Empire: Total War

 PC
  • Publisher: Sega
  • Release Date: Mar 3, 2009
User Score
7.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 3194 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,895 out of 3194
  2. Mixed: 545 out of 3194
  3. Negative: 754 out of 3194
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  1. Rainbowsix1326
    May 8, 2011
    7
    I was certainly not dissapointed with this Total War title. Although I found the attention to unit detail rather dissapointing that does not hinder the gameplay in any way. The only thing stopping me from giving this game a 10 is the fact that I found the AI a little bit too glitchy and slow.
  2. not_batman27
    Jan 21, 2013
    7
    at first the game looked terrible to me, there is no proper welcome, if you don't go throught at least the first 2 chapters of the "road to independece" you wont know how to play, but after you play that campaign, the game opens the amazing and large options it has, because of the use of gun powder you have to use completly diffrent tactics. the economy in this game plays a huge role,at first the game looked terrible to me, there is no proper welcome, if you don't go throught at least the first 2 chapters of the "road to independece" you wont know how to play, but after you play that campaign, the game opens the amazing and large options it has, because of the use of gun powder you have to use completly diffrent tactics. the economy in this game plays a huge role, it's very fragile and alliances have diffrent meaning. its very diffrent from the old total war games but it was gonna have a change at some point, all of the people that say they are fans of the total war franchise and say this game is bad, aren't real fans, just because of the change in the game, they were forced to make a diffrent change, in total this is a great and amazing game, shame how people threated it… Expand
  3. CaptainThom
    Jun 27, 2013
    7
    Empire total war has received an unjust amount of criticism allot of which was due to bugs and initial issues with steam. Now the game has been patched its a far better gaming experience but doesn't live up to M2:TW and Rome:TW, battles just aren't as fun or engaging and sieges in particular are a mess.No longer do you attack castles/towns with the buildings from the campaign map insteadEmpire total war has received an unjust amount of criticism allot of which was due to bugs and initial issues with steam. Now the game has been patched its a far better gaming experience but doesn't live up to M2:TW and Rome:TW, battles just aren't as fun or engaging and sieges in particular are a mess.No longer do you attack castles/towns with the buildings from the campaign map instead you attack different forts which are pretty much the same every-time and offer little variety of strategy required to capture them. Naval combat which looked brilliant is just a pain and even after 250 hours i have no clue how it works resulting in the imperfect auto resolve option being used the majority of the time.

    That said the campaign map has been extended dramatically with America, India and trade routes added giving the game a much grander feel. The graphics are also fantastic really stepped up from M2:TW, giving battles a realistic and epic feel. Technology trees also allow you to research advance technology which you can see take effect on the battlefield in the form of new moves or new units, you can use technology to improve the economy or the enlightenment of your people. This adds new complexity to the game and allowing different styles of play to be used.    … Expand
  4. MJ
    Jan 5, 2010
    7
    Al in all a good game, unlike most people i had no problems at release. The land battles are fun as always in the Total War series, but the great campaign is so boring and the ai too easy. For a decent campaing i suggest Rome: Total War or the very unappreciated Imperial Glory, which had many features of Empire years before.
  5. ?
    Jan 5, 2010
    7
    I give 7 why? I think, that Medieval: Total War is better. There is more option in quick battle. Graphics is good, but it can be better and threre are to more errors.
  6. ZuherG
    Jan 30, 2010
    7
    Ive been a player of Total war games since Shogun 10 long years ago, and was sooooo excited by the prospect of guns playing a major role, as well as the naval warfare aspect... neither of these were as grand as I envisaged .... maybe even disappointing.... I dearly hope Napoleon will be better.....
  7. randallp
    Jan 18, 2010
    7
    love this game. but ive had nothing but bad luck with steam. nothing works as it says after a purchase at steam store. support never accepts my support login or passwords. i am very disappointed with steam.
  8. FFStudios
    Jun 8, 2012
    7
    [First impressions] Steam and I have a complicated relationship: sometimes I see it as a smooth and intuitive way to manage games, whilst other times I curse it for my slow Internet and strange glitches. Anyway, back in 2009, I was causing Steam after I lost my first account and the ability to play Empire Total War. Recently, I managed to find my account and activate ETW; so here's a first[First impressions] Steam and I have a complicated relationship: sometimes I see it as a smooth and intuitive way to manage games, whilst other times I curse it for my slow Internet and strange glitches. Anyway, back in 2009, I was causing Steam after I lost my first account and the ability to play Empire Total War. Recently, I managed to find my account and activate ETW; so here's a first impression review. Empire is certainly quite spectacular with a heavier emphasis on gunpowder weapons and yet the stragegy has been lost somewhat now that your units use guns rather than physical weapons, making them less significant and somehow more dull than Medieval 2. The interface has been redesigned, and by that I mean it's completely incomprehensible thanks to the confusing styling and randomly rearranged functions. One of the most significant additions to the game is naval combat; so now you can actually fight the battle rather than clicking "auto-resolve" with every battle, followed by "clear defeat". The naval combat is spectacular, more so than land battles, but is virtually impossible to control. If you select a ship and right click on an enemy, they flat out don't attack; they just dither in circles while the enemy picks away at your hull. The world map isn't much better thanks to a confusing HUD and apparent lack of the flag colouring from Medieval 2 which made it much easier to tell which cities were weak and which we're overflowing. So, after first impressions; Empire Total War is spectacular and mind bending, but suffers from an unintuative interface and confusing AI.… Expand
  9. JimCorbett
    Sep 3, 2012
    7
    As its own game, Empire is flawed and confusing. Add some Mods to it and you will get the true Total War experience. Empire is a daunting change from previous Total War installments but you will eventually get used to it. It is much more difficult to manage and empire and secure your borders due to settlements being spread out. Siege battles, which used to by my favorite part of a totalAs its own game, Empire is flawed and confusing. Add some Mods to it and you will get the true Total War experience. Empire is a daunting change from previous Total War installments but you will eventually get used to it. It is much more difficult to manage and empire and secure your borders due to settlements being spread out. Siege battles, which used to by my favorite part of a total war game, are boring and repetitive. It's still a fun game, but nowhere near as good as previous installments in the series.… Expand
  10. Wulfburk
    Mar 9, 2012
    7
    At the first months after release the ammount of bugs really ruined the game, but now after 4 years, the game does give justice to the Total War series. The only issue is lack of mod tools, being the reason that i took one point of its score (was going to give it a 8) but even without mod tools DarthMod does a great job at making a total overhaul of the game gameplay, graphics, scale andAt the first months after release the ammount of bugs really ruined the game, but now after 4 years, the game does give justice to the Total War series. The only issue is lack of mod tools, being the reason that i took one point of its score (was going to give it a 8) but even without mod tools DarthMod does a great job at making a total overhaul of the game gameplay, graphics, scale and other elements!… Expand
  11. kane148
    Aug 13, 2012
    7
    By time I played this game, they seemed to have sorted out most of the major bugs, for I didn't have much trouble at all playing Empire. I found it to be a good game overall, with a mix of great improvements and disappointing letdowns. The available world is at least twice as large as that of previous titles, as this game introduces North and Central America and the Indian subcontinent toBy time I played this game, they seemed to have sorted out most of the major bugs, for I didn't have much trouble at all playing Empire. I found it to be a good game overall, with a mix of great improvements and disappointing letdowns. The available world is at least twice as large as that of previous titles, as this game introduces North and Central America and the Indian subcontinent to the playable map (as well as a few more distant trade destinations). This gives much more potential territory to conquer and enemies to face, though it has the downside of requiring you to spread further and quicker than in previous games in order to win the campaign. Diplomacy is further developed from earlier games, and there is now much more incentive to be a faithful ally or honest enemy--although countries tend to have the annoying habit of hating you forever once you go to war with them. The introduction of the research system is nice, since it gives you another way to gain (or lose!) the edge against your rivals, and the ability to buy, sell, trade, or steal research can be handy. The battles are somewhat different in this game, since many units now use guns of various sorts, but Empire follows the same basic style as previous titles. I loved the addition of defensive works for besieging armies (mines, trenches, stakes, etc.), which allow one to prepare for counterattacks, as well as the ability of most infantry to use stone walls as cover. There is a pretty good diversity of unit times in this game (especially if you have the DLC unit packs), and this is keenly seen in the vastly improved array of ship types, which make the naval theater much more exciting. For the first time, players can choose to control their fleets directly during naval battles, allowing for strategy to play into the outcome instead of just numbers. Personally I gave up on figuring out the relatively complex controls for naval battles and just used the auto-decide, but I'm sure next time I play I'll find them easier. There are too many other aspects of this game which I'd like to mention, but I'll leave those to others and just say that this game is definitely worth playing if you are a fan of the Total War franchise, and even if not, I'd recommend giving it a shot.… Expand
  12. OverdueReview
    Aug 15, 2012
    7
    Beta game is what popped to mind when I first installed and played this game when it came out. How the #$@%! did this pass QA? Even to this day, after several patches, I can
  13. Braccheus
    May 24, 2011
    6
    While the game adds a lot of complexity to the frame that existed from earlier series in a way that makes the game more realistic and engaging (such as making mines, farms, etc. points within territories that must be defended), the added complexity becomes quite repetitive quite quickly. Unfortunately, the added complexity almost appears to be a half-baked after thought. Diplomacy in theWhile the game adds a lot of complexity to the frame that existed from earlier series in a way that makes the game more realistic and engaging (such as making mines, farms, etc. points within territories that must be defended), the added complexity becomes quite repetitive quite quickly. Unfortunately, the added complexity almost appears to be a half-baked after thought. Diplomacy in the game is almost comically horrible. Military alliances have been replaced by a general alliance system which makes it almost impossible to ally with certain nations due to factors outside the control of the player. Furthermore, it is almost impossible to develop a peace treaty with combatant nations regardless of who started the war or if territory changed hands leading to wars that have lasted for over fifty years (hardly realistic of the time period). Battles also appear quite buggy with animations being performed at the wrong time. While purely cosmetic, it does put a dampener on what is supposed to be the game's main feature. Another problem with the battles is their repetitiveness. While I don't mind fighting a battle for 45 minutes, I have used the same two tactics in almost every battle with either very few losses, or losses that are disproportional to those inflicted on the enemy. Finally, we have the steam element. After purchasing this game, be ready to wait for a roughly 1.5 gig patch to download through steam, and be sure to run steam offline if you have a bad connection. Otherwise, you will be unable to play as you have to be online to turn on the offline mode for steam (go figure). One distinguishing plus to add, however, is the naval battles. Although these are incredibly slow (even with the fast forward button), it is a legit step above simply having ships auto battle each other (especially when your nation is Dependant on a navy to hold its empire together. Graphics are also amazingly good save for the bugs mentioned above. Unfortunately, these are only present in the battles themselves where in general, you're too busy fighting to notice them. In general, Empire Total War is a great game if far from perfect. Admittedly, it was somewhat of a let down for me in comparison to Rome Total War. While fun at first, the problems I mentioned take quite a bit of the fun out of the game. Furthermore, the complexity, which does add a challenging layer, is one more thing to have to have to look after while still implementing the same interface present in Rome Total War which presents its limitations quite quickly.… Expand
  14. OliverDay
    Mar 30, 2009
    6
    A good total war title..
    some how doesnt do it all for me though, in comparrison to say Medival total war the game play is just far better on that, If it wasnt for the sea battles this rating would be a flat 5. I feel that with the release of the patch in may that alot of the lag and jerkyness can be remidied.
  15. JFYoung
    Mar 15, 2009
    5
    Very poor AI. AI embarks and transports no enemy troops on a ship. Many major bugs in the GC = Crash to Desktop. Then after you cant resume your game.

