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. RiyadS
    Jun 6, 2009
    7
    This would have been a great game if it werent for all the crashes. I realy can't get into its mood.
  2. stevew.
    Jul 11, 2009
    5
    Overall i was disappointed, i really enjoyed rome but this for me is too big, too difficult and on the whole i can't face the game, there is no scope to build up an empire in my eyes. i would rather play civilization now which for me is more fluid. In terms of factual accuracy they have done a good job in this game, but it does not feel like a game... not enjoyable... i had high Overall i was disappointed, i really enjoyed rome but this for me is too big, too difficult and on the whole i can't face the game, there is no scope to build up an empire in my eyes. i would rather play civilization now which for me is more fluid. In terms of factual accuracy they have done a good job in this game, but it does not feel like a game... not enjoyable... i had high expectations of this game, but i am let down.… Expand
  3. ab
    Jul 19, 2009
    6
    Very good campaign and graphics. very enjoyable other than every 5 or so mutes your computer crashes, then it takes 30 minutes to load and crashes again.
  4. KenN
    Jul 7, 2009
    6
    Too buggy to get max score. All games need updates to iron out minor bugs and correct balance; this game needed major rework under the hood to get it right. Did they test it at all or did they release a half-finished game because their eyes were full of dollar signs?
  5. AlexT
    Aug 17, 2009
    5
    The gameplay is good; a very addicting game until you have a sprawling empire then your game crashses. I believe this is not a problem of computing power as Greg C stated. but rather I think that it is that the computer is too powerful and the problem is 64-bit Vista, which is required if you have a new computer with more than 4GB of RAM. Also I think that in trying to take full advantage The gameplay is good; a very addicting game until you have a sprawling empire then your game crashses. I believe this is not a problem of computing power as Greg C stated. but rather I think that it is that the computer is too powerful and the problem is 64-bit Vista, which is required if you have a new computer with more than 4GB of RAM. Also I think that in trying to take full advantage of the computer's RAM the game intrudes on reserved system RAM and Vista's data execution protection is kicking in.… Expand
  6. SimonL.
    Aug 24, 2009
    5
    This game is way too buggy, it continually crashes and suffers graphics glitches all the time. The game play is excellent and if it actually worked it would be magnificent but it was obviously rushed out without enough testing. The patches have not fixed its problems.
  7. BobH
    Aug 5, 2009
    6
    AMAZING!!!!! perfect game i'm so lucky it works on my computer.although 2 things 1.Stream WTF it is just loads of crud I HATE STREAM!!!!2.AI is so stupid i mean it never attacks u:(! and it just sits there and gets killed!!!!Its a great game though very historical and a nice map oh, and about the map the AI is like broken or something cause it just sits there and dose nothing!!! I AMAZING!!!!! perfect game i'm so lucky it works on my computer.although 2 things 1.Stream WTF it is just loads of crud I HATE STREAM!!!!2.AI is so stupid i mean it never attacks u:(! and it just sits there and gets killed!!!!Its a great game though very historical and a nice map oh, and about the map the AI is like broken or something cause it just sits there and dose nothing!!! I would also like to play as nations such as idians pirates ext. i rate this game a 6.… Expand
  8. WillC
    Sep 10, 2009
    5
    I must say I was excited to see that some one had finely made a 18th Century R.T.S. that was worth playing. Well that was what I was thinking until I installed this and began to play. Not 15 minutes into playing grand campaign mode this video game failed to perform and resulted in a crash. After attempting to re-install this program I found that these problems continued and at times got I must say I was excited to see that some one had finely made a 18th Century R.T.S. that was worth playing. Well that was what I was thinking until I installed this and began to play. Not 15 minutes into playing grand campaign mode this video game failed to perform and resulted in a crash. After attempting to re-install this program I found that these problems continued and at times got worse. Being a former tester in the video game industry I tend to think that I expect more from titles then most. But the constant software failures, Clipping issues, and lagging animation leads me to believe that this game was a rushed product that was not tested properly, and no it isn't my computer this computer is loaded with the best hardware and software on the market and runs all previous games with out issues. I understand this is a resent release and like all new games will have its issues but this game is by far the most broken game I have yet to encountered next to Dream Catchers Super Power 2. I firmly recommend this game be fixed soon or I will insure you that I will never buy another Sega product again. I'm giving this game a 5 due to it excellent concept but poor performance.… Expand
  9. Leatherneck918
    Sep 1, 2009
    5
    This game is still broken at 1.3 patch. Im giving CA one more chance at fixing this BETA of a game with patch 1.4 that is suppost to come out in Late September. If the game is still not up to specs as Avertised, I will be giving up on this game and wait for the modders to fix it.
  10. RickW
    Sep 5, 2009
    5
    This game is borken, plain and simple. The AI for both the campaign and battle map is worse than the previous installments in the series. With every patch the inherent problems with the games become more and more evident. The AI will never use diplomacy, will refuse most negotations for no reason, and will never declare peace on other AI, meaning that every nation is a war with everyone This game is borken, plain and simple. The AI for both the campaign and battle map is worse than the previous installments in the series. With every patch the inherent problems with the games become more and more evident. The AI will never use diplomacy, will refuse most negotations for no reason, and will never declare peace on other AI, meaning that every nation is a war with everyone else for the entire game. On the battle map, the AI is incredibly inept and can do nothing but charge you head on with bayonets after running bakc and forth before your firing lines. Pathfinding is hopeless and random glithces will crash your game about every hour or so. The multiplayer for this game has some promise, but it is unfinished. Balance and unit diversity form the latest patches make the gamplay intersting and exciting with every game. However there are only about 10 maps with totally unfair starting positions. There are also only three scenarios. Because of this replayibility on multiplayer is limited which is a shame becasue it's the only part of the game that works. This game looks imprssive and the reviewers paraded it about, but it is nothing more than an empty shell of a really good idea. Stay away from this game unless you are a diehard fan of the CA series multiplayer.… Expand
  11. RobC
    Dec 1, 2009
    5
    When it was released it crashed constantly, now that it's fixed it's actually quite a bland game.
  12. AndyW
    Oct 9, 2009
    5
    The game looks fantastic, the campaign map plays out pretty good but the battle ai is absolutely atrocious. It is so bad that i have shelved this game indefinitely. The game is abosolutely no challenge what so ever due the ai reforming its regiments. These soldiers, reform in front of your battle line whilst getting shot to pieces letting you easily win. Not only that reform towards your The game looks fantastic, the campaign map plays out pretty good but the battle ai is absolutely atrocious. It is so bad that i have shelved this game indefinitely. The game is abosolutely no challenge what so ever due the ai reforming its regiments. These soldiers, reform in front of your battle line whilst getting shot to pieces letting you easily win. Not only that reform towards your line so they end up in melee and rout soon after. I would give it a 8 or 9 if the bai was working, unfortunately the game is ruined by this and giving it a good rating just because it has good graphic or good campaign ai is not enough. Total war needs to be the whole package and empire is not that. I think if they do not fix the bai issues, they will be disillusioning half the community and Napoleon sales will plummet.. Also this is the first total war game i have been majorly disappointed with period.… Expand
  13. AnonymousMC
    Mar 11, 2009
    7
    It looks great but chugs a bit even though I can run FPSs at top spec. The experience is just that... an experience. There's no great pleasure to playing. Large scale troop movements are a headache if they involve anything other than walking straight forward. Also watching lines of men shoot at each other lacks the impact of a bloody melee. Compared to the rest in the series its aIt looks great but chugs a bit even though I can run FPSs at top spec. The experience is just that... an experience. There's no great pleasure to playing. Large scale troop movements are a headache if they involve anything other than walking straight forward. Also watching lines of men shoot at each other lacks the impact of a bloody melee. Compared to the rest in the series its a real disappointment. Shogun 2 would be nice next though.… Expand
  14. BobO
    Mar 12, 2009
    5
    Empire: Total War. What potential, what enthusiasm I had when I popped in the discs and endured the wait for install. clicking the icon to start brought back memories of Rome: Total War and Medieval Total War, I couldn't wait. Well Ladies and Gentlemen, after 48 hours of play I can confirm that this game is far from user friendly, is missing many of the much promised features, is bug Empire: Total War. What potential, what enthusiasm I had when I popped in the discs and endured the wait for install. clicking the icon to start brought back memories of Rome: Total War and Medieval Total War, I couldn't wait. Well Ladies and Gentlemen, after 48 hours of play I can confirm that this game is far from user friendly, is missing many of the much promised features, is bug ridden which include a multitude of crashes to desktop for no apparent reason and many other quirks. I have to say I am disappointed especially after waiting so long for this game, two years to be precise. All I got was an unfinished product with enough flaws for me to put the game away for a long while until (I hope) gets sorted out with the multiple patches announced. Creative Assembly gave us a base which will require much attention to fix, but it can't be fixed with patches, it needs MODs or Modifications made by the community. I feel it is only a bad show of respect that Creative Assembly has not made any announcement of mod tools or community support. It seems that CA will be following the same road many game developers are now starting to take which is releasing an unfinished game lacking in features only to release an expansion pack months later to fix and add the stuff that should already be present. I believe it is only fair that we the consumer start to receive much more attention and better products from the companies we are buying from. Now the game is (was) fairly playable before the last patch which brought back many more problems than it fixed. The game allows you to play 11 factions, 12 if you beat the