only two complaints about this game: One, the game is at times a little buggy. Sudden crashes in the middle of an epic battle that I was just barely winning against insurmountable odds happen far too often for my liking. Additionally, the computer AI controlling the firing of my artillery was more than just a "bit" stupid. I would signal a charge to my cavalry to finish off a retreating enemy unit formation that had just been shattered by grapeshot, and just as my cavalry crossed in front of one of my artillery positions, they're cut down by a massed volley of grapeshot from a "friendly" artillery unit that was supposed to have been holding fire. Too frequently, many of my casualties would be due to friendly fire.
Still, if you like history and RTS games, and you like slaughtering digital Frenchmen, Empire Total War is worth checking out... particularly now as it's being sold on Steam at a significantly reduced price.
Comments
Post a Comment