    I played Rome and Medieval II. These 2 games were almost a 10 score but Empire is almost unplayable might be because its unfinished.
  16. DeadGuy
    Mar 2, 2010
    6
    The much talked about battle AI does not cut it at all in ETW, and is certainly no match at all for veterans of the series. The graphics are shiny, there are many innovative features in the campaign, sadly many are left half-done, and patches have not adressed the problem over the many months ETW has been out. Despite it's flaws, I can't say I don't enjoy playing ETW, even The much talked about battle AI does not cut it at all in ETW, and is certainly no match at all for veterans of the series. The graphics are shiny, there are many innovative features in the campaign, sadly many are left half-done, and patches have not adressed the problem over the many months ETW has been out. Despite it's flaws, I can't say I don't enjoy playing ETW, even quite frequently. There are many nations to play, but very little variety between them. Line Infantry are the same across the board, even if they're called something else in some armies. Artillery is extremely powerful and can rip approaching armies to shreds due to the AI being unable to avoid it or close with your lines quick enough, but at the same time it needs to be micromanaged always, because the fire at will function will kill more of your own men than the enemy's.… Expand
  17. J.Morgan
    Mar 8, 2009
    6
    Very...very very buggy.

    Under all those bugs, and honestly there are too many to list (check out the official forums and TW forums) is a great game.

    I don't know if CA will be able to claw threw them all or not, its worse than any TW game on release to date I think.
  18. DanielBarnett
    Mar 11, 2009
    6
    A bit of a disapointment, lots of features mentioned seem to have been cut in the final release, and above all it looks terrible in the battles when zoomed out - I mean really bad, like a 10 year old game with 6 pixel soldiers with waggly legs. Granted it looks great close up, but the AI is poor and the features are alot more limited than we were led to belive.
  19. travisp
    Apr 4, 2009
    5
    ok,first off,steam is the worst piece off junk ever and i think it is totally WORTHLESS! ive used steam before for other games and i couldnt even start the game i was playing,steam should have nothing to do with this game,secondly,empire itself is an amazing game.but it has so many bugs and problems that right now,in my opinion,this game would be a waste of $50,but if they would reviseok,first off,steam is the worst piece off junk ever and i think it is totally WORTHLESS! ive used steam before for other games and i couldnt even start the game i was playing,steam should have nothing to do with this game,secondly,empire itself is an amazing game.but it has so many bugs and problems that right now,in my opinion,this game would be a waste of $50,but if they would revise it,best game ever.… Expand
  20. AndyTang
    Mar 11, 2009
    7
    Game wise, it is fantastic but CA has chosen a bad way of distributing their game, via STEAM. I have terrible experience with STEAM few years back and it fails me again similarly few years later. I wasted 3 hours (some folks on the net even days) without able to install the game, stuck at "Creating local game cache files" due to the large chunk of data required to be downloaded from theGame wise, it is fantastic but CA has chosen a bad way of distributing their game, via STEAM. I have terrible experience with STEAM few years back and it fails me again similarly few years later. I wasted 3 hours (some folks on the net even days) without able to install the game, stuck at "Creating local game cache files" due to the large chunk of data required to be downloaded from the internet before you can even install it. STEAM is a bad bad choice CA.… Expand
  21. JonFusco
    Mar 15, 2009
    6
    With out the Modders to fix this game I will have to rate it a 6. I dont see this game having much of a future and in time I bet players will unistall this game and focus back on playing Rome and M2. To bad the nice graphics and naval battle option was fun.
  22. THoban
    Mar 5, 2009
    7
    The game looks great and the battlefield really comes alive, but the AI remains as dumb as ever. I haven't lost a battle yet because the AI doesn't protect it's artillery. This means that things are a (very pretty) pushover. Hopefullly the promised multiplayer campaign patch will provide some decent human opponents :)
  23. ronaldmcdonald
    Mar 6, 2009
    7
    would like to give it a 10 because it's a fantastic game from what I have seen so far except i can't play it because it crashes ALL the time and i mean that literally all the time.
    I am currently waiting and hoping on patches to fix this before I give it another go, I really is unplayable in it's current state.
  24. JohnS
    Mar 25, 2009
    5
    This could have been the best TW to date, and given six months of patching probably will be, at the moment though it is so poorly finished as to be a waste of money. The game has some awful bugs that couldn't have been missed in playtesting so I can only assume the publishers concluded a public beta was the cheapest way forward - the most game breaking bug for me is the inability ofThis could have been the best TW to date, and given six months of patching probably will be, at the moment though it is so poorly finished as to be a waste of money. The game has some awful bugs that couldn't have been missed in playtesting so I can only assume the publishers concluded a public beta was the cheapest way forward - the most game breaking bug for me is the inability of the AI to invade across water - it simply cannot use land armies and ships to land invasion forces. In effect nations like Great Britain are invulnerable at the present time. Its depressing that most reviewers (both professional and otherwise) are simply scoring it on the basis of the game they hope it will be rather than the game it is today, to what extent this is down to them simply not noticing the poor AI and attributing their success to 'skill' is an interesting question particularly in relation to those who do this for a living.