Road to Independence. That is not many factions to play as considering the former games CA has released have allowed you to play a multitude of factions with the vanilla game alone. Now with Empire, you can play with 12, but not with any of the other factions present in the game which number around 60+. Another unfortunate design decision or a financial incentive to withhold an official unlock for these factions which leads me to my next disappointment, unit variation and AI. CA PROMISED to fix the AI which controls armies on the battle map and campaign map which persisted in their former releases, but it would seem that this time they have regressed into coding a very pathetic AI. Now I am sorry if this offends you, but the AI has always been a PROMISE by CA to be improved, but they have not done anything substantial with it for many of there last releases. The battle map AI will still not utilize terrain, effectively use its numbers against you or perform simple functions like flanking properly. Same goes with the bug ridden campaign map which lags and crashes constantly keeping you frustrated and on the edge of whether or not your progress is all for nothing. AI will STILL not use there navies to properly invade coastal or island regions making the challenge seem somewhat nonexistent. If you see where I am going with this than you are right, CA promised a lot of NEW features, but delivered a an OLD and broken system to a game whose setting would require a new thought to the genre. If it wasn't for the many amazing Modders out there who spend there valuable time making the game better for us, CA's games would remain broken and half-baked. CA knows this and instead of encouraging Modders, they turn them away by refusing there insight. CA knows that Modders add features to the game which should had been there the whole time, so Modders are technically taking away the ability of CA and SEGA to make and publish expansions. It sounds crazy, but it is practical and makes sense. A company does not want to support its Modders unless they were not going to effect their bottom line. An unfortunate Business practice, but the video game industry is all about business and making big profits, not making noteworthy game anymore. With the score I am giving Empire Total War, I feel I am fair and in the correct. CA PROMISED so much, but delivered the same OLD formula. Goodbye Total War, I am going to miss you.… Expand
  15. SaitX
    Mar 13, 2009
    5
    Empire: Total War was one of the titles i have been waiting to get for some time. I got the game few days ago from steam and started playing it. The game offers better graphics and gameplay then before. However there is lots of errors due to steam . I got crit errors like 10 times in 48 hours. Pros: -Graphics are great -Movie like battles (as always) -Sea battes (worth trying) Cons: Empire: Total War was one of the titles i have been waiting to get for some time. I got the game few days ago from steam and started playing it. The game offers better graphics and gameplay then before. However there is lots of errors due to steam . I got crit errors like 10 times in 48 hours. Pros: -Graphics are great -Movie like battles (as always) -Sea battes (worth trying) Cons: -Steam sucks . Lots of errors crits eventhough they released an update few days after release. I hear pirated version is more stable :S -Diplomatic relations.( once they say no you never get to make them say yes) -Towns and fortresses are bugged, your forces may get stuck in a wall or a building. -Game ends in 200 turns and you wonder if you did everything possible.… Expand
  16. ManuelR
    Mar 17, 2009
    7
    First of all sorry for my english no0t good. I am a TW fan since thier first release (Shogun), Empire TW is an unpolished game, the most important to fix AI lack of aggressivity. YOU CANT GIVE 10 to a game with so many bugs and fixes. Still i really enjoyed all the new features and enjoyed to play it a lot so thats tells me that if Creative Assembly runs some play testing takes notes on First of all sorry for my english no0t good. I am a TW fan since thier first release (Shogun), Empire TW is an unpolished game, the most important to fix AI lack of aggressivity. YOU CANT GIVE 10 to a game with so many bugs and fixes. Still i really enjoyed all the new features and enjoyed to play it a lot so thats tells me that if Creative Assembly runs some play testing takes notes on their fans reviews and makes some good patches will be the best TW game ever. Only thing i misse that cannot be fixed with any patch is no improvement in graphics. Positive aspects : Better trade Strategy, gunpowder gives a fresh air to the battles, Technology is interesting and refreshing 3 scenarious makes it a huge new game, and a multiplayer 1v1 campaing will be awesome there is no AI today that can replace the challenge of a human contender. So I will give the Game a 7 waiting for patches that will raise that to an 9.8… Expand
  17. DominickM
    Mar 17, 2009
    6
    The Steam requirement is a no-brainer in terms of DRM and beats the alternatives. Those complaining might as well give up, not going to change. The game itself is disappointingly unfinished. The combat AI is better than previous TW games, but the campaign AI is as broken and boring as ever. The AI is incapable of transporting troops via ships. And plays far too passively. Every campaign The Steam requirement is a no-brainer in terms of DRM and beats the alternatives. Those complaining might as well give up, not going to change. The game itself is disappointingly unfinished. The combat AI is better than previous TW games, but the campaign AI is as broken and boring as ever. The AI is incapable of transporting troops via ships. And plays far too passively. Every campaign played (on very hard difficulty) is an inevitable march to victory. This makes it extremely boring. The lack of single player historical battles and multiplayer maps further emphasizes the fact that they released this game a good 6 months before they really should have. On the bright side, the foundation isn't terrible, and they seem more committed to patching than previous TW games (thanks to Steam making patch delivery simple). I'd bet after 5-6 patches and a few mods this becomes the best of the TW series. But for now, I can't play it.… Expand
  18. SteveW.
    Mar 21, 2009
    6
    The game is really awesome. There a significant improvements over MTW2. However, the game is super buggy, and it has crashed on me several times during game play which is really annoying. I'm not sure if this has to do with steam or medieval total war, but it sucks.
  19. PatS
    Mar 23, 2009
    6
    Yes i agree with others - laggy, buggy, crash prone, released too early. This is my sixth Total War game and yes i can t delete a saved game either. I Love the game but it is a little dissapointing that it is a pain to use( i currently can t get it to run unless i m on the net and yes it is updated/my kid drives me nuts wanting to play) especially when you pay a premium price for it at Yes i agree with others - laggy, buggy, crash prone, released too early. This is my sixth Total War game and yes i can t delete a saved game either. I Love the game but it is a little dissapointing that it is a pain to use( i currently can t get it to run unless i m on the net and yes it is updated/my kid drives me nuts wanting to play) especially when you pay a premium price for it at release in the collectors edition---- shame on the designers-- yes seriously.… Expand
  20. KubaD
    Mar 24, 2009
    7
    The least playable of all of the Total Wars, which is a shame, as it had the biggest potential. The AI is pathetic, no matter which level of difficulty. You can conquer the whole of France within 5 turns of the game whichever faction you play and afterwards the whole gameplay is just winning without any effort. Once you conquered London or Paris you have twice the income any other faction The least playable of all of the Total Wars, which is a shame, as it had the biggest potential. The AI is pathetic, no matter which level of difficulty. You can conquer the whole of France within 5 turns of the game whichever faction you play and afterwards the whole gameplay is just winning without any effort. Once you conquered London or Paris you have twice the income any other faction has. And this combined with the laughable 'ideas' of the computer players makes the difficulty curve go downslope from this moment on. That sums up the strategic gameplay, as there is little more to it. Battle itself is great, as there is little to add to the way Total Wars present themselves. It's really a masterpiece, and seeing your lines of infantry mercilesly pounding on the enemy is priceless. The custom battles, however, are awful. No river crossings, too little settings and the worst part: not all units are available. I really, really would like to be able to play againt the angry melee pirate mob. It would let you engenieer all those cool scenarios, in which a regiment of elite, experienced rifleman and a single mortar repells the attack of a thousand of armed swashbucklers. I can't think for everyone, but tell me: what's the ratio of senseless slaughers compared to real, balanced battles when you use custom battles? I for one usually made battles when a elite unit stood to thousands of peasants and died in a glorious battle taking 20 times more enemies with themselves before being cut to pieces by the angry mob or commanded an army of poor village/towns-folk struggling aggainst the army of an oppresive tyrant. Oh, and there's another thing - in campaign battles you get to be entrenched - in custom - you don't. This really is a major drawback, as custom battles often serve as a training tool for real battles. I completed a couple of campaigns now and only twice i got to use the riflemen ability to plant mines. I'd really like to know their [the mine's] power to plan assaults better. But i don't get to. Cause nobody gave a thought to making the custom battles being really custom. Another thing: don't even get me started on the whole Steam thing. I hated Steam whole my life and I have no intent of changing it. It a bugged and messed up platform that really should die off. It has too much control over a game, it slow's it down (all those commmunity messages that crashed the game) and generally sucks. It's really cool that Empire is distributed on-line, but I'd love to buy it as a normal, boxed game without being forced to use the net to play it. And the last thing: i don't understan why the game is so slow. The graphic effects arent THAT better (though they are breathtaking) from the previous games, yet still Empire works several times slower than Medieval. A bigger battle takes 15 minutes to load (whereas the biggest battles in Medieval 2 took 2-4 minutes) and I don't even play on the maximum unit size settings! I can, however, understand the battles - all the smoke, fire and other effects occupy your graphics card and processor. Why the strategy screen is so slow - I have no idea. It differs little even from the Rome series. Overall: the game is really neat, the idea is more than great, but the technicalities... Well, they made me stop playing the game. If a big, big patch comes out (generally fixing the AI issues) I'd be glad to come back. For now - the game's dead.… Expand
  21. Flankero.
    Mar 27, 2009
    5
    Too too bad, a awesome evolution to TW series, but this one is a dude. Crashes, too much to run on even a good system, and its momentum of the game is lacking to Rome total war. Even the intro video has the jitters.... I hope they get it all fixed up, I was really lookin forward to this game.
  22. OdinA
    Mar 29, 2009
    6
    Still after 3 patches on a computer that has the latest windows updates with nothing that is not needed to play this game. Graphics and gameplay makes this a unique beautiful game. The bugs and this atrocity of a gaming client called Steam tears it down into decease ridden pool of decomposing dreams. Over half the battles I play in campaign crash the game in battle summary. Steam refuses Still after 3 patches on a computer that has the latest windows updates with nothing that is not needed to play this game. Graphics and gameplay makes this a unique beautiful game. The bugs and this atrocity of a gaming client called Steam tears it down into decease ridden pool of decomposing dreams. Over half the battles I play in campaign crash the game in battle summary. Steam refuses to launch the game 1/4th of the time saying it's "unavailable". The AI is clueless at veryhard/veryhard both campaign and in battle. The fences in battles make me cry when units hit a corner. The sound clipping makes battles kind of confusing. Several shadow graphic bugs. Still I love the game and hope they manage to make it playable.… Expand
  23. dwillo1982w
    Mar 31, 2009
    6
    Despite heaps of bugs, hopeless AI and laggy at times gameplay I have been playing this now for 20+ hours. Ive enjoyed it, it has so much potential however it needs major work... agents in general need work with the most attention given to rakes (they are no way near as much fun as in previous versions of TW and rakes never seem to level even on successful missions). Tactical battles are Despite heaps of bugs, hopeless AI and laggy at times gameplay I have been playing this now for 20+ hours. Ive enjoyed it, it has so much potential however it needs major work... agents in general need work with the most attention given to rakes (they are no way near as much fun as in previous versions of TW and rakes never seem to level even on successful missions). Tactical battles are awesome however work needs to be done on attacking ai, defensive sieges are too easy and too frustrating with regards to pathfinding to bother with. Unfortunently the strategic game (ie campaign) is broken and is the reason why I will not play this game again until patches are released. Winning on the campaign is a guarantee dependent only on how long you are willing to slog things out for- the AI really does not do anything well enough to stop a dedicated player from doing whatever he wants. In my opinion naval battles are kinda slow, fun at first however no real tactics required to win despite looking great.… Expand
  24. WesS
    Mar 31, 2009
    5
    I sadly am giving this a 5 as of right now. Which on most gaming sites fall in the mediocre category. I too as many of you have purchased all the other total war games in the series because i love the depth. I havent played much as college can be prohibitive in the amount of time i have to play. That being said...from what i did get my hands on...I find it horrendous that a gamer should I sadly am giving this a 5 as of right now. Which on most gaming sites fall in the mediocre category. I too as many of you have purchased all the other total war games in the series because i love the depth. I havent played much as college can be prohibitive in the amount of time i have to play. That being said...from what i did get my hands on...I find it horrendous that a gamer should spend 50 dollars for a game only to be expected to fiddle with a dam client (steam). From reading other posters...Im slightly dissappointed that they tried to dumb down the interface...etc. I think that is one of the things that made the previous games so engrossing. I have a pretty decent computer... I can run MTW2 and the expansion just fine, as well as company of heroes with little if negligible lag. The game does seem to have been released too early... the fact that many in game cutscenes lag so horribly seriously detracts from what might be a overall awesome game. I only hope these issues are addressed in a patch which leads me to another frustration with steam. The fact you have to download updates through the steam client and set it up so you can even play it offline is just absurd. I worked hard for my 50$ i dont want any headaches installing or playing my game. Just let me play! While i think that it is important that piracy of games should be restricted, why should the many suffer for the actions of a few. And you cant tell me that with the amount of money they are making they cant afford to ditch this steaming pile of steam crap. Heck look how many people bought Empire total war only to be let down. I sympathize with all of you, and patiently wait with the rest of you for the patches that will fix the game that should not have needed fixing.… Expand
  25. MichaelB
    Mar 31, 2009
    5
    The graphics of the game look great, but during battles, you'll be zoomed out managing the battlefield and the game looks dated. There are very few battlefield maps, so you'll pretty much be fighting in a field or against the same looking fort over and over. That is not eye candy and it is not even keeping current. I don't care about the look of the battles, so much as the The graphics of the game look great, but during battles, you'll be zoomed out managing the battlefield and the game looks dated. There are very few battlefield maps, so you'll pretty much be fighting in a field or against the same looking fort over and over. That is not eye candy and it is not even keeping current. I don't care about the look of the battles, so much as the clunky game mechanics. The way units move in this version of TW is terrible. Having to navigate a wall or building is an exercise in patience due to poor design. Sending troops to a location is gamble, as they may decide to take the worst path their possible . The AI is terribly slow when reacting to your changing tactics. Battles will all feel the same and repetitive due to the lack of AI or variety. Don't get me started on the load times in the game... every battle takes a solid 1 to 2 minutes to load. Even worse is sometimes the game will hang during these loads and crash. This leads to the other bugs that fester through this game. Sounds errors, game crashes, flickering, unexplained slowdowns are just some of the issues. And like other people have, STEAM is crap and causes more problems than it solves. I played through the American campaign and the Spanish. It was moderately entertaining. Very very repetitive. I was bored cold by the end of the Spanish campaign, as there comes a point when you know you are going to win hours beforehand and you're just playing through the motions and surviving bugs and load time.… Expand
  26. MarkS
    Mar 30, 2009
    5
    This game had good potential, but suffers from being released far too early. It's plagued by bugs and crashes. Thus far, a series of patches seems to have only made things worse, with CA releasing patches for their patches! Bugs aside, the AI doesn't seem to know how to play the game and there are some serious balance issues. To anyone who's interested in actually playing This game had good potential, but suffers from being released far too early. It's plagued by bugs and crashes. Thus far, a series of patches seems to have only made things worse, with CA releasing patches for their patches! Bugs aside, the AI doesn't seem to know how to play the game and there are some serious balance issues. To anyone who's interested in actually playing this game: I would advise waiting until the price drops, the bugs are all ironed out, or both.… Expand
  27. JasonH.
    Mar 31, 2009
    5
    Buggy is not the word, this game is the nest! I was always a Total War nut, but this game has made me sooo angry, i doubt i will buy another, untill the many issues have been tested and resolved-its Faulty goods and if it had beeen anything else it would have been rtnd. Sega and Creative Assembly be ashamed!
  28. NickN
    Mar 30, 2009
    5
    E:TW is beautiful. It's also not done. As shipped the campaign is simply not functional as the non-player factions do nothing due to a plethora of forehead-slapping bugs and behavior problems. The luscious visuals during battles only carry it so far -- this game needed months more development time and some, please, any play-testing at all. Normally Creative Assembly gets cut a lot of E:TW is beautiful. It's also not done. As shipped the campaign is simply not functional as the non-player factions do nothing due to a plethora of forehead-slapping bugs and behavior problems. The luscious visuals during battles only carry it so far -- this game needed months more development time and some, please, any play-testing at all. Normally Creative Assembly gets cut a lot of slack due to their small size and unique niche of games, but this is by far their worst handled release to date.… Expand
  29. JohnW
    Mar 6, 2009
    7
    Empire: Total War is an engaging strategy game. It's just not as entertaining as it could be. Attention to detail is astounding and the depth of the grand campaign far exceeds past Total War games. But the scope of the game is so large that the gameplay ultimately suffers from lack of focus. Land battles look good, and the AI works better than past games in the series, but units Empire: Total War is an engaging strategy game. It's just not as entertaining as it could be. Attention to detail is astounding and the depth of the grand campaign far exceeds past Total War games. But the scope of the game is so large that the gameplay ultimately suffers from lack of focus. Land battles look good, and the AI works better than past games in the series, but units still behave erratically at times. Naval battles feel more ill-conceived mini-game than an RTS simulation, and this was the biggest disappointment for me.… Expand
  30. zhokar
    Apr 12, 2009
    5
    Not much has been added to the gameplay of Medieval. I prefer the old units over Empire's units. There is no diversity yet no good enough for mp. It took me weeks do get this game running smoothly (only through 3rd party tools) on an i7 965 XE with a GTX 295. Many textures still look like 1995, especially the buildings. Overall the graphic effects are great, the campaign is still fun Not much has been added to the gameplay of Medieval. I prefer the old units over Empire's units. There is no diversity yet no good enough for mp. It took me weeks do get this game running smoothly (only through 3rd party tools) on an i7 965 XE with a GTX 295. Many textures still look like 1995, especially the buildings. Overall the graphic effects are great, the campaign is still fun to play but there is simply not a big enough improvement over or addition to the franchise's gameplay to make up for the HUGE technical issues that still cause random crashes, lockups and an army of bugs that outnumbers that of any player.… Expand
  31. WilliamA
    Apr 12, 2009
    6