    It will almost certainly be a great game once patched up, but anyone considering the purchase may be better served holding off for a few patches.    … Expand
  25. wordy_actions
    Jul 26, 2011
    5
    I am a massive Total War fan, but Empire: Total War was disappointing and a missed opportunity. While some new features were extremely welcome, such as more robust diplomacy and research, ultimately what stopped this from being great were the tactical battles. There was almost no interesting dynamics to the battles. Cavalry and artillery were under-powered, and you could win the entireI am a massive Total War fan, but Empire: Total War was disappointing and a missed opportunity. While some new features were extremely welcome, such as more robust diplomacy and research, ultimately what stopped this from being great were the tactical battles. There was almost no interesting dynamics to the battles. Cavalry and artillery were under-powered, and you could win the entire campaign with only massed line infantry. Naval battles were spectacular to look at, but controlling more than one ship was a headache. As to the campaign map, while the epic scope was appreciated, the fact that the map was so large that it made the campaign slow and unfocused. Compared to such masterpieces as Rome: Total War and Medieval II: Total War, this one was a let-down. Anyone interested in the Total War series I recommend you get Total War: Shogun 2 and skip this one.… Expand
  26. AlexV
    Mar 8, 2009
    5
    The game is obviously great but steam has destroyed any pleasure in gaming that could have existed.. takes 2 days to download and its so full of bugs and crashes that its not playable.. i hope they learn! game was great the 1 hour it worked before i used 6 hours trying to fix it. feels like i bought a beta at retail price
  27. RickLeee
    Mar 10, 2009
    7
    this game would be a 10 if the game would actually play battles but the grand campaign deserves a ten and it is not my computers fault either actually its a little ironic that a pamphlet in the empire box says runs great on alienware m17 because it doesn't most of the time and my m17 is the best you can get it
  28. MaciejP
    Mar 11, 2009
    5
    The Game is great but because Steam it lost much of its magic. You can play only whe you are online, play only if you have updated version and even if the patch mess your game totally like it has happend with the first patch. I think that it was bad idea and because of that CA will loose their loyal players.
  29. DollaBill
    Mar 27, 2009
    6
    The game has excellent gameplay and is quite enjoyable, but every campaign I've tried has eventually hit some fatal glitch and effectively ceased to exist. It's really annoying and makes the entire grand campaign into an exercise in futility. Don't get it until there are patches.
  30. krish
    Jan 19, 2010
    5
    Average at best, so many disapointments. Ai you have to babysit to get any challenge. To easy to exploit the ai, in its siniter non responsive way. When there's a cheap offer on then buy it. 50 euros it's not worth. I wouldn't recommend it in its current state (melee bug) no hotfixes and no more major patches on the horizon, maybe for 10 euros that's all it's Average at best, so many disapointments. Ai you have to babysit to get any challenge. To easy to exploit the ai, in its siniter non responsive way. When there's a cheap offer on then buy it. 50 euros it's not worth. I wouldn't recommend it in its current state (melee bug) no hotfixes and no more major patches on the horizon, maybe for 10 euros that's all it's worth in my oppinion, sad only after 10 months of release.… Expand
  31. JoshN
    Jan 20, 2010
    6
    Game is a little Buggy which still don't seem to have been fixed. It requires vastly more power than the result really needs. Its laggy on my new "Gamer" laptop. And the graphics are not that much more impressive than Rome: Total War. However, the gigantic world map is fantastic, the units are well balanced. Also the sea battles are great as i have been wanting them for some time. Game is a little Buggy which still don't seem to have been fixed. It requires vastly more power than the result really needs. Its laggy on my new "Gamer" laptop. And the graphics are not that much more impressive than Rome: Total War. However, the gigantic world map is fantastic, the units are well balanced. Also the sea battles are great as i have been wanting them for some time. But have to turn of the water affects despite my 512mb ATI Radeon card -_- and 4|GB RAM. A good game but just seems rushed and the power requirements are ridiculous when you see what u actually get in return!… Expand
  32. RL
    Jan 4, 2010
    5
    Game with much potential, but not realised - even after 10 months of extra development. CA/Sega have a poor attitude towards this title, and it is treated as if it were a beta to the forthcoming Napoleon:Total War.
  33. RBoone
    Feb 17, 2010
    5
    Look this game's battle AI is broken as of now, the devs said they will fix it but honestly the AI has been broken for 6 months now. If they knew how to fix the AI blob/melee bug then they would have done so. The whole game is perfect however because the of various bugs and lack of polish I will give it a 5/10. That's how unplayable the AI bugs make the game. You can win almost Look this game's battle AI is broken as of now, the devs said they will fix it but honestly the AI has been broken for 6 months now. If they knew how to fix the AI blob/melee bug then they would have done so. The whole game is perfect however because the of various bugs and lack of polish I will give it a 5/10. That's how unplayable the AI bugs make the game. You can win almost half your battles without even moving your armies. The AI can't even keep a line to fight you. It's awful, it's worse then any Total war title I've played and I've played all of them past Rome:TW. The thing is even if CA fixed this problem, there's still an astounding amount more that needs fixings such as latest Nvidia card drivers turning hings invisible or the fact we can't repair forts or the AI never making peace with itself. The game leaves a good first impression but once the bugs start to show up and the AI craps out on you, then odds are you won't be having any more fun with this title.… Expand
  34. AnonymousMC
    Mar 17, 2009
    6
    Just got crashed 10th time in a row during loading a save game. Such a pain in the Uss. Its pretty common problem. saves from 20 turns ago seem to work but 4 CH's sake i dont fell like spending another few precious hours replaying that turns, watching every sic! every fckin ship moving across trade routes (tried to hide ai movements in options but it gave me nasty shocks few times soJust got crashed 10th time in a row during loading a save game. Such a pain in the Uss. Its pretty common problem. saves from 20 turns ago seem to work but 4 CH's sake i dont fell like spending another few precious hours replaying that turns, watching every sic! every fckin ship moving across trade routes (tried to hide ai movements in options but it gave me nasty shocks few times so leaving it on is quite a must. they should add option of hiding unimportant ai moves).
    Steam? needles to say... Gr8 BS. I thought relic online sucks but since i bought ETW steam simply is my #1.
    If some1 happened to find a solution for that annoying crashes let me know. id be most grateful.    … Expand
  35. BillD
    Jan 2, 2010
    5
    Should have saved my coin of the realm! Been wargaming since 1975, on the computer since 1982 - so many glitches and poor concepts (solo internet game play a must?!) I will continue to be happy with my dos based SSI titles!
  36. Splix
    Mar 28, 2010
    5
    This game has a lot of new features that I really would have loved to see in previous Total War installments. I love the new Diplomacy Screen. It gives loads of information and doesn't hassle you with having to move diplomats all over the world as in the past. The addition of naval battles is extremely overdue and a welcome new addition. I also like the idea of a technology tree but This game has a lot of new features that I really would have loved to see in previous Total War installments. I love the new Diplomacy Screen. It gives loads of information and doesn't hassle you with having to move diplomats all over the world as in the past. The addition of naval battles is extremely overdue and a welcome new addition. I also like the idea of a technology tree but it could have been implemented in a much better manner than it was in this game. Also being able to build multiple buildings for a settlement is much better I think because it seems a bit more realistic in that what you build is based more on your economy now. I also like how blockading is much better implemented in this installment than in the past games. Now for the things I don't like which far outweigh the good. First off it seems that the AI becomes dumber with each Total War installment. Which to me seems counter intuitive because with better technology at the developers disposal the AI should get smarter with each new game. I absolutely hate the gentlemen, rakes, & missionaries spawning. It is extremely annoying and more so cause half the time I don't want them on the map period, and the implementation of them makes no sense from a realism standpoint. Basically let me use a tax slider for techs, and let me recruit spies & missionaries if I want them. I also do not like the strength cap on armies. It really irritates me when I get limited not on unit slots but on how strong my units are as happened to me with GB getting limited to 14 fourth rate ships. The whole new town thing is just flat out annoying. If they want the game to be more like Civilization then just cut the crap and bring up a screen where I can manage all that junk for the region like in Civilization. The way it is set up now is just annoying and time consuming. I don't like having to click all over the map looking for little spinning hammers just to manage my regions. On the battle map Army control has not improved much either. I must it admit it is far better than MTW2, that was just atrocious, but I still miss the level of control and response from the days of Rome. Another large annoyance is the bugs in this game... Did I say there were bugs in this game? This game crashes so often that it makes it almost unplayable sometimes. It is also extremely slow to respond and freezes up for 15-30 seconds at a time almost every time I click on a naval unit, which sucks when playing a naval power. I would assume it was just my system but I have probably four times the system requirements and have no problem running even the newest games in high quality mode. All in all this game is mediocre at best. It brings some new ideas to the table but leaves you feeling empty when all is said and done. I really can't nail it down but it just doesn't give me that awe struck feel that Rome did when I first played it, and even though I really did not care for the Campaign in MTW2, it still seemed like a fresh and exiting game when compared to Rome. This game though... well... it's just really nothing that special.… Expand
  37. smijatov
    Aug 21, 2011
    6
    Empire Total War definitely had big shoes to fill after Rome, which was one of the best games I've ever played, and most certainly the best Total War game (which are all excellent).
    It surely was entertaining, but the whole concept was a bit off, partially at least, with the fact that it's set in the modern age. The thrill of the 1-on-1 battle that the previous games had is lost to a high    Empire Total War definitely had big shoes to fill after Rome, which was one of the best games I've ever played, and most certainly the best Total War game (which are all excellent).
    It surely was entertaining, but the whole concept was a bit off, partially at least, with the fact that it's set in the modern age. The thrill of the 1-on-1 battle that the previous games had is lost to a high extent due to the time period the game is set in.
    That being said, the graphics are amazing and the sea battles are rather entertaining, though they have a steep learning curve, imo. Usually would just go on the automatic one for that.
    Overall, nice visually but nowhere as exciting as the other Total War games.    … Expand
  38. apaeth
    Apr 4, 2011
    6
    Total waste of time. Admittedly I am new to total war games and the learning curve was quite large for me. So large that what is supposed to be fun simply wasn't. The campaigns are hard, the battles difficult to grasp and the complexity of the whole enchilada made it hard to swallow.

    I started with the Road to Independence campaign and by the start of the 3rd chapter I was overwhelmed. I    Total waste of time. Admittedly I am new to total war games and the learning curve was quite large for me. So large that what is supposed to be fun simply wasn't. The campaigns are hard, the battles difficult to grasp and the complexity of the whole enchilada made it hard to swallow.

    I started with the Road to Independence campaign and by the start of the 3rd chapter I was overwhelmed. I had one army and one city and was surrounded by 5-6 armies - all the neutral factions declared war on me as well the British and after 5-6 failed attempts to get established I just deleted the whole thing from my computer - sigh...    … Expand
  39. islesofurth
    Mar 9, 2011
    5
    while i enjoyed ships battles atlast "finaly can win every fight", the historics within the game were fasinating and playing with guns is always fun, however i greatly disliked the extra turn time that it brought and the lack of fighting capability of garasind units, its like lets go in that house and have tea party we dont need to shoot the oncoming hordes we will just invite them in forwhile i enjoyed ships battles atlast "finaly can win every fight", the historics within the game were fasinating and playing with guns is always fun, however i greatly disliked the extra turn time that it brought and the lack of fighting capability of garasind units, its like lets go in that house and have tea party we dont need to shoot the oncoming hordes we will just invite them in for some supper

    Rome Total War, still the best of the all    … Expand
  40. Ragegoat
    May 9, 2012
    5
    Empire: Total War is a grand scale strategy game in which you play a major power approximately form 1700 to 1800. The game, like other total war games, switches between a turn based mode where you administrate your cities, move armies, do research and so on and a battle mode, where you take real time command of the troops fighting the battles of the turn based mode. The game is very prettyEmpire: Total War is a grand scale strategy game in which you play a major power approximately form 1700 to 1800. The game, like other total war games, switches between a turn based mode where you administrate your cities, move armies, do research and so on and a battle mode, where you take real time command of the troops fighting the battles of the turn based mode. The game is very pretty on a system that can run it, but has unreasonable resource demands. On a low-spec system the usage of sprites is very obvious and pretty horrible to look at. Much older games of the series (Rome, Medieval 2) looked better on such a system as they employed less sprites, and if your PC can run Empire to look good it can also run Shogun 2 to look better. Granted, it is awesome to watch a cannon ball plow through an infantry regiment. The muzzle loader infantry combat also looks very cool, but unfortunately the AI is very unimaginative with regards to using the armies, and what it does usually only amounts to a mass suicide. In older or newer Total War games the AI does much better. The AI also suffers from bugs - for instance when you shoot a hole in a fortress wall the AI might place a unit there and re-evaluate this unit's plans so often that it pushes a good (and way above recommended specs) CPU to the limit. Only way to get the game responsive again is to charge said unit - as soon as it is engaged in close combat the game will start flowing again. While the system for tech, buildings and such is way better than the older installments, Empire also lacks something the older games have: the ability to play as defeated minors. This limits the play time of the game very much, since you'll have access to the same majors beating up the same minors. The diplomatic AI also does a lot for making the game repetitive. Once you end up in war with some country you'll probably be at war till either is destroyed. Peace agreements last few turns since the AI feels very sore about having just lost a war against you decides to go lose another. On the other hand naval combat is very good with historically accurate ships, beautiful graphics and such. Best (and first) total war game for a naval battle in my experience. While Empire: Total War provides a good many hours of entertainment there are better Total War titles out there. I'd recommend playing them first.… Expand
  41. CrackaCrunch
    Aug 13, 2012
    6
    Let me start on the positive side. This game is an absolute MUST for strategy gamers. Excellent total war combination of great battles with turn based strategy inbetween. The main reason I gave the game a 6 though, is that it is very unpolished. From poor AI to awful diplomacy, the game needs a little help. The only reason I'm writing this review is to inform people that with DarthVader'sLet me start on the positive side. This game is an absolute MUST for strategy gamers. Excellent total war combination of great battles with turn based strategy inbetween. The main reason I gave the game a 6 though, is that it is very unpolished. From poor AI to awful diplomacy, the game needs a little help. The only reason I'm writing this review is to inform people that with DarthVader's mod (called DarthMod) this game is an absolute 10. Look up his mod, it is by far and away the most popular, and it sets out to fix all of the things that keep this game from being scored higher. You will NOT be disappointed.… Expand
  42. Hudson633
    Aug 15, 2012
    6
    Fantastic infantry/cavalry/artillery/naval programming, I thoroughly enjoyed the grand campaign multiple times, and playing custom battles on both land and sea. Sadly the enemy AI appears quite basic, either you can run rings round them, or they relentlessly attack. The game is plagued by small bugs and glitches left in, since they weren't completely gamebreaking. But it's heartbreakingFantastic infantry/cavalry/artillery/naval programming, I thoroughly enjoyed the grand campaign multiple times, and playing custom battles on both land and sea. Sadly the enemy AI appears quite basic, either you can run rings round them, or they relentlessly attack. The game is plagued by small bugs and glitches left in, since they weren't completely gamebreaking. But it's heartbreaking that so many weren't fixed, making this a flawed experience. The worst one is a memory leak, reducing frame rates massively, very frustrating. Sometimes I'd rather play Imperial War instead.… Expand
  43. Orctownorc
    Aug 24, 2013
    7
    A game with pros and cons. Sure buy for CA fans and strategy nuts. The game is pretty, with a nice range of factions, a huge map to mess around in and fun tactical battles. Beyond that the game is pretty shoddy, and is so incredibly easy, that it really needs the player to handicap themselves. The craziest feature is political control. Once you conquer an area, the player has to wait aboutA game with pros and cons. Sure buy for CA fans and strategy nuts. The game is pretty, with a nice range of factions, a huge map to mess around in and fun tactical battles. Beyond that the game is pretty shoddy, and is so incredibly easy, that it really needs the player to handicap themselves. The craziest feature is political control. Once you conquer an area, the player has to wait about 12 months before it fully assimilates into your country. Thus you can conquer and hold ALL of Europe, the middle east and the Americas without needing to worry about rebellions, or financial costs that might threaten your complete control of the world. This is of course, ridiculous. Compared to Europa Universalis games it is also POOR game design. CA games look prettier, and it is probably more fun to feel tough and kick everyone in the arse. However as a simulation or 'historic game' it's a complete joke. Also, its no small matter that the loading screens in this game run for ages. Over time there is a lot of time lost waiting for the computer to stuff your screen with mindless prettiness.