    To begin with I have always been a huge fan of the Total War series and have been playing Rome and Medieval 2 and now Empire. When i started the game I thought it looked good, but after playing a while in campaign mode as Sweden and Great Britain I was deeply dissapointed. My first issue has got to be the campaign map. I just don't understand why how anyone can call this the biggest To begin with I have always been a huge fan of the Total War series and have been playing Rome and Medieval 2 and now Empire. When i started the game I thought it looked good, but after playing a while in campaign mode as Sweden and Great Britain I was deeply dissapointed. My first issue has got to be the campaign map. I just don't understand why how anyone can call this the biggest campaign map ever in a total war game. Even though the map spans two continents and a subcontinent it still seems smaller since CA have decided to merge all the provinces of France into one big province for example. This directly destroys the feelig of the game since if you invade Paris then all of France falls with it after ONE battle... CA seems to have modeled the game on the borders of that time and not taken border changes inte consideration. Moving on the AI is awful and acts in the weirdest possible ways and never ever invade overseas territory like Britain. In battles the AI is often undertaking weird tactics like trying to flank you with their entire army which for the record never works if you're not completely braindead. also you're own units never maintain the formation they were deployed in if you want to advance or intercept the enemy. Now i think I have been negative enough and as my rating shows I still appreciate the game and the implemention of naval battles are a real plus to the game although it sometimes feels like the Naval battles are not affecting the enemy at all as they do not accept peace offers even if all of their trade routes are raided and all their ports are blockaded. I have myself not experienced the same problems with bugs and crashes as previous comments indicate, it might have crashed about ten times or so but it has not interfered with the game too much. So overall this game has huge potential but does not live up to my (and many others) high expectations on a game in the Total War series! And yeah Steam does'nt exactly improve the rating.… Expand
  32. RaiC
    Apr 17, 2009
    5
    As a big fan of TW series, playing since Shogun I was a bit prepared for some nasty surprises, and ETW has plenty! Probably, one day, it will be a nice game, fun to be played in multiplayer and enjoyable in campaign mode. But right now, the game sits on my shelf piled with other rubbish, since it's a ctd every time I play a campaign. Several patches did not solve the issue yet As a big fan of TW series, playing since Shogun I was a bit prepared for some nasty surprises, and ETW has plenty! Probably, one day, it will be a nice game, fun to be played in multiplayer and enjoyable in campaign mode. But right now, the game sits on my shelf piled with other rubbish, since it's a ctd every time I play a campaign. Several patches did not solve the issue yet (despite improving other ones') and right I'm just waiting. Since it's not nice to give away presents I will keep it, but I cannot deny the disappointment.… Expand
  33. MashnaT
    Apr 17, 2009
    6
    total war means total war: Total war with your system for example (100 systemfailures in one games gives you a lot of hours extra playtime..) I really loved the whoe series but I think this game was not ready at all to be launched. Mystical indian powers cause one of my armies to stay on the same location for about 50 turns now. This army is probably bewitched by some evil force because total war means total war: Total war with your system for example (100 systemfailures in one games gives you a lot of hours extra playtime..) I really loved the whoe series but I think this game was not ready at all to be launched. Mystical indian powers cause one of my armies to stay on the same location for about 50 turns now. This army is probably bewitched by some evil force because whenever I dare to even point my cursor in the near direction the games will crash... I have fleets everywhere but I cant fight battles whit them because whenever I am winning the sea battle the game will crash.. I just cant wait for Total War - WWI. People will probably beat me up in the streets , or strange virusses will efect my computer... Why couldnt you just wait guys... A little bit more time for development would have serioiusly increased the quality of this - now very annoying - game.… Expand
  34. mattm
    Apr 29, 2009
    5
    They haven't finished it ,to be honest when i playey mtw2 it had loades of cool historical battles and the AI was clever. Empire truggled to run with better than recommended requirements on vista. Online play is cool but every time you log on it's shoved in my face and starts opening windows because i'm not connected to steam. The AI makes a basic line almost every time They haven't finished it ,to be honest when i playey mtw2 it had loades of cool historical battles and the AI was clever. Empire truggled to run with better than recommended requirements on vista. Online play is cool but every time you log on it's shoved in my face and starts opening windows because i'm not connected to steam. The AI makes a basic line almost every time unless you have a army of pure calvery and the frame rate is laborious. The only reason i gave it a 5 is because AI on navel command is spot on, the ships are picture perfect and enemy commanders are adaptable and intelligent. Other than some ships crashing together when in formation it's good. But that only happens when i finally get to it.… Expand
  35. bobsizemore
    Apr 7, 2009
    5
    even when this game is working, the AI is worthlessly retarded. any land battle can be won if you've got 25% odds, sometimes less. naval battles are like watching retards dogfight, as boats go in endless circles and do nothing productive (of course, since it's hard to make your boats not do the same, you still usually lose). AI can't invade via navy, has no pathfinding, and even when this game is working, the AI is worthlessly retarded. any land battle can be won if you've got 25% odds, sometimes less. naval battles are like watching retards dogfight, as boats go in endless circles and do nothing productive (of course, since it's hard to make your boats not do the same, you still usually lose). AI can't invade via navy, has no pathfinding, and other things. these gripes are all minimal if you can't even get the game to run without crashing, though (broken AI routines cause crashes that the development team still claims are hardware related). this could have been a great game- with another year of development.… Expand
  36. SR
    May 1, 2009
    5
    I bought the disc version of this and from 1707 the game kept crashing, so I would leave it a while and carry on and it seemed to clear. Now I have got as far as 1711 and when I resolve my turn it gets stuck halfway through. I have wasted a lot of time on what is basically a beautiful, addictive but horrendously flawed game. I note no one from the manufacturers has explained why the game I bought the disc version of this and from 1707 the game kept crashing, so I would leave it a while and carry on and it seemed to clear. Now I have got as far as 1711 and when I resolve my turn it gets stuck halfway through. I have wasted a lot of time on what is basically a beautiful, addictive but horrendously flawed game. I note no one from the manufacturers has explained why the game keeps crashing. I got rid of the boxed version and am now downloading it again from the site. THIS IS A STUNNING 10/10, let down by the constant faults. Maybe it is the STEAM aspect I don't know, but if this download doesn't work, I will be removing it and STEAM from my PC and never buying another Total War game again. Sorry guys.… Expand
  37. JonathanC
    May 14, 2009
    6
    Behind the issues with Steam, CTD's, gliches there is a serious question mark over the playability of the game at the strategic level due to the complexity of what the game is trying to re-create. There are fantastic graphics and the naval battles are especially dramatic but the game is not for thefainthearted and irrational AI dilpomacy and behaviour on the battlefield marrs the Behind the issues with Steam, CTD's, gliches there is a serious question mark over the playability of the game at the strategic level due to the complexity of what the game is trying to re-create. There are fantastic graphics and the naval battles are especially dramatic but the game is not for thefainthearted and irrational AI dilpomacy and behaviour on the battlefield marrs the experience. If you can pick up a cheap copy as I did then the game is worth playing for the battles alone, but be prepared for some throughtly annoying bugs and an unchallenging AI.… Expand
  38. steveb
    May 18, 2009
    5
    Frequent crashes. I'm running a pretty robust Area 51 and I still get game play errors. The critics high marks are because they aren't really playing the game.....just looking at the game, and maybe playing the demo. I suspect it may be the Steam piece that is causing the issues, but I don't really know. Until that question is answered, I won't buy another Steam product.
  39. AnonymousMC
    May 5, 2009
    7
    I'll be very brief: When it works right, it's good. When it works wrong (which is more often than not, verifiable by posts on the Steam community and even Creative Assembly's own forums), it's terrible.

    The multiplayer support at the launch of the game and at the time of the review is sub-par to what most games had available in the late 1990's. If you are    I'll be very brief: When it works right, it's good. When it works wrong (which is more often than not, verifiable by posts on the Steam community and even Creative Assembly's own forums), it's terrible.

    The multiplayer support at the launch of the game and at the time of the review is sub-par to what most games had available in the late 1990's.
    If you are even considering buying this game, I suggest waiting for a few more months, in hopes that flaws are patched.    … Expand
  40. FreddyTwoToes
    Jun 1, 2009
    6
    I am not a Beta-tester. I payed for a finished product and this is a mess. I have been playing PC games for over 30 years. Started on the Trash 80 for you old geeks out there. This is the buggyyyyest game I have ever bought..crash city. Those that gave a 9 or 10 are lucky SOB's (I have the latest alienware system btw) or just liars. Ok that said and affirming the pain and suffering I am not a Beta-tester. I payed for a finished product and this is a mess. I have been playing PC games for over 30 years. Started on the Trash 80 for you old geeks out there. This is the buggyyyyest game I have ever bought..crash city. Those that gave a 9 or 10 are lucky SOB's (I have the latest alienware system btw) or just liars. Ok that said and affirming the pain and suffering of my fellow gamers, now for the rest. The design and potential for this game to blossom with Modders is insane. If someone were to take the time to debug and detail this game it would be incredible. If it worked like it should it would earn those 9's and 10's you lunkheads are handing out. As for AI well not sure what you expecting there, if any you are programmers then you would know that the best way to handle that is a player vs player game direct IP or steam setup for Head to Head play. Even the most inept player can provide a better challenge than the best AI period. Sorry but just the facts of life for a long time to come until computers get much more powerful or you can settle for chess.… Expand
  41. SerraS
    Jun 18, 2009
    7
    Totally agree with the above. The game is beautiful but older computers will have LESS problems....SLI is not supported by this game, so any modern powerful rigs will have to disable SLI or go back to old nvidia drivers. The strategy part of the game has moved on leaps and bounds and is much better on nearly every level. However..the battle maps, gorgeous they might be, are home to pretty Totally agree with the above. The game is beautiful but older computers will have LESS problems....SLI is not supported by this game, so any modern powerful rigs will have to disable SLI or go back to old nvidia drivers. The strategy part of the game has moved on leaps and bounds and is much better on nearly every level. However..the battle maps, gorgeous they might be, are home to pretty boring battles. Cavalary are the most interesting units now as they at least FIGHT one another. blokes stood shooting at one another just doesnt cut it. Compare this with the joy of unleashing a plethora of arrows at the enemy from a hill and hearing that satisfying noise as they dig in.........Medieval Total War is a much better play....and still looks nearly as good. Empire Total War ? Naa....This is Empire War....nothing total about it.… Expand
  42. MichaelBraly
    Jun 18, 2009
    5
    Initially enjoyed the game as a step forward as I figured out the system and it's differences from Medieval 2: Total War. Then I realized that there's no reasonable AI to speak of at the strategic level. Combined with somewhat obtuse documentation and a development team which seems focused on providing shinies instead of gameplay improvement (in fact, strategic gameplay almostInitially enjoyed the game as a step forward as I figured out the system and it's differences from Medieval 2: Total War. Then I realized that there's no reasonable AI to speak of at the strategic level. Combined with somewhat obtuse documentation and a development team which seems focused on providing shinies instead of gameplay improvement (in fact, strategic gameplay almost feels like a step back from previous titles), I'm comfortable placing this at 5. Great for the graphics and the boom of guns, but horrible if you're looking for an interesting and engaging game that will suck all of your time.… Expand
  43. MaximeL
    Jun 24, 2009
    5
    I have all the titles of the total war series and have never been disappointed until this one came out. It didn't have any bug at first but the new patches seemed to add problems on my game. the campaign is so easy you don't need to do anything even when you manage all and play the hardest. Most of the faction units are so much alike that the battles get boring fast. It takes so I have all the titles of the total war series and have never been disappointed until this one came out. It didn't have any bug at first but the new patches seemed to add problems on my game. the campaign is so easy you don't need to do anything even when you manage all and play the hardest. Most of the faction units are so much alike that the battles get boring fast. It takes so long to finally get a unique unit that it's not worth teching for it since you'll then waste your economy... even if you get them, they're not that much of a boost on the battlefield. it lacks the feel of all the previous titles (no animations for agents, the characters barely evolve over time whatever you do, can't change the gouvernment type for all you want unless you make a unrest on purpose, you don't need to play the battles because your economy will end up to be unlimited so fast that it's a joke, ai is the worse yet, the generals don't do any speeches, the diplomacy is pointless because unless you give everything to the ai he will refuse offers - technology and alliances-) There's probably other things to come to mind for bad points, but at least there is still support for patches and they usually listen to the community. The expansion might end up being better. For now the only thing to come up with something good to improve the game is the modding community. Summary : too easy, buggy, lacks the feeling of previous titles and repetitve on so many things it's a joke at the times. = boring (at least the historical facts are good but i didn't buy a book...).… Expand
  44. NickL
    Jun 25, 2009
    6
    Got the newest patch, and still sadly disappointed. I have not bothered to play this much, and will not probably for months when the game gets up to a decent standard. The first battle I got in after the 1.3 patch I won easy, because my AI opponent killed its own general and about 30-40 other guys with its own cannon fire. Still I had a shot at losing since only one of my units wanted to Got the newest patch, and still sadly disappointed. I have not bothered to play this much, and will not probably for months when the game gets up to a decent standard. The first battle I got in after the 1.3 patch I won easy, because my AI opponent killed its own general and about 30-40 other guys with its own cannon fire. Still I had a shot at losing since only one of my units wanted to man the cannon on the fort walls. Also, my single reinforcement unit decided that once it went in melee mode it no longer had firearms and froze after I tried to switch melee mode off. Some "bugs" are just funny though. Like why are my elephants climbing over wooden fences? Wouldn't an animal that ways a few tons be a little much for a flimsy wooden fence to support? Or, hey all the other units in the AI's army are fleeing other then the cannoneers. What are they doing? Charging the fort, without their cannons. Anyone who gave this game an 8 or above needs to go out and buy a couple of good video games.… Expand
  45. ShaneP
    Jun 3, 2009
    5
    It's would be a great game if it didn't suffer from tons of issues.Iit is hilariously buggy and regularly crashes to desktop. sometimes corrupting your save and forceing you to start all over again. The AI is terrible and it doesn't seem to have any kind of plan in either the campaign mode or the battles. Most naval battles seem to end up in the AI fleet getting stuck It's would be a great game if it didn't suffer from tons of issues.Iit is hilariously buggy and regularly crashes to desktop. sometimes corrupting your save and forceing you to start all over again. The AI is terrible and it doesn't seem to have any kind of plan in either the campaign mode or the battles. Most naval battles seem to end up in the AI fleet getting stuck against each which makes them easy targets. There's a big emphasis on naval combat but the AI very, very rarely (if ever) attacks you via the sea which makes it next to impossible to lose as the British, or indeed any faction that has cities on islands. Would be worth a 10, but CA really need to patch the game first.… Expand
  46. PedroR
    Jun 8, 2009
    7
    Pretty awesome game, the improvement in the government feature of the game makes the game more interesting than the previous games. The sea battles are pretty cool too. But I must give an 7 because of bad AI and path-finder. It also takes a lot of graphical memory (which I don't think it needs to): I prefer a game with not-some-much graphics but playable than a fancy "look at the Pretty awesome game, the improvement in the government feature of the game makes the game more interesting than the previous games. The sea battles are pretty cool too. But I must give an 7 because of bad AI and path-finder. It also takes a lot of graphical memory (which I don't think it needs to): I prefer a game with not-some-much graphics but playable than a fancy "look at the shiny things" that you would need a expensive PC to play.… Expand
  47. RichardB
    Jun 9, 2009
    6
    Crash, play for 20 mins, crash, play for 20 mins and then another crash. Another game that was rushed out the door before it was ready. Would really love to play a game that was stable on release, any game! Apart from all that the game is great - well you can imagine it being great when they getting it stable!
  48. MattL
    Jul 17, 2009
    5
    Well, what can I say? You saw the reviews. When you play ETW, the game's an all-out 10. Kicks every kind of strategy ass you can think of. But, the game right now is nigh unplayable, and when you can't play a game, why give it a rating at all? So I'm taking the middle ground, ETW in another six months will doubtless be the 10/10 it deserves, but SEGA's rush release has Well, what can I say? You saw the reviews. When you play ETW, the game's an all-out 10. Kicks every kind of strategy ass you can think of. But, the game right now is nigh unplayable, and when you can't play a game, why give it a rating at all? So I'm taking the middle ground, ETW in another six months will doubtless be the 10/10 it deserves, but SEGA's rush release has made the thing full of holes. I'm taking the middle ground between both and giving the game a 5/10. Pick it up when it's cheaper and without a doubt more playable than the one that costs sixty bucks now.… Expand
  49. JacobC.
    Jul 28, 2009
    6
    It came from a great legacy but it fails to meet its mark in this new version. What I'm most upset about is the thing called STEAM. Its slow, crashy, and overall just plain stupid. It has no point in being here. I played Dawn Of War 2 on STEAM and it installed the game in 10mins or less. This game took over 5hrs to download. It really made me angry. So in conclusion: Game = Alright It came from a great legacy but it fails to meet its mark in this new version. What I'm most upset about is the thing called STEAM. Its slow, crashy, and overall just plain stupid. It has no point in being here. I played Dawn Of War 2 on STEAM and it installed the game in 10mins or less. This game took over 5hrs to download. It really made me angry. So in conclusion: Game = Alright but a little boring, STEAM = F*#$ You Dude!… Expand
  50. Jason
    Jul 5, 2009
    5
    Game released without advertised features. buggy beyond any acceptable standard and latest patch made game unplayable. high professional review scores shed light on problems inherent to the industry at large.
  51. joe
    Aug 31, 2009
    6
    i love all the total war series... i've played them all... but the whole steam thing??? i've been loading this crap all day just to play my game... i mean usually the total war series just gets better and better but steam is a bad idea.... but still.... i cant wait to play it
  52. DavidS
    Nov 30, 2009
    5
    im not going to nag like all you kids about oh its soo buggy, its a complete failure, its a waste of money, blah blah blah! its got bugs. its so infested with them, the terminator wouldnt even bother with this game. but guess what? you think it will ever be 100% fixed? NO! why?, b/c the money has been made and newer, better games are coming out. If I owned a labeled software company and im not going to nag like all you kids about oh its soo buggy, its a complete failure, its a waste of money, blah blah blah! its got bugs. its so infested with them, the terminator wouldnt even bother with this game. but guess what? you think it will ever be 100% fixed? NO! why?, b/c the money has been made and newer, better games are coming out. If I owned a labeled software company and made my money back off a title that was a flop,I wouldnt fix it entirely either. why sink so much more into a flop, when i can take that money and make a winner. jeez, bunch of toddlers whining. As for my 2 cents, overall this game isnt that bad. but it sure beats East Trading Company by a mile, but 1701 has more to offer than this game does, shame too. I dont dare going online with this game and all its bugs. but i do agree with Ezra Y, it takes alot to make these type games and does deserve more than a 0, but this particular one deserves no more than a 8, so i split the difference +1.… Expand
  53. AlexL
    Oct 17, 2009
    5
    Quality of the game is very poor. A year after release and multiple patches later, I still haven't been able to completely finish a Grand Campaign. Games crash with no error messages, saves cannot be loaded, games in progress cannot be saved, white screen of death, you name it. Very frustrating.
  54. GKiloh
    Dec 12, 2009
    5
    My vote would have been higher save for the fact that lockups are so routine
  55. CooperM
    Dec 14, 2009
    6
    Fan since Rome:TW, loved M2:TW and this is just a disgrace. Creative Assembly was my favorite developer but this may have ruined my faith in them. Far too many glitches to count, bought it the day it came out and I have purcheased all of the expansions and gotten all the updates and still crashes on my brand new gaming computer. The support for this game is terrible, period!