    THE GROT REVIEW CRITERIA: After a long time writing reviews like an anus, think its time to set a few bad habits straight: Stop insulting designers. Show some respect for the design process and getting games in circulation. Hence (1) No Red scores. (2) Game scores as follows: Bad Game 5/10. Poor Game 6/10. Mediocre Game: 7/10. Good Game 8/10. Great game 9/10. Stella Game 10/10. To get 10/10 it must be a game that can be (theoretically) play-able for 1000+ hours. Not only great but near endless fun. Games may be bad or poor but making them should earn respect. Thus even the worst POS will still be a 5/10. 0/10 no longer exists in my vocabulary. Yellow is the new red. For the sake of accountability: you can reply if needed: Orctowngrot: Tim Rawlins: timtimjp@yahoo.com    … Expand
  44. orctown-troll
    Oct 20, 2013
    7
    A game with pros and cons. Sure buy for CA fans and strategy nuts. The game is pretty, with a nice range of factions, a huge map to mess around in and fun tactical battles. Beyond that the game is pretty shoddy, and is so incredibly easy, that it really needs the player to handicap themselves. The craziest feature is political control. Once you conquer an area, the player has to wait aboutA game with pros and cons. Sure buy for CA fans and strategy nuts. The game is pretty, with a nice range of factions, a huge map to mess around in and fun tactical battles. Beyond that the game is pretty shoddy, and is so incredibly easy, that it really needs the player to handicap themselves. The craziest feature is political control. Once you conquer an area, the player has to wait about 12 months before it fully assimilates into your country. Thus you can conquer and hold ALL of Europe, the middle east and the Americas without needing to worry about rebellions, or financial costs that might threaten your complete control of the world. This is of course, ridiculous. Compared to Europa Universalis games it is also POOR game design. CA games look prettier, and it is probably more fun to feel tough and kick everyone in the arse. However as a simulation or 'historic game' it's a complete joke. Also, its no small matter that the loading screens in this game run for ages. Over time there is a lot of time lost waiting for the computer to stuff your screen with mindless prettiness.