  56. ValhunK
    Oct 27, 2009
    5
    A let down after all the previous superb total war games, fortresses usually don't work as they should, the army nearby does not always seem to want to men the guns, in land battles the enemy seems to prefer charging you all too often, so there's not as much tactics to use as in the previous games as its all just a blitzkrieging of regiments... plus no time to watch the carnage A let down after all the previous superb total war games, fortresses usually don't work as they should, the army nearby does not always seem to want to men the guns, in land battles the enemy seems to prefer charging you all too often, so there's not as much tactics to use as in the previous games as its all just a blitzkrieging of regiments... plus no time to watch the carnage up close, as it is all over in seconds... I thought the armies of the day squared off and shot each other to pieces... but the game is more like a WW1 dash from the trenches by the infantry... of yeah and trying to get your horses to move in formation and gather before a charge, good luck, most get lost at fences or walls... and there are always plenty of those around even in the bloody deserts... compared to the medieval 2 game, the land battles are only half as fun... and last about 10% of the time... also I hate the fact that you do not see your units improve with tech development, I mean, if I develop new bayonets, I would expect my melee attack to increase, but no, nothing, also if my unit gains experience, I would excpect them to be better shots, or something, but there is no improvement in the campaign... a level 3 experienced unit is still just as good/crap as a greenhorn, rokie, just picked up my first musket unit... the cities are harder to manage, or more to the point, its hard to see a specific return on an improvements, oh and the same goes for tech upgrades, it says "+4 to regional wealth growth", but in your region, there is no change seen... oh yeah, and if the people are rebelling, you can't massacre them any more... not quite in line with history I'm affraid, I guess this is a more diplomatic version of the game and it ignores the wonderfull powers for example of the russian tsars to slay 1/2 of the populus and be considered a hero... nope, here the people are just pissed and continue to piss you off with strikes and such... I really hate that, as I am a tipical lover of the "civilization builder type games" where you grow your faction into a wealthy and powerfull one that eventually conquers the world... or so it went in Medieval 2... no such luck here... furthermore, diplomacy and the AI are bull shit... first of all the harder the level the less likely you are to set up a trade with someone, ok I guess because the AI faction is not into money right, also try to exchange technology? you can offer the AI 6 technologies for his shitty one, but does he accept it, noooo... there is no cost/benefit review, it's just, the AI at hard will refuse all, fullstop... I guess the harder the game, the less realistic it becomes... also in harder mode, all neighbours attack you, but in no organised fashion, and one at a time... I mean, yould you go and attact your neighbour that is 5 times more powerfull than you, only to be utterly destroyed, and after you kill the blighter, what happens, an even smaller neighbour declares war... the game is more about chasing small guerilla units and killing off the AI factions one by one, than any real large conflicts... even if you pump money and technology into your AI friend, he'll still attack you when you're at your strongest and he's at his weakest... basically the AI is crappier than in previous games for my taste...all in all I think the game was released waaay too soon, many bugs should have been solved before hand... but I gues the guys were more interested in earning a profit from sales, paying off the magazines to get good reviews and screwing the public out of their money... I guess these days no one's into putting out a good product... It just doesn't feel like a total war game and there is no way in hell I'm ever buying another one from the serries, I guess the totalwar team peaked out in Medieval 2, which I still prefer to play compared to Empires... instead of buying I suggest downloading the game from torrent, and finding better use for your money... Empires is not worth paying for...… Expand
  57. RyanS
    Mar 11, 2009
    7
    Empire is my very first Total War series purchase, and at the rate things are going it will be my last. While the scope and features of the game are nothing short of breathtaking, the implementation falls way below par in many respects. The most notable issue is the crash to desktop (CTD) that occurs at random points during the grand campaign. I've got a saved game that played as far Empire is my very first Total War series purchase, and at the rate things are going it will be my last. While the scope and features of the game are nothing short of breathtaking, the implementation falls way below par in many respects. The most notable issue is the crash to desktop (CTD) that occurs at random points during the grand campaign. I've got a saved game that played as far as turn 115 that now CTD's on the next turn, while processing the Iroquois Confederacy's AI movements. I'm hesitant to begin another game and run the risk of potentially hours of time being wasted. The first patch released by Creative Assembly (CA), the makers of the game, alleges fixes for several crashes and other bugs, however the official forums tell a different story. For some, the new patch release on Tuesday 10th March actually makes the game worse, with campaign turns taking minutes to process, and the game spending large amounts of time on the loading screens. On the whole the game has oodles of potential, and the graphics and scale of the game are very impressive, but all of that is let down by the release of an unfinished and (for some) unplayable game. Quite when customers will stop blindly accepting products of this quality is a mystery, and how the game managed 90%+ scores in it's current state is equally baffling... I'm wondering if the other reviewers out there who gave 9/10+ scores actually spent any significant amount of time playing the game, or just rushed the review out there after merely scratching the surface of the game. One final word goes to the horrendous decision to require the use of Steam to activate the game, even with boxed copies. It becomes an unacceptable situation when you spend nearly £50 on a physical boxed product, only to have to put up with the inadequacies of Steam in an effort to prove you are not a lowlife pirate. And the "Steam is currently busy and unable to process your request" message when all you are trying to do is launch the game you purchased is frankly disgusting. Treating your loyal paying customers as potential pirates by forcing this DRM rubbish down their throats is not the way to maintain that loyal customer base, especially as the pirates out there don't have to put up with any of it as they have cracked versions of the game without DRM. Fix the bugs and I'll happily update my score to 9 as I believe in the potential of the game, but in it's current state it doesn't deserve any more than 7.5.… Expand
  58. JohnM
    Mar 13, 2009
    5
    a big disappointment. I don't understand how critic reviews can be so high when the game is so strewn with bugs. Charitably this is a beta level release (loss of sound in battles, crashes to the desktop, corrupted save games), but there are critical AI level problems as well. Units which don't fire...units which don't die..naval battles look cool initially but then you get a big disappointment. I don't understand how critic reviews can be so high when the game is so strewn with bugs. Charitably this is a beta level release (loss of sound in battles, crashes to the desktop, corrupted save games), but there are critical AI level problems as well. Units which don't fire...units which don't die..naval battles look cool initially but then you get bogged down in micromanagement. In short -- released with a criminal amount of bugs and lacking in strategic depth.… Expand
  59. ISocratatus
    Mar 14, 2009
    6
    A potentially great game, but misses because it`s UNFINISHED. The units, the fighting, even the AI is better, but once you`ve played for a few turns you realise that the CampaignAI NEVER attacks you. Ok, I`ll be more specific. Indians of the Americas may actually attack you (I had one case), but Europeans NEVER do. I play as Britain. I declare war on them, they declare war on me then.. A potentially great game, but misses because it`s UNFINISHED. The units, the fighting, even the AI is better, but once you`ve played for a few turns you realise that the CampaignAI NEVER attacks you. Ok, I`ll be more specific. Indians of the Americas may actually attack you (I had one case), but Europeans NEVER do. I play as Britain. I declare war on them, they declare war on me then.. nothing. I`ve even left my towns with a skeleton army while France builds hundreds of troops, yet in 20-30 turns they simply do not take the intiative. Now if you take their lands they`ll fight to take it back. If they get their land, they stop. They won`t go further and attack your original territory. I don`t get why they have made the AI like this, surely, testing should have revealed this. Interestingly this happened in RTW and MTW2 until patched about 3 months later. Their are two possible reasons: 1.CA are stupid and just can`t get it right first time or.. 2. they make the Campaign AI Passive on purpose to make new players feel like their getting somewhere. I think the latter, so when they Patch it in 3 months so the European AI actually attacks it will be worth 810. Of course, graphics are nice battles are nice and there`s quite a bit of depth, but it`s useless if the enemy AI NEVER takes the INITIATIVE. It`s no strategy at all. Why only 8? Well because of Steam. Without Steam and the need to Activate online it would`ve gotten 9.5 And that`s a fact.… Expand
  60. MickN
    Mar 21, 2009
    5
    Some interesting ideas on how to make the strategic portion of the game more varied and interesting, but it's all for nought as the AI suffers from fatal flaws. One hopes it will be fixed in future patches, but CA's track record when it comes to programming a competent AI is poor at best. The game was simply not ready for release yet they shoved it out the door anyway. It's Some interesting ideas on how to make the strategic portion of the game more varied and interesting, but it's all for nought as the AI suffers from fatal flaws. One hopes it will be fixed in future patches, but CA's track record when it comes to programming a competent AI is poor at best. The game was simply not ready for release yet they shoved it out the door anyway. It's sad that once again, we must rely on the works of 3rd party modders to do the work that CA should've done in the first place. One glaring example of the broken AI is the fact that the AI is incapable of landing troops on a foreign shore. This means, should you play as Great Britain, you needn't spend any resources on defence as no enemy will ever set foot on your island. While is flaw makes losing pretty much an impossibility when playing as Great Britain, it also pretty much invalidates the entire N. American and Indian sub-theatres no matter which nation you're playing. They simply become wars of attrition as no European power not in possession of a base in either theatre at the start of the game will ever gain one and therefore will never present any threat to your ambitions. Avoid the game for now.… Expand
  61. Felixilef
    Mar 23, 2009
    6
    This is the best of the Total War Series, easily the most fun to play. But it does require some extensive patching. Certain behind the scene aspects of the game seem primitive or unfinished. The AI is very rudimentary, no advance on previous total war AIs. It is quite obvious that the AI is Dumb and unresponsive. Path finding of the units also needs a lot of work, especially during sieges This is the best of the Total War Series, easily the most fun to play. But it does require some extensive patching. Certain behind the scene aspects of the game seem primitive or unfinished. The AI is very rudimentary, no advance on previous total war AIs. It is quite obvious that the AI is Dumb and unresponsive. Path finding of the units also needs a lot of work, especially during sieges and around rocks and things. So although the units look really good, they're doing a lot of stupid things. I'm looking forward to some game play patches, this game really really needs them. If you got the money, get this game and wait for the patches, there's excellent re-playability here. If you're strapped for cash, probably wait til the patches are released, it'll probably be cheaper then too.… Expand
  62. BrentG
    Mar 31, 2009
    6
    They worried too much about the visuals and left the game full of bugs, memory leaks and crashes. The number of patches in just the first few weeks says a great deal. I've been a big Total War series fan, but the problems with Empire make it difficult to enjoy.
  63. RickG
    May 11, 2009
    7
    Graphics very good... The idea was awesome... But the only thing that sucks is you need internet not only to activate the game, but to download and constantly updating the game to play, the reliance on the internet is the ONLY major problem with the game... So if the Total War series comes up with another like this although I am looking forward to it... I WILL NOT BUY IT!!! Because it Graphics very good... The idea was awesome... But the only thing that sucks is you need internet not only to activate the game, but to download and constantly updating the game to play, the reliance on the internet is the ONLY major problem with the game... So if the Total War series comes up with another like this although I am looking forward to it... I WILL NOT BUY IT!!! Because it will be a waste of money unless you have internet or if you need the internet and steam.… Expand
  64. AnonymousMC
    May 16, 2009
    5
    Great game if it wouldn't crash on every single campaign I have tried to finish thus far. Not sure if its a steam or game issue, either way it would be nice if they would fix the issues that cause the game to crash. Otherwise I would give this a much higher rating.
  65. JackS
    May 21, 2009
    6
    The amount of CTD even after the latest patch during random instances is just unacceptable. Until this game crashs are reduced to at most once every 10 hours, my score on this game stands at a 6.
  66. SteveWolf
    May 29, 2009
    7
    Like most users (not critics), I'd give this about a 7. Its very well made, with wonderful craftsmanship, attention to detail, and a lot of love for the genre.

    But its BORING. Unlike the earlier attempts, Shogun, Rome, and Medieval, Empire is just not that interesting to play. I blame the nature of warfare during this time period. After all, the units are simply all too similar    Like most users (not critics), I'd give this about a 7. Its very well made, with wonderful craftsmanship, attention to detail, and a lot of love for the genre.

    But its BORING. Unlike the earlier attempts, Shogun, Rome, and Medieval, Empire is just not that interesting to play. I blame the nature of warfare during this time period. After all, the units are simply all too similar to one another. They all have guns, they all stand there like total idiots and shoot & get shot. And the difference between a rookie unit and a seasoned infantry division is just negligible in terms of game play. So they all pretty much just stand there and shoot at each other... very little by way of tactics that I can make out.

    Cannons are terribly unsatisfying. They're horribly inaccurate, and they don't do much to intimidate or demoralize the opponent, which was their primary effect as I understand this historic period. Which makes them seem quite pointless, when playing the game.

    Overall, the shift of focus is away from the excellent tactical battles and into what has always been TW's weak suite: the strategic game. And altough there have been considerable advancements in the strategic game, it still comes off as more of the same old same. It doesn't really feel like you're ... well, I'm not sure what you're supossed to be, in game terms, but whatever that is, its vague and ill-defined, and doesn't feel very powerful or interesting. Just mind-numbing and repetetive.

    And this from a guy who LOVEs TW: Shogun, TW: Rome, and TW: Medieval 2.    … Expand
  67. Joeyf
    Jun 12, 2009
    5
    I'm so dissipointed in this game. it's a lot of fun to play except for the bugs. There is a random audio bug that cuts short whatever the advisers tell you and sometimes shuts off the audio altogether. Even worse though is a bug that stops the game from giving you more objectives after chapte 2 of the Road to Independance campaign unless you do everything in a super specific I'm so dissipointed in this game. it's a lot of fun to play except for the bugs. There is a random audio bug that cuts short whatever the advisers tell you and sometimes shuts off the audio altogether. Even worse though is a bug that stops the game from giving you more objectives after chapte 2 of the Road to Independance campaign unless you do everything in a super specific order. if that was the only big bug i would go back and play through that chapter a 3rd time following the steps in the online forums but it sounds like that kind of radom crap happens a lot in this game. i don't have enough game time to start playing stuff that crashes out like that. i'm chucking this peice of junk. Shame on you SEGA!!!… Expand
  68. berty
    Jun 18, 2009
    6
    So i haven't got the best PC in the world 3GBram 3GBpro, downloaded the updates and still crashers ! changed the graphics still crashers ! great game but cant handle the crashing all the time its SO annoying. If ya get pissed off really quick DO not buy this game.
  69. MarkR
    Sep 19, 2009
    5
    This game does not deserve the stellar critic reviews, and it is obvious that most of the industry reviewers must have overlooked much in order to rate this game so highly. The game clearly remains broken in spite of patches. I have resolved to try and get some value out of my purchase by playing through the Road to Independence and Grand Campaign before uninstalling and moving on. In the This game does not deserve the stellar critic reviews, and it is obvious that most of the industry reviewers must have overlooked much in order to rate this game so highly. The game clearly remains broken in spite of patches. I have resolved to try and get some value out of my purchase by playing through the Road to Independence and Grand Campaign before uninstalling and moving on. In the course of 4 hours of game play this morning, I had 5 crash to desktop, 4 in the midst of battles, and encountered AI glitches twice that forced me to either concede a battle that I was winning or reload a save game and fight the battle again. The game does not run consistently well, and often freezes momentarily or slows down for extended periods. This game looks nice, the details and the intended elements of game play are good, but it is just plain broken. It has been at best a mediocre gaming experience for me and a huge disappointment given the high expectations for this game. IMHO it is not the 9+ that reviewers are giving it. I might be able to finish it, but I would rather have not purchased it.… Expand
  70. [ANONYMOUS]
    Nov 24, 2009
    7
    I ahve had no problem with game crashes and the game has excellent variety. The siege battles are awful though and pathing issues make the calvary almost useless. This game definitely feels like it was rushed through the later stages of development. Most countries have the exact same units and stats so the only difference is map position.
  71. aadms
    Mar 26, 2015
    7
    This is an updated grade for something that I would have given a zero if I was posting on metacritic back in 2010. I bought the game five years ago and was stunned when I got home and learned what the "online connection requirement" was needed really meant. I had to download it on my 12 kb per second connection! Two Days later....I get to finally play.....just to find out my graphicsThis is an updated grade for something that I would have given a zero if I was posting on metacritic back in 2010. I bought the game five years ago and was stunned when I got home and learned what the "online connection requirement" was needed really meant. I had to download it on my 12 kb per second connection! Two Days later....I get to finally play.....just to find out my graphics card was seriously out of date and that the spec requirements was a, at that time, $500 graphics card. YYYEEAAAARRRRRGH!!! I had whoafull looking characters moving on the screen, not even moving their feet, just floating along with bland backgrounds. I cried that day. And I played and enjoy TW: Medieval so much. That was a zero for this game.

    Now...about a half a year after buying a brand new computer with a top of the line processor and graphics card, I remembered this game and finally played it. It plays like all the other Total War games, so expect the same experience. I liked the ship movements and building fleets to control the seas. I did not like the slow tedious ship battles, so I just clicked the resolve immediately button every time. The A.I. is a little suspect. When I attack someone, even if they are out numbered 10 to 1, they will just march forward to attack me which allowed me in every battle to employ the same strategy. I did not like the "gentlemen" who are suppose to help you town make improvements faster, because, it didn't seem like they did that at all. They could be use for research, but only one research can be down at a time as I found this out thinking I had three smart gentlemen researching only to find out I was just researching the last one I clicked on. Useless. I played Sweden and hurried as fast as I could to the New World to establish colonies, only to discover that in 1718 all the land was colonized. Great. The campaign doesn't even start until 1701. Heck! Sweden did colonize New York in the 1600s but no, I have to play when the British were firmly established there. They should have started the campaign in the early 1600s. Other than that, its Total War: A Game Five Years Ahead of Its Graphic Card and stupid DRM through Steam.    … Expand
  72. sdg
    Dec 26, 2011
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Overall Good Game. Positives: Vast map. Naval battles. Huge scale of combat across continents. Negatives: The economy system early on is a pain, especially in higher difficulties. Often, the Enemy AI is not very smart (will rush cannon's loading grape shots). Negotiations and Diplomacy options are limited. AI acts illogically diplomatically if higher difficulties (will declare war even when at highly disadvantageous position). Lastly, no FBR skill for Maratha's.… Expand
  73. Magnethead
    Dec 23, 2014
    5
    This game is a source of continued frustration. I periodically install it and then remember why I never play it and uninstall it two hours later. The game has so much potential, great ideas, nice naval battle addition and the whole idea of playing the gun line battles in the Total War engine is excellent. However, it all falls apart due to the controls of the game.

    Moving your gun lines    This game is a source of continued frustration. I periodically install it and then remember why I never play it and uninstall it two hours later. The game has so much potential, great ideas, nice naval battle addition and the whole idea of playing the gun line battles in the Total War engine is excellent. However, it all falls apart due to the controls of the game.

    Moving your gun lines around is just too tricky and illogical for the game to feel like anything but a struggle against the engine itself rather than against the enemy. Many areas of the maps don't allow for lines to be deployed evenly there and if you try, you get very strange formations with your soldiers often pointing in the wrong way or just taking forever to get into formation. At other times they'll just take the most ridiculous route to get into your new formation in your new location. Finally, sometimes they just bug out and either wander off the map completely or do nothing. The game compensates for this by making the AI ridiculously easy to beat. I've had many battles where I never felt like I was in control and that my plans came together and yet I'm rewarded with a heroic victory time and again. And this is on Very Hard difficulty, mind you.