    Orctowngrot    … Expand
  45. SungaL
    Oct 14, 2009
    6
    GAme has a huge problem: IT IS POLITICALLY CORRECT !! two big flaws: NO slaves merchants (and thus slavery system), and NO ethnic minorities, like the Jewish (so important they provided most of the loaned money to governments open their imperial companies and establish central banks). Could say also theres a lack of River Plate and South America realismus, but then you would say Im a bit GAme has a huge problem: IT IS POLITICALLY CORRECT !! two big flaws: NO slaves merchants (and thus slavery system), and NO ethnic minorities, like the Jewish (so important they provided most of the loaned money to governments open their imperial companies and establish central banks). Could say also theres a lack of River Plate and South America realismus, but then you would say Im a bit regionalist.… Expand
  46. BoK
    Apr 1, 2009
    7
    High potential, limited by the moderate execution. As from start the game is lacking a lot of details to add that little extra that makes a great game. With a couple patches and updates it is destined to be a truly awesome game, but it's definitely not the game the commercial critics make it out to be, yet.
  47. MarcM
    Apr 7, 2009
    6
    Empire has numerous bugs and glitches in the retail release. Two glaring examples are splitting trade fleets while on a trade point causing the trading fleet to be useless and sailors committing suicide by jumping during boarding actions. There are also issues with the design of the game itself. In diplomacy, for instance, you could present a gift and sign a trade agreement to a neutral Empire has numerous bugs and glitches in the retail release. Two glaring examples are splitting trade fleets while on a trade point causing the trading fleet to be useless and sailors committing suicide by jumping during boarding actions. There are also issues with the design of the game itself. In diplomacy, for instance, you could present a gift and sign a trade agreement to a neutral minor faction resulting in a large reputation boost only to have that same nation declare war on you the very next turn. Unfortunately, this is business as usual for the designers at Creative Assembly and Total War franchise. I would advise dissappointed owners to shelve the title and prospective buyers to wait for a year. CA will likely release patches and hopefully user created mods will take care of the rest. On a side note, I feel the online reviewers largely dropped the ball on this title. I would have trouble assigning such high scores to Empire given the aformentioned problems.… Expand
  48. Mac
    Jun 6, 2009
    5
    Great graphics! But boy oh boy the game is filled with bugs, It crashes, freezes and bunch of graphic glitches! AI is poor, The game is simply not finished, And in facts its on Steam. Oh well, This is the first time CA has done a mistake like this. So shameful. But Ill let it side this one time. But overall, games is "OK".
  49. StevenR
    Oct 16, 2009
    5
    All the way back to Shogun again. This could have been the chance to step up to the next level, but the game has been released too early and just leaves the player open mouthed and screaming WHY? at the terrible AI, especially in the campaign mode.
  50. HeinerG.
    Oct 6, 2009
    5
    Very nice Game but although Patch 1.5 is released, the Game still crahes to Desktop nearly every turn, in Battles or on Campaign Map. This is very frustrating and sometimes i think its waste of time to play the great Campaign, because its nearly unplayable in the last 40 Turns because of CTD! Too bad.
  51. JohnS
    Mar 17, 2009
    7
    Game is buggy. I have run into crash bugs on occasion myself, which can be very frustrating. I have not yet hit the corrupted save game bug, which I'm sure would bring me to tears to lose a 40+ turn game (all of the saves get corrupted). Very long load scenes and somewhat long AI turns. Lots of different places the graphical performance / interactivity is sluggish (e.g. - strategic Game is buggy. I have run into crash bugs on occasion myself, which can be very frustrating. I have not yet hit the corrupted save game bug, which I'm sure would bring me to tears to lose a 40+ turn game (all of the saves get corrupted). Very long load scenes and somewhat long AI turns. Lots of different places the graphical performance / interactivity is sluggish (e.g. - strategic map). There basically is no coherent strategic enemy AI at this point. Almost any decent user will have no problem steamrolling their competition. In land battle there are lots of bugs like not being able to use doors / walls / bridges / cover / etc. properly. As always in most TW games, the offensive battle AI is really, really dumb and can be easily defeated by camping on a good defensive position. In short, no way in heck should this title have been released as it is. The only reason it gets a 7 and not a lower score is that I can see what the game could eventually become after 6 months or more of polishing and/or the mod community gets their hands on it.… Expand
  52. MAXIMUS
    Mar 20, 2009
    5
    3/20/09 Having only played TW Rome I was very impressed initially with the graphics and high level of strategic control over ones nation. However, the constant crashing has soured me on this product. How much fun can you have when every turn might be your last. I am playing on a 3000 Ghz intel duo and 4 GB of Ram and an Invidia 9800. I would think the system is up to the task. So the 3/20/09 Having only played TW Rome I was very impressed initially with the graphics and high level of strategic control over ones nation. However, the constant crashing has soured me on this product. How much fun can you have when every turn might be your last. I am playing on a 3000 Ghz intel duo and 4 GB of Ram and an Invidia 9800. I would think the system is up to the task. So the problems must be the result of programing. Also, the AI shows no agression. Being used to Guals, Greeks, Masadonians, ect breathing down my neck it was dissappointing to realize that you can leave your territory virtually undefended. A 10 for graphics and inovative elements and a zero for a game I can not finish due to system failures. Seems as if some of the crew at CA are working very hard and others are not up to the task. If I failed my employer as often as this potentially great game has failed me I would expect to be fired. Fix these problems now !… Expand
  53. KlausM.
    Mar 20, 2009
    7
    A great game with a bigger potential- when it is finished. Finished it clearly would be 9-10, the best strategy game for the computer. In this sad state, it is a promising beta/demo with which you also can play multiplayer battles. I would advise everyone to buy it- in half a year, when it is finished. Maybe it is even cheaper then!
  54. PaulC
    Mar 27, 2009
    5
    This game SHOULD be great. It should be a 9 or 10. But it is full of bugs, so I can only give it 5. I can rarely go more than a couple of turns without a bug or crash. I have ports with ships I can no longer get at. I have ships at sea that if I click on will crash the game. If I win a battle, I sometimes watch my army disappear afterwards. I've played all the total war games, and This game SHOULD be great. It should be a 9 or 10. But it is full of bugs, so I can only give it 5. I can rarely go more than a couple of turns without a bug or crash. I have ports with ships I can no longer get at. I have ships at sea that if I click on will crash the game. If I win a battle, I sometimes watch my army disappear afterwards. I've played all the total war games, and they were much more stable than this. Come on guys, get your act together. Make the bug fixes, and this will be a great game.… Expand
  55. JohnB
    Mar 27, 2009
    7
    Being deployed allot he need for internet to play the game is horrible. Having towns etc. away from the cities I like there should be a way to destroy them not just damage them. The minor CAV raids by the AI are its only real offensive. AI needs to be supped up. The IA system for diplomacy also needs some work. You can offer outrageously favorable terms and the IA would rather die than Being deployed allot he need for internet to play the game is horrible. Having towns etc. away from the cities I like there should be a way to destroy them not just damage them. The minor CAV raids by the AI are its only real offensive. AI needs to be supped up. The IA system for diplomacy also needs some work. You can offer outrageously favorable terms and the IA would rather die than give you a trade deal. Crashes allot. Save game often and be prepared to disband fleets to prevent crashes. The good thing is there is no transport requirements so 1 sloop can transport a whole army. Good start but needs allot of patching. Should be cleaned up by the time the expansion is released. With any luck Steam will go bye bye.… Expand
  56. SpencerD.
    Mar 20, 2009
    5
    I know this probably sounds insulting to many of you out there, but, really, give the producers a break. If you knew how much goes on inside a computer you would. On all games there are lots of problems that simply won't be known until the general public uses the game, and, especially with a game of this magnitude and power, it will probably take a while for them to fix. My game I know this probably sounds insulting to many of you out there, but, really, give the producers a break. If you knew how much goes on inside a computer you would. On all games there are lots of problems that simply won't be known until the general public uses the game, and, especially with a game of this magnitude and power, it will probably take a while for them to fix. My game doesn't work properly either. In fact, my game will only start about one third of the time, and when it does, it rarely works right. So even though I give this game a relatively low score now, I'm almost completely sure there will be a patch for MOST problems ( that does not include computers that simply do not reach system requirements) so just wait and be patient until your patch(es) become available. I am.… Expand
  57. RobM
    Mar 30, 2009
    6
    Empire: Total War follows The Creative Assembly's MO as seen in previous Total War titles as far back as Rome of being a promising game full of good ideas and features obscured by a ridiculous amount of bugs and glitches. The positive aspects of this game include the new, deeper campaign map interface that allows more thorough control of your faction than in previous titles. Empire: Total War follows The Creative Assembly's MO as seen in previous Total War titles as far back as Rome of being a promising game full of good ideas and features obscured by a ridiculous amount of bugs and glitches. The positive aspects of this game include the new, deeper campaign map interface that allows more thorough control of your faction than in previous titles. Diplomacy, a longtime failure of the Total War series, is at least brought up to the basic standard of today's strategy games, though it can still be obtuse and useless at times. The different campaign theaters (Europe, America and India) are represented in a way that allows for great detail in all of them. Battles are at least as well-done as in previous titles and the battle maps themselves are far larger than before, which allows for more tactical maneuvering. The bad is, as usual, mostly bug related. Total War games since at least as early as Rome have been almost more trouble than they're worth until a series of patches is released due to obstructive bugs and crashes littering the game at release. Most of these are fixed after two or three patches, but there are always some that are never fixed. Pathfinding is absolutely pathetic and I am unable to trust units to find their way around anything bigger than a hay bale. The failure of pathfinding makes sieges more or less unplayable. The inclusion of Steam has itself led to a slew of problems visible on The Creative Assembly's official tech support forums and I don't see one convincing redeeming quality in it's involvement. I am generally very impressed with this game in theory, but the bugs strain my patience when attempting to play it. It should be made clear that in the past the bugs have always eventually been fixed, bringing the game to a reasonable level of playability which then allows it to shine. However, Steam may throw off the balance after all and make this game more trouble than it's worth. I certainly don't recommend this game yet; I suggest waiting several months for the patches to be released, and only then if Steam doesn't bother you.… Expand
  58. RandallS
    Mar 9, 2009
    7
    This is a good game, don't get me wrong, but it was a bit of a letdown from Medieval 2. The Good: The campaign map is huge, and although it's not as great looking as it could be, is the best campaign map yet in the TW series because of breadth and the huge number of 'minor nations' dotting it. The Bad: 1. There is really only one type of non-naval unit in the game, This is a good game, don't get me wrong, but it was a bit of a letdown from Medieval 2. The Good: The campaign map is huge, and although it's not as great looking as it could be, is the best campaign map yet in the TW series because of breadth and the huge number of 'minor nations' dotting it. The Bad: 1. There is really only one type of non-naval unit in the game, Line Infantry. 80% of your army will be made up of either them or militia, which are weaker versions of the same thing. There are some cavalry and some cannons, but really, Line Infantry is just about all there is. 2. They basically removed siege battles. You can besiege a city, but when you attack it, you fight in an open field. No epic wall-climbing (though there's some of that in fortress battles, which end up being just annoying though). 3. You can attack a city without cannons or siege equipment, and armies can move pretty quickly. So you can blitz across 800 miles in one turn and take a city. 4. Battles are boring. The infantry stand and shoot each other. They don't even kneel down to let the second line shoot, the first line just keeps shooting and shooting. 5. Units are still dumb. You can order them to move and often they just won't do anything. This most often happens after they are engaged in a melee battle. 6. Countries are still pretty dumb. In my first campaign, Poland kept declaring war on me, and then accepting a peace offer in the next turn that would have them pay me a bunch of money. So I just used them as a piggy bank for like 8 turns until they quit declaring war. 7. Diplomacy isn't that great. The options and strangely arranged and other countries still ignore great offers alot. On the bright side, other countries make interesting offers sometimes, unlike in Medieval 2. Overall: Good, but disappointing.… Expand
  59. StephenH
    Apr 10, 2009
    7
    Fixing the bugs would have me raise the rating to an 7.5 and then an 8 and 9 respectively if the A.I. attacked across the seas and weren't as stupid as a lemming/dodo cross breed. As things go though it's not too bad but as stated it is the same thing as always. Power through region to region in an attempt to be the biggest country around only now you have the lands across the Fixing the bugs would have me raise the rating to an 7.5 and then an 8 and 9 respectively if the A.I. attacked across the seas and weren't as stupid as a lemming/dodo cross breed. As things go though it's not too bad but as stated it is the same thing as always. Power through region to region in an attempt to be the biggest country around only now you have the lands across the ocean and India too. People will slate the new but you have to find out yourself really.… Expand
  60. RandalO.
    Apr 10, 2009
    6
    I used to develop software. We'd have been horsewhipped if we'd tried to release software this loaded with bugs and poorly designed. Memory leaks everywhere! I don't mind alpha testing but fix the bugs!!! The game itself looks to be fun, and good, if we can ever spend more time playing than waiting for it to load, move, respond, etc. I thought that whole unpacking idea was I used to develop software. We'd have been horsewhipped if we'd tried to release software this loaded with bugs and poorly designed. Memory leaks everywhere! I don't mind alpha testing but fix the bugs!!! The game itself looks to be fun, and good, if we can ever spend more time playing than waiting for it to load, move, respond, etc. I thought that whole unpacking idea was rejected back in the '90s. Please fix the damn thing!… Expand
  61. FlorianB
    Apr 1, 2009
    6
    The game proved to be not as great as everyone had announced... eventually, it is a real TW-game, but with much more need for further tweaking and patching than previous TW-titles. CA did implement interesting new features, but in the end they turned out to be callow... The two most important points which weaken the game-experience drastically, are first of all the bad performance The game proved to be not as great as everyone had announced... eventually, it is a real TW-game, but with much more need for further tweaking and patching than previous TW-titles. CA did implement interesting new features, but in the end they turned out to be callow... The two most important points which weaken the game-experience drastically, are first of all the bad performance (numerous bugs, long loading times, CTDs etc due to whatever, bad programming, insufficient testing, dont know) and the really dumb AI which was promised to be improved heavily but in fact still does the same stupid manoevers like in Medieval 2 or Rome (e.g. peace-negotiations, province-trading, protectorates etc) All in all E:TW is worth improving but worth waiting for some problem-fixing, too. Therefore, i rate it with a 6, wich results from 9 points for the concept, 8 points for the graphics and interface but just 5 points for improvements of existing features and adding new ones and 3 for the engine / technical aspects… Expand
  62. PierreN
    Apr 7, 2009
    5
    ETW is a disaster. Who would have thought a game of this scope and magnitude would fail this horribly. Surely a step back from previous titles as previous features were simply nerfed. Sinking your teeth into ETW for a week worth of gameplay and you get the impression that ETW has been poorly executed and feels rushed. Call it poor coding and a host of bugs slowing down everytime you try ETW is a disaster. Who would have thought a game of this scope and magnitude would fail this horribly. Surely a step back from previous titles as previous features were simply nerfed. Sinking your teeth into ETW for a week worth of gameplay and you get the impression that ETW has been poorly executed and feels rushed. Call it poor coding and a host of bugs slowing down everytime you try to dock a fleet to a port and noticeable jerky animations on a high end pc tells a different story to the rating it's getting (90? jesting I'm sure). Adding insult to injury, CA delivers us a couple of paches that were supposed to fix the problematic issues but instead add even more bugs making it unplayable. Constant crashes just isn't worth your $70 I'm sure. A piece of advice to sensible gamers out there; say NO to pre-order your games in the future. Instead, allow the dumb and dumber gamers buy it and watch em scream in your place. Grab the gold version is the wisest thing to do;cheaper and more joy on your first take.… Expand
  63. DJ
    Jun 6, 2009
    5
    Good game if it works but due to the amount of bugs and problems it still has even after 3 months being released, and I'm talking about bugs that should have been fixed before release. Seems to me Creative are becoming just another money hungry whore, shame the other Total War games have been very good and had next to no major glitches.
  64. Kristian
    Jun 8, 2009
    5
    For me this game recieves a solid 5. The graphics are good, the gameplay itself is good, though difficult for someone with no gaming skill like myself. Enjoyable, but riddled with bugs and set up issues that have really knocked the rating down for this one.
  65. TuroOraste
    Jul 30, 2009
    5
    Multiplayer features on this game are simply shadows from the TotalWar2. Its also build on steam so you cannot resell the game if your not happy about it. Total War2 was alot better with its features and musics. This one had grafical updates but all armies have the same units.