    Darthmod helps a bit with some of the most annoying errors but not nearly enough. In the end, this game could have been excellent but just ends up being very annoying.    … Expand
  74. iseeall
    Jul 29, 2013
    5
    A game in Total War series which I liked much less than Rome or Medieval. Most of the new features were annoying: the strategic map is now crowded with buildings which used to be parts of cities previously. Too detailed and over-complicated empire management. The ability to control a ship is out of place in a strategic game here it's just a clumsy simulator. Finally, the US flagA game in Total War series which I liked much less than Rome or Medieval. Most of the new features were annoying: the strategic map is now crowded with buildings which used to be parts of cities previously. Too detailed and over-complicated empire management. The ability to control a ship is out of place in a strategic game here it's just a clumsy simulator. Finally, the US flag everywhere and the main campaign focusing on the US independence war. I know your primary paying audience is the US, but the rest of the world which is much more people and more players aren't that much interested in the US history so that you would have to put it (and nothing else) into the campaign. I didn't have any interested in the main campaign, tried to play for Germany and Russia and dropped after a few turns. The strategic map is just muddy, you can't see anything. The battles are somehow clumsy and lack the drive of Rome Total War. The units speaking their own language might seem a fun idea at first but I would much more prefer to hear english with national accents. Not that this game is bad: those who haven't seen Rome or Medieval may like it. It's just that the series lost its touch in this game. Actually, I'm not even sure one could create a playable Total War-style game in the setting where there are so many range units and the concept of "line tactics". This just doesn't work with games where you normally want to out-maneuver opponents.… Expand
  75. TheGamer31
    Aug 2, 2015
    7
    This is easily the worst entrance into the series (other than Rome II). The concept for this game was so good and it had so much potential but it all got wasted for some reason. It could have been that they were rushed for release or that they were using a new engine, but whatever the reason, it still doesnt excuse this game for its quality. That being said it is still a good game. ThereThis is easily the worst entrance into the series (other than Rome II). The concept for this game was so good and it had so much potential but it all got wasted for some reason. It could have been that they were rushed for release or that they were using a new engine, but whatever the reason, it still doesnt excuse this game for its quality. That being said it is still a good game. There are a lot of very memorable things about this game like some of the battle. I remember in my first playthrough I played as the United Provinces, it was late game and I was invading Russia. I was on their final settlement, which was Moscow and they had built a star fort for the city. It was a massive battle, my army was made of 3 max chevroned elite unit stacks and their army was made up of 7 garbage militia army that were untrained. I lost all but 4 units but I won and with it I wiped out Russia!… Expand
  76. Tripnip14
    Aug 5, 2013
    5
    The campaign and naval battles are awesome!!! The new technology tree and the immense scale make the campaign very fun, and the naval battles are top notch. However the land battles are absolute garbage, with horrible AI and even worse pathfinding (it's not unusual for it to take a cavalry unit 15 minutes to get out of a gate). I've been playing total war games since Medieval 1, and thisThe campaign and naval battles are awesome!!! The new technology tree and the immense scale make the campaign very fun, and the naval battles are top notch. However the land battles are absolute garbage, with horrible AI and even worse pathfinding (it's not unusual for it to take a cavalry unit 15 minutes to get out of a gate). I've been playing total war games since Medieval 1, and this is definitely the most thrown together one. Since you'll be spending most of your time on the battlefield, and it is broken, I give this game a 5.… Expand
  77. reviewobsession
    Jan 28, 2015
    6
    Welcome to the second era of CA and the first game of this era which was developed with their strange engine; Warscape! In this era, you'll encounter many strange bugs, frustrating crushes, unfinished mechanics and weak technical support. Additionally you'll play the last hardcore and innovative Total War game in the series. Empire Total War is a broken game with beautiful features. It'sWelcome to the second era of CA and the first game of this era which was developed with their strange engine; Warscape! In this era, you'll encounter many strange bugs, frustrating crushes, unfinished mechanics and weak technical support. Additionally you'll play the last hardcore and innovative Total War game in the series. Empire Total War is a broken game with beautiful features. It's story is similiar to Rome 2 Total War.(another warscape game) It was released unfinished and broken. After one year, they fixed some serious bugs and let the mod community complete it. At the end of the day customers had a game with game-breaking bugs and poor AI even efforts of great mod community. Getting back to the game, early modern warfare concept works well and using gunpowder units is entertaining. But my advice is stay away from naval and siege battle features. These parts of the game are still buggy and frustrating after many updates. Campaing map is huge and there are many empires to pick. Unit diversity is satisfaying, especially if you play with non-european empires. European nations fight each other with the similiar line infantry and its upgraded versions. Maratha Confederacy and Ottoman Empire have interesting units to play like war elephants and janissaries. You can combine their melee units with their weak rifleman and try different strategies against modern european armies. Battle AI is terrible but thanks to the early modern warfare concept and line battle tactics which hide AI's meaningless decisions, you can play as if there is no huge problem.(Units are generally static except cavalary) Other features like trade system, goverment management and technology development are well designed. If you really want to play this buggy game you should get DarthMod to enhance your gameplay. Good luck and have fun...… Expand
  78. Dimppa
    Dec 12, 2013
    6
    After playing somewhat 500 hours with Medieval II it was a shock to play Empire. I understand that they didn't want to do something over and over again, but i really missed family tree duo to that it's missing everything and everyone fell hollow. AI was here bad but not much from Medi II. (or it might be duo to mods that i had more than 20) Also i never like whole 17 19-Century timeAfter playing somewhat 500 hours with Medieval II it was a shock to play Empire. I understand that they didn't want to do something over and over again, but i really missed family tree duo to that it's missing everything and everyone fell hollow. AI was here bad but not much from Medi II. (or it might be duo to mods that i had more than 20) Also i never like whole 17 19-Century time period.
    But if you like muskets and ships it's still a good game    … Expand
  79. lifeofbrian
    Dec 1, 2014
    7
    Its a solid game. However unfortunately they left the game riddled with bugs. I just picked the game up after years of not playing it and lo and behold the game will still continue to freeze on occasion when you say to start a next turn. This was a problem that the game had back in 2009 when it launched. Basically buyer beware.
  80. jamesphillip198
    Sep 14, 2013
    6
    This game has good new features that weren't polished enough, and the AI leaves much to wish for. Once you conquered 5 to 6 cities is pretty much game over. The AI never really puts a challenge against you, and spams trade ships like crazy instead of a solid fleet. It's enjoyable with mods, but the vanilla game as a 'meh' feeling to it.
  81. Scottyv2
    Feb 13, 2014
    6
    I can't say that I exactly enjoyed the hell out of it, it seemed to be more marketed for casual gamers who just pick it up and play for an hour then go outside with friends. When I would be playing this it would be for at least 2 hours minimum and I just can't enjoy it, even with darthmod increasing the re playability. The battles just aren't as epic as Napoleon that came afterword andI can't say that I exactly enjoyed the hell out of it, it seemed to be more marketed for casual gamers who just pick it up and play for an hour then go outside with friends. When I would be playing this it would be for at least 2 hours minimum and I just can't enjoy it, even with darthmod increasing the re playability. The battles just aren't as epic as Napoleon that came afterword and there came a point that I just auto resolved all my battles and won. After that win I just couldn't enjoy it, so couldn't give it a very high score over all.… Expand
  82. Cam_53
    Aug 16, 2014
    5
    Great game until i get to the year 1760 then it crashes have tried all fixes and nothing works so half the rating for a half playable game disappointed overall.
  83. Levin
    Aug 9, 2015
    7
    Total war has been around for quite some time, and I have bought and played all of them since the initial Shogun. The expanded campaign map is welcome and the trading ports, Naval warfare likewise. Lots of pluses that is, but there are drawbacks as well. To me, those drawbacks are "blocker bugs". Blocker bugs would be something that would prevent the game from being released. PreviousTotal war has been around for quite some time, and I have bought and played all of them since the initial Shogun. The expanded campaign map is welcome and the trading ports, Naval warfare likewise. Lots of pluses that is, but there are drawbacks as well. To me, those drawbacks are "blocker bugs". Blocker bugs would be something that would prevent the game from being released. Previous Total war games has had a few, but I am amazed that a franchise that's been around for so long still has issues like this. After half an hour of navigating three ships against nine enemy ships, having one left and aaaaalmost winning the battle and the game freezes... The graphics are also quite bad. Room for improvement. Yay!… Expand
  84. amontillado
    Mar 27, 2015
    6
    If you are a fan of the Total War series, this is an adequate entry, but it isn't a strong one. The interface can be confusing, at first, and many of the simplified battle mechanics are more complex - so you need to take some time to learn it. This feature, in particular, is frustrating when you're very first campaign mission begins with a battle and there is little intuition from theIf you are a fan of the Total War series, this is an adequate entry, but it isn't a strong one. The interface can be confusing, at first, and many of the simplified battle mechanics are more complex - so you need to take some time to learn it. This feature, in particular, is frustrating when you're very first campaign mission begins with a battle and there is little intuition from the interface; especially frustrating if you're a veteran of the series and feel like an idiot for not understanding.

    Yet, much of the commentary about the frustration of the battle mechanics, campaign, etc. boils down to a problem of the developer's goals and gamer audience needs'. From the gamer's POV, we want a streamlined, intuitive system so we can jump right into the game and explore it. We want the immersion of the experience without being jolted out of it by bugs or gameplay failures. From the developer's standpoint, the feeling is that they wanted to bring home the realism of battle in that time, shooting for historical accuracy as much as possible. What got sacrificed in a spirit of authenticity was streamlined gameplay.

    It does bring home how rain affected battles when you the general have to navigate through the fog of war, essentially. It brought home how spread these empires were and how much time, concentration, and energy went into establishing a global network in a time when information moved slower. And it does bring home the frustration of navigating troops and ships prior to the telegraph and much later, radio-based communication.

    So what we have is a game that from an historical standpoint, fairly accurate. From the gamer standpoint, very obnoxious. Puzzling, do we reject or accept it, but we cannot do either as it won on one perspective but lost another. If you play this, choose which way you want to approach it, for if you approach it as just a game then you will be disappointed. If you approach it as a simulation