    Shortly: Empire Total war is 15 gt of laggy crap.
  66. PaulB
    Aug 27, 2009
    6
    Playable and fun, but essentialy a beta version. Some of the standard features of other TW games are ommitted, leaving me feel a little cheated. Luckily the modders are improving this game all the time and patches are available, with more promised.
  67. BenW
    Sep 21, 2009
    5
    Uses the same mechanics to control your soldiers as in earlier games , which isnt really any good as in the last games everyone either had a sword , or a bow and arrow and shot over there mates heads , now 60 of your own men unchecked can shoot your entire army in the back. I know you can toggle auto fire off , but in real life , even if i was told to fire at will , id probably not shoot Uses the same mechanics to control your soldiers as in earlier games , which isnt really any good as in the last games everyone either had a sword , or a bow and arrow and shot over there mates heads , now 60 of your own men unchecked can shoot your entire army in the back. I know you can toggle auto fire off , but in real life , even if i was told to fire at will , id probably not shoot every single person in my battalion. Also the game crashes about every 3rd battle. No cheats also sucks , I know people think you shouldnt cheat , but tbh my PC has never complained about me using give_money command in single player in any of the other total war games. Cant see why they thought it needed removing in this installment. I used to enjoy sending 20 cannons into a battle unaided by infantary or cavalry and watch them blow up a few people and then all get wiped out , Not exactly historically acurate, but if i want historical acurracy i wouldnt play computer games to teach me anyway. If they had made the game the same as the old total war games with the gfx and time period this game would of rocked , seems rushed and not ready for the napoleon addon pack they are releasing for it early next year. It has also had 4 patchs since release which dont actually seem to solve the main problems in the game but do address some issues. If you love the old total war games this is worth a look, but id wait until you can find it in the bargin bin rather than dishing out 30 rips for it.… Expand
  68. WilliamB
    Sep 3, 2009
    5
    Graphics are nice if you have a good enough video card! The minimum system requirements are far too low. to play it on those requirements would make the game nearly un-playable. Sea battles are a nice feature. Campaign map is boring and confusing. VERY BUGGY! Not finished.
  69. DiegoE
    Dec 30, 2009
    7
    Entertaining, but far from historically accurate.
  70. alk
    Oct 24, 2009
    6
    A fan since Shogun: TW, I have been following the series since the beginning. But this latest entry was overhyped and was clearly rushed out the door before they finished it (e.g. naval invasions left out on release? Are you kidding me?!). Buggy as hell, even many months after release. Also all factions except for England and France had clearly been left unfinished in terms of unique A fan since Shogun: TW, I have been following the series since the beginning. But this latest entry was overhyped and was clearly rushed out the door before they finished it (e.g. naval invasions left out on release? Are you kidding me?!). Buggy as hell, even many months after release. Also all factions except for England and France had clearly been left unfinished in terms of unique units; note how they have finally released some downloadable units to make up for the poor roster when it first came out: clearly released in an unfinished state. A big minus is that this series is notoriously demanding on the CPU, much more than any modern FPS for example. And yet CA still has not enabled dual-core optimisation! We've seen games use two cores for years now, some even are utilizing quad core tech. Most of these games don't even require that much power, unlike Empire: TW.… Expand
  71. KurtC
    Oct 8, 2009
    7
    Bought this off STEAM, and it's really not worth 50 bucks. They should have priced it for half of what it was worth, because the game itself was incomplete or obsolete. You see, there are so many bugs with the whole game like the AI and the crashes... For example, after I beat the the U.S. Campaign, I started on the Grand Campaign. I picked Great Britain (would've picked the Bought this off STEAM, and it's really not worth 50 bucks. They should have priced it for half of what it was worth, because the game itself was incomplete or obsolete. You see, there are so many bugs with the whole game like the AI and the crashes... For example, after I beat the the U.S. Campaign, I started on the Grand Campaign. I picked Great Britain (would've picked the U.S. but I was disappointed that CA put it in) and I was working my way to conquering the whole world. But one day, on a fateful night, I loaded my game, and did what I always do, and ended my turn. Then, it showed one of my allies sailing to an island, all of a sudden, my game crashed! I launched the game again, and did the same thing, crashed once again. I tried about 20 times but it kept crashing, and finally I reset my computer, hoping that it would fix something but it didn't. So I just stopped playing the game for 2 weeks. I just quit... So one day I decided to get back to it, I launched the game and once I get to the SEGA logo it glitches and keeps repeating "Seeeega, Seega, Seggaaa." Over and over again. So, I re-installed my game, and waited for 2 gruesome hours. I then restarted my computer, and launched the game, and guess what? The problem still existed. I decided to go to the forums, and I looked for a solution that someone might have posted. This person posted a list of instructions to fix the problem similar to mine. So I followed it, I know it could be a trick, but others were saying it work. Desperate, I followed the instructions, and you know what? My game started to work again! I know if all you hardcore gamers picked up this RTS game, you'll hate it and some of you will love it. All I am saying is, never buy a game once it's released... You should read reviews and personal critics from gamers or maybe try the game yourself.… Expand
  72. MarkW
    Mar 11, 2009
    5
    Fantastic game, great concept, graphics are great for a game of this scale. Only problem is that it's entirely in beta format still. It was released too early and has way too many bugs. With extensive patching this game will probably get better. But won't be sure until that time comes. I give it a crashtastic thumbs sideways.
  73. BillWolf
    Mar 11, 2009
    6
    Although the Graphics are spectacular and the Time period is very turbulant,I feel the creators left out some of the best aspects of the series.For example....where are the movies? Spys and Gentelmen are quite boring,and maybe I missed something but I really enjoyed marriage,heir choosing...like in ROME.Also going to a city in battle mode during peacetime was fun,I liked watching the Although the Graphics are spectacular and the Time period is very turbulant,I feel the creators left out some of the best aspects of the series.For example....where are the movies? Spys and Gentelmen are quite boring,and maybe I missed something but I really enjoyed marriage,heir choosing...like in ROME.Also going to a city in battle mode during peacetime was fun,I liked watching the citys grow.It gave a more realistic sence to the gam.I also had to spen a grand on a new PC that could run this LOOONG anticipated game,and its still choppy.I own every copy of the Total War series along with about 500 other games.I will say for now this is my favorite,but for how long....ps it would be nice to see a American Civil War add on for this.… Expand
  74. Garysomeone
    Mar 12, 2009
    5
    This game is a peice of junk at the moment....i was, like many others, looking forward to playing, but after hours of playing i have come to the conclusion...... its, for want of a better worg crap........... the only thing i like are the landscapes but.... what!!!! here's one, a limbering and unlimbering of cannons... sometimes they wont and just sit there unliber and fire... no This game is a peice of junk at the moment....i was, like many others, looking forward to playing, but after hours of playing i have come to the conclusion...... its, for want of a better worg crap........... the only thing i like are the landscapes but.... what!!!! here's one, a limbering and unlimbering of cannons... sometimes they wont and just sit there unliber and fire... no they just move a little or do nothing or better still gallop towards the enemy and die. The AI is even worse than what it was in medievel.... i mean like they just bunch up and fire... No nice straight lines! The skins are crap...... CA what have you done? a boring experience, and i for one cannot wait untill the modders do their magic and lift this game out the gutter, as i for one, have thought about throwing it there. how on erath this got a 94 in pc magazines is beyond me totally, the guys who reviewed must of got "you know the funny handshake" cos really come on, it is not what we all hoped for is it, or expected! even our worsed preconceptions have been overshadowed by this sorry attempt for a next gen? WTF....... CA suck.… Expand
  75. GordonM
    Mar 12, 2009
    7
    It's a Total War game, and has many of the things that I enjoyed in the previous games. It added sea battles, tech trees, and a map/settlement style that is arguably better than the old one. There are big problems, though. The AI is bad, the game is buggy, the units are too similar (a fault of the era, not the developers), and major factions can be wiped out in the first few turns It's a Total War game, and has many of the things that I enjoyed in the previous games. It added sea battles, tech trees, and a map/settlement style that is arguably better than the old one. There are big problems, though. The AI is bad, the game is buggy, the units are too similar (a fault of the era, not the developers), and major factions can be wiped out in the first few turns with incredible ease. Oh, and you don't need to worry about the AI landing a fleet behind your front lines and taking a settlement. They won't try, ever. No need to keep any troops on an island.… Expand
  76. RuudH
    Mar 12, 2009
    7
    In the broader picture this game reveals a gap between critics and the wider audience of "normal" people who play the game. The scores from the critics seem to be made on a future potential of the game, not the actually released product. And that is what we will be playing with absolute guarantee, not the possible (thus possibly never) version it could be. And about that. It's a very In the broader picture this game reveals a gap between critics and the wider audience of "normal" people who play the game. The scores from the critics seem to be made on a future potential of the game, not the actually released product. And that is what we will be playing with absolute guarantee, not the possible (thus possibly never) version it could be. And about that. It's a very frustrating game! You can taste the potential at every aspect, in every minute you're playing. But it never becomes what you expect it to be! The AI, pathfinding and loading times are the biggest drawbacks. You'll find yourself winning battles by exploitations you don't want to exploit, losing battles because your units take irrational never-ordered paths, the enemy being either overly passive or downright mental by walking straight into your cannon fire. And then i'm not even talking about the impatient frustration because of the time you'll be waiting whilst looking at the loading screen (even on my quadcore, 3GB RAM and Gforce 8800GTX). And those are just the flaws on the battle map. Mind you, the big flaws, followed by many minor ones (i.e. losing a few men because your cannon decides to unpack and shoot at the enemy in the middle of a infantry unit, even though you gave orders to do otherwise). The campaign section of the game isn't bothered by as many bugs as the battle section but there are a few very annoying ones nonetheless. First and foremost; the AI. There is no synergy between land and sea coördination at all, a fatal flaw for the time period portayed in the game. Secondly, the AI will wait for you to come to them most of the time, and shows no actual strategy (mind you, this is a STRATEGY game) when it is on the offense. The other major fault of the campaign is, also, the loading time between turns. A minute at best, several minutes most of the time. It can be truly frustrating to have to wait so long everytime to see your well laid plans come to fruition or you just want to see how a certain war between two AI's develops. It totally takes the pace out of the game. The campaign loading times might be okay if i could fill the turns with statisfying real-time battles but, as mentioned earlier, these are more frustrating. When you put it all together the main pro for this game is that you can taste what it could be, it makes you desire an awesome strategy game. But it just isn't. And that leaves more frustration then pleasure. Barely.… Expand
  77. FredF
    Mar 13, 2009
    6
    It boggles the mind how anyone gives this game a 10 unless they are completely new to PC gaming. Lets ignore steam and the CTD style bugs. Lets just talk about gameplay. ETW seems awsome for the first few turns, and very pretty. Then you figure out the AI is NOT improved, Forts are amazingly bugged, the battlefield pathfinding is the worst in ANY TW game to date (and I've played them It boggles the mind how anyone gives this game a 10 unless they are completely new to PC gaming. Lets ignore steam and the CTD style bugs. Lets just talk about gameplay. ETW seems awsome for the first few turns, and very pretty. Then you figure out the AI is NOT improved, Forts are amazingly bugged, the battlefield pathfinding is the worst in ANY TW game to date (and I've played them all). There are just SO many bugs in the GC its really not worth my time to mention each one, the biggest one is that the AI doesn't move troops by ships, yet the game includes india and the americas, I hope you see the problem with that. If you want to play a TW game do yourself a favor. Get Rome or M2, download the patches, download the good mods like Rome Total Realism, for the Stainless Steel mod for M2TW, and enjoy the game. Wait a year at least for this one.… Expand
  78. AnonymousMC
    Mar 15, 2009
    7
    -game is very demanding of sytem resources
    -many graphics glitches
    -painfully slow load times -battles: graphics on zoomed units are great, but realistically you will see most of the battle as blocks of ants with flags over their heads marching around. painfully slow at times -i thought this game would replace civ 4 for me. sadly, i still choose to fire up civ 4 instead. -i can see    -game is very demanding of sytem resources
    -many graphics glitches
    -painfully slow load times
    -battles: graphics on zoomed units are great, but realistically you will see most of the battle as blocks of ants with flags over their heads marching around. painfully slow at times
    -i thought this game would replace civ 4 for me. sadly, i still choose to fire up civ 4 instead.
    -i can see how this game would appeal to some people, but it is not for everyone, in spite of the very high praise it has received    … Expand
  79. HarryC
    Mar 16, 2009
    5
    Total War has recently adopted Steam, an unreliable sensitive piece of rubbish that safely removed any enjoyment of the game, I fervently hope that TW decide to remove it any future releases! Once I finally got it installed on Steam (an arduous task indeed) I was impressed by the fantastic graphics and new features. Unfortunately TW seems to have not committed to scenarios or single Total War has recently adopted Steam, an unreliable sensitive piece of rubbish that safely removed any enjoyment of the game, I fervently hope that TW decide to remove it any future releases! Once I finally got it installed on Steam (an arduous task indeed) I was impressed by the fantastic graphics and new features. Unfortunately TW seems to have not committed to scenarios or single player battles, the set ups both limited and unsatisfying, unlike in M2TW. The addition of technology is surprisingly good, this idea normally falls short, but it is developed and interesting. Turn-changing is still woefully slow, land battles seem to still rely on scrums and diplomacy remains edgy. Add that to crashes, jerkiness and steam and I'm one disappointed fan. The addition of Naval combat is great with wonderful detail and ships bristling with action, although large scale battles are absurdly hard with the micromanagement of broadsides verging on insane. The units are fantastic, the history is accurate and the extra platforms in America and India are superb if a little confusing when it comes to trade. All in all, although TW has retained much of its prestige on the battle map, it's let itself down with new features like Steam and an excess in micromanagement. A pity for us fans although still definitely worth playing if you can get past the wall of steam.… Expand
  80. Tom
    Mar 20, 2009
    6
    Buggy console games are sometimes expected, as they often have to be converted to work across multiple consoles with different coding. PC games however should be flawless upon release as their generally made for the one OS. Despite the 1 month delay in release Empire total war had and still has a number of bugs upon release and after the lacking patch. It is not to much to expect a Buggy console games are sometimes expected, as they often have to be converted to work across multiple consoles with different coding. PC games however should be flawless upon release as their generally made for the one OS. Despite the 1 month delay in release Empire total war had and still has a number of bugs upon release and after the lacking patch. It is not to much to expect a product you spent $140.00 on to be flawless, or at the very least to prevent it from crashing multiple times in one sitting, if console gaming can do it then why can't PC gaming?… Expand
  81. BillB
    Mar 27, 2009
    6
    Unstable! Very happy with gameplay. I just wish i didn't have to abandon a campaign or replay a single battle four-five times before the game will allow me to save progress without crashing. Right now I am stuck in a loop where all the hours i have put into the current campaign will be lost because the game always crashes after this particular battle.
  82. ErikP.
    Mar 30, 2009
    5
    This game was actually a step down from the Total War series in every way except graphics. The game engine and interface were both simpler than Medieval II and Rome. It would seem that CA spends its time and money on graphical magic instead of a game that works and is fun to play. Lets not forget that in the world of gaming, graphics and a streamlined use interface really only affect how This game was actually a step down from the Total War series in every way except graphics. The game engine and interface were both simpler than Medieval II and Rome. It would seem that CA spends its time and money on graphical magic instead of a game that works and is fun to play. Lets not forget that in the world of gaming, graphics and a streamlined use interface really only affect how the game LOOKS. What people spend their money on to a large degree is how it PLAYS. CA and many other developers understand that making a game LOOK good is a great way to get a high metascore from reviewers, making it PLAY equally well is apparently just too much to ask any more. In this title, CA has actually backed off of functionalities and complexities that made Rome: Total War, and Medieval II: Total War great games. They have produced a disappointment, and have fallen well short of my standards, as well as their own.… Expand
  83. drewc
    Mar 30, 2009
    5
    In the long term, multiple patches will be needed to make the game viable and replayable. The game is plagued with inordinate amounts of lag at times, frequent crashes to desktop, and full of bugs (as is usual with total war games). At the end of the day, a range of problems, some of which are major, dramatically hold back what would otherwise be a spectacular game.
  84. ChrisB
    Mar 30, 2009
    5
    Agree with all below, will be a great game when finnished. Really needs the M2TW/ Kingdoms detail, towns are poor. Invaded Paris and it looked like a small hamlet - no history in the layout at all. Battles are always in green fields even when standing on a bridge on the campaign map!! Come on guys you are better than this look at the detail in Kingdoms for a lead.
  85. MrAngry
    Mar 4, 2009
    5
    I was lucky enough to play this game on a friends PC that by some act of god allowed him to download patch from steam and play it. Tha game its self is amazing and i would normally give this a high score and recomend. However i am so discusseded that my own copy won't load due to steam and that their was cleaerly no scale test to check steam would work with high volume at launch that I was lucky enough to play this game on a friends PC that by some act of god allowed him to download patch from steam and play it. Tha game its self is amazing and i would normally give this a high score and recomend. However i am so discusseded that my own copy won't load due to steam and that their was cleaerly no scale test to check steam would work with high volume at launch that i am almost at the point of returning the game and getting a refund. Yes this rant is about steam not the game but the two come together without a choice. DON'T BUY THIS GAME YET wait until the rush is over and steam is fixed....or be very disappointed!… Expand
  86. Yaz
    Mar 7, 2009
    7
    This is certainly a good game, and the level of little features and detail in are astonishing. Unfortunately for the time being it only deserves a 7 due to the large amount of bugs and problems in the game (crashes, graphic glitches, unit unresponsiveness, stupid ai actions etc...). Once it fixes up these things I would rate it solidely at a 9. However until that time it's just This is certainly a good game, and the level of little features and detail in are astonishing. Unfortunately for the time being it only deserves a 7 due to the large amount of bugs and problems in the game (crashes, graphic glitches, unit unresponsiveness, stupid ai actions etc...). Once it fixes up these things I would rate it solidely at a 9. However until that time it's just another case of what could have been a great game ruined by what was probably a slightly rushed dev time since it's not finished.… Expand
  87. ryans
    Apr 1, 2009
    6
    The epic scale of the land battles and the immersive campaign should have made this game one of the best, but problems like stupid AI and bugs bring it down a notch. I have had problems when selecting a fleet or dock and then having the game crash and having terrible lag during battles, but when the game does work it is very enjoyable and a good installment to the series. I only have to The epic scale of the land battles and the immersive campaign should have made this game one of the best, but problems like stupid AI and bugs bring it down a notch. I have had problems when selecting a fleet or dock and then having the game crash and having terrible lag during battles, but when the game does work it is very enjoyable and a good installment to the series. I only have to wonder what they were doing with all the time they delayed putting the game out. I waited for a year only to hear about more delays and they didn't fix the problems in it? I'd rather have a smooth-playing game than an extra nation or two. This game is good and worth the money, but until more patches come out it will cease to be great.… Expand
  88. ChristianB
    Apr 17, 2009
    7
    Great game in the tradition of Total War. We can regret the absence of Hot-Seat option that made Miedieval II such a great success.
  89. DougH
    Apr 19, 2009
    5
    Boring. Not bad, but boring. That about sums it up. Ignore the reviewers, the player base knows what it is talking about. Yes, it features the American War of Independence. If that is enough of a reason to buy a game go and watch ID4 - it's cheaper and requires less mental work or frustration. This era of combat highlights the weakest points of an engine that was design for the Boring. Not bad, but boring. That about sums it up. Ignore the reviewers, the player base knows what it is talking about. Yes, it features the American War of Independence. If that is enough of a reason to buy a game go and watch ID4 - it's cheaper and requires less mental work or frustration. This era of combat highlights the weakest points of an engine that was design for the fast-paced, fluid and, above all, clever nature of warfare in feudal Japan. It's MTW with only archers and catapults. Cavalry have a huge sign over their heads saying "Kill me". So you line up your archers, they line up theirs and it's attrition time. Like WWI without the machine guns. Boring and depressing. Don't even get me started on the AI tactical behaviour in seiges or when they're under enfilade fire or when deploying to remote corners of the map, cunningly avoiding any concentration of force. It is impossible to move units through towns or along the seige walls - the game will just ignore you half of the time. I see this as a direct result of what the game engine was meant to do, and this is not it.… Expand
  90. PetriJ
    Apr 1, 2009
    6
    The game would be perfect, if it wouldnt have so many bugs and crashes. Please make the games ready before the beginning of the sale. If the game dosn´t be soon playable its going to be the last Sega game that I buy.
  91. cedrickF
    Apr 21, 2009
    6
    I'm a Totalwar games fan. Let's says an addict as I spent more than 1000 hours on the first games (from shogun to Mtw2). For now I'm very disapointed with Empire . This could be a great game but as the things are for now, we have a "Colonial empire building game" where the AI DON'T NO HOW TO embarq and disembarq troops !!! Let's say the game is less challenging I'm a Totalwar games fan. Let's says an addict as I spent more than 1000 hours on the first games (from shogun to Mtw2). For now I'm very disapointed with Empire . This could be a great game but as the things are for now, we have a "Colonial empire building game" where the AI DON'T NO HOW TO embarq and disembarq troops !!! Let's say the game is less challenging with this bug. And it's really not the only one.… Expand
  92. andyc
    Apr 20, 2009
    7
    It looks great no denying that but the it just doesnt provide the emersion of the previous incarnations. The land based warfare is adequate but awkward and the sea based combat is clunky and slow. The main map screen has a lot more going on which works to some degree, forcing you to take a more proactive approach to playing the game but at the same time somehow the added complexities It looks great no denying that but the it just doesnt provide the emersion of the previous incarnations. The land based warfare is adequate but awkward and the sea based combat is clunky and slow. The main map screen has a lot more going on which works to some degree, forcing you to take a more proactive approach to playing the game but at the same time somehow the added complexities detract from the enjoyment usually garned from the riskesque portions. In all this game is impressive and a technical achievement but also a disappointment.… Expand
  93. Ali
    May 20, 2009
    5
    This is an awesome game, I'd have given it a ten. Unfortunately it's plagued with memory leaks and even on a high end computer you'll often find the campaign map slowing to an unplayable grind. For me this didn't occur till halfway through the grand campaign. I recommend you buy it, but make sure your store has a great returns policy, because half of you will be taking This is an awesome game, I'd have given it a ten. Unfortunately it's plagued with memory leaks and even on a high end computer you'll often find the campaign map slowing to an unplayable grind. For me this didn't occur till halfway through the grand campaign. I recommend you buy it, but make sure your store has a great returns policy, because half of you will be taking it back.… Expand
  94. JamesG
    Jun 10, 2009
    5
    Im a huge total war fan, but i feel let down by this rushed and incomplete game. It has so many bugs, and the AI is even worse that before, even after a patch. I think after a few more months of work this game will be upto the standards of the other total wars, but for now this game just gets a 5 from me. I feel sega may have got CA to rush the game for release, it so needed a few more months.
  95. MarcusG
    Jun 16, 2009
    5
    I love the disclaimer and will have to visit again just to see what happens to my comment, "Coments will be reviewed and may be edited prior to postin.: With the exception of vulgarity, why would a comment need editing? Does that not undermine the basic credibility as well as point of user comments? LOL. Perhaps someone should have edited all the poor grammar and mispellings. At any rate, I love the disclaimer and will have to visit again just to see what happens to my comment, "Coments will be reviewed and may be edited prior to postin.: With the exception of vulgarity, why would a comment need editing? Does that not undermine the basic credibility as well as point of user comments? LOL. Perhaps someone should have edited all the poor grammar and mispellings. At any rate, I have played Creative Assembly games from Shogun to the present Empire. I have enjoyed Shogun more than any other title, however, I do have a penchant for Samurai. Until an update on June 16, 2009, my Empire wokred well. Alas, now it crashes whenever I attempt to initiate a game from the main/in -game menu. No this game is not perfect and having to use Steam is...not ideal. This is the way of the world and ALL developers should consider how customers can be alienated away from their franchise by this practice. We are paying and may not wish to use steam, gamespy, Xfire... Afterall, only the developers are benefiting from this practice and at 50 bucks for this title... Enough said. When Empire works, it is a BLAST. Sometimes it is a bit slow...the campaign map movement takes time and SHOULD take time as armies march across the land. As for the naval battles, well...I do enjoy them despite seeing certain shortcomings. These shortcomings certainly reflext the communication barriers of that time. Deal with that as there were no iPhones/Sidekicks/Rants onboard naval ships of that time, so I think the challenge of naval battles lends a great amount of realism. I won't post my system specs here as they far exceed what is recommended minimum, though not a Core i7 system. I won't be upgrading to that for awhile and it is unfortunate developers would design for such high end systems while also not disclosing that little fact on the product packaging. At any rate, like US, this game is not perfect, but fun and has some interesting features. I cannot rate it as high as I would like and if this entire review was read, it should be apparent why. Is it worth $50? Not in my opinion, however it is a worthwhile addition to the library. I just hope the patches and improvements continue and allow this game to do more than gather dust in my library.… Expand
  96. ChristopherB
    Jun 1, 2009
    5
    The game looks great, probably because that's were Creative Assembly spent their entire budget, aside from bribing various gaming sites with advertising in exchange for favorable reviews. The fact that this is the highest rated game on Metacritic is criminal. The game is riddled with bugs, something the reviews will NOT tell you. Unit pathing is terrible, AI is mediocre (relatively The game looks great, probably because that's were Creative Assembly spent their entire budget, aside from bribing various gaming sites with advertising in exchange for favorable reviews. The fact that this is the highest rated game on Metacritic is criminal. The game is riddled with bugs, something the reviews will NOT tell you. Unit pathing is terrible, AI is mediocre (relatively unchanged from earlier titles), and navel combat is disappointing. Creative Assembly released an unfinished game. Read the user reviews.… Expand
  97. HenryB
    Jun 21, 2009
    5
    In short, this game just isn't ready for prime time. I've tried playing this game for over a week now, and it is just infuriating how many show-stopper bugs crop up. This isn't just about crashes to desktop (I've actually not experienced any). My problems have all been around the campaign running along for several hours, only to encounter a bug that wipes out all of In short, this game just isn't ready for prime time. I've tried playing this game for over a week now, and it is just infuriating how many show-stopper bugs crop up. This isn't just about crashes to desktop (I've actually not experienced any). My problems have all been around the campaign running along for several hours, only to encounter a bug that wipes out all of your work. - Ships trying to blockade your port end up on land, so you cannot attack them and break the siege. (Your economy is now ruined, and you must start over). - Your key artillery pieces are enormously stupid. I can understand if they accidentally shoot other units. But if targets move sufficiently off to the side, the cannons will line up in a single file and shoot through each other. That is silly. And can turn a key battle from sure victory to a close defeat. - Units on the campaign map will just disappear when moving between fleets and land, making rush reinforcements of areas risky. - The AI in battles and campaign is just horrible. - The trade Routes system (IMHO) is botched in its design. When you create a trade route from (say) the east indies to Europe, it goes through 4 or 5 different maps. In any one of these maps, a pirate can attack the route and severely disrupt your income. The interface doesn't allow any practices that were used to avoid this problem in reality- convoys, seasonal shipping, etc. - Agents just don't work well. You can't make them and they just die randomly (either through assassination or old age) leaving you without a key person. I love the Total War series. However, this game shows so many gameplay bugs (again, not just crashes to desktop) that you will find yourself absolutely infuriated when you must abandon a campaign after hours of work. There is no excuse for such horrible quality. I am actually shocked how favorably all the Critics reviewed this game. No other game in my memory has gotten such rave reviews by the critics only to be panned by the public due to bugs. How did CA manage this? Were the reviewers not reading closely? I've seen a lot of criticism of negative reviewers on this board and elsewhere. People say things like "its just a minority of users with problems complaining. The vast majority of people have no problems." This just isn't true. Right now, the user reviews of MetaCritic put this game at 6.8. And CA's forums are near revolt. Empire isn't the worst game ever- indeed its promise is what annoys me so much. But it has to be one of the biggest DISAPPOINTMENTS in my long (20+ yrs) gaming career.… Expand
  98. GeorgeW
    Jun 3, 2009
    5
    In my opinion Empire: Total War has not been the kind of squeal to the series we have all been waiting for. The game i found was very slow paced and it is BORING at many times and it also has many 'fun' issues with it. However the graphics are amazing and the sound is superb, but its one thing to have good effects and another to have shitty game play. If i have to choose, id In my opinion Empire: Total War has not been the kind of squeal to the series we have all been waiting for. The game i found was very slow paced and it is BORING at many times and it also has many 'fun' issues with it. However the graphics are amazing and the sound is superb, but its one thing to have good effects and another to have shitty game play. If i have to choose, id choose game play over looks and effects. Empire has not been able to impress me with this at all. I've played Rome total War and Medieval 2 total war and had a absolute fun time with both, i spent many hours playing each and they are both great games, but Empire just doesn't do it for me. The units are all VERY similar and the main difference is how many guys with guns and how many guys with what colors of uniforms etc. etc. Overall the game lacks a large sense of fun, and this was made by the greatest gaming company for big battles ever. But it has its moments and it has given my some smiles here and there. So here it is: 5/10.… Expand
  99. pietjej
    Jun 30, 2009
    6
    Great game. Too bad it was released in a very buggy and unfinished condition. Hopefully they give something back for free for all the trouble their fans went through although I doubt that. Today you have to pay to be a beta tester it seems. I remember I got a t-shirt for beta testing settlers 3.
  100. JJ
    Jun 4, 2009
    6
    Well, i was going to review after i had finished a grand campaign, but due to the game crashing, well, i guess im finished!. This game is one like no other for both posative and negative reason. The graphics are just amazing, the depth and attention to detail is incredible although different character models would have been nice, 1500 men with the same face was a bit of a joke . Great Well, i was going to review after i had finished a grand campaign, but due to the game crashing, well, i guess im finished!. This game is one like no other for both posative and negative reason. The graphics are just amazing, the depth and attention to detail is incredible although different character models would have been nice, 1500 men with the same face was a bit of a joke . Great sound, especially when a houndred muskets fire across the battle field at the same time, the moans and groans of close combat are just fantastic as are the sounds of bullets slaming in the enemy. Now the gameplay has more potential that a invisible ninja, the campaign is great, the joy and feeling of succes when conqouring* a region and upgrading all your cities and villages is gloryous, as is winning a battle when your outnumber 10-1, but when your bloody skirmishers face the opposite way from an incoming enemy or when your artillary wont shoot at what you tell them to or when your guys wont shoot there muskets!................you get the hint. This game is completly unfinished and buggy, and i was lucky as i got about 3/4 through a campaign before any REAL trouble. The replayabilty may be a bit short as there is very few maps and the armies are basically the same which makes for some very average custom battles. And for some reason i cannot play multiplayer at all. The only reason it gets a 6 is due to what the game could have or should have been. I will gladely give it 10 when the developers grow a back bone, refund our money and fix this mess.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

5
#5 Best PC Game of 2009
3
#3 Most Discussed PC Game of 2009
6
#6 Most Shared PC Game of 2009

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
90

Universal acclaim - based on 62 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 61 out of 62
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 62
  3. Negative: 0 out of 62
  1. PC Gamer UK
    94
    Astonishing...Immense... A strategy masterwork. [Mar 2009, p.54]
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  2. Eurogamer
    90
    In some ways, it's the closest we've come to the enormous social novel from the period after that which Empire chronicles: it's a Tolstoy-esque War and Peace of a game. Its problems may be the inevitable problems of trying something with such sheer scope. As such, if you want the breathtaking vision of the game, you have to accept the flaws in the details - for now, at least.
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  3. InsideGamer.nl
    93
    This is the best Total War game thanks to all the little tweaks. Sometimes little differences make a good game great. The battles ask of you that you think more about your actions and managing your empire never was easier. The sea battles are fun to watch, but are a little hard to control. Nevertheless, Empire: Total War is a game that can make you forget about the time.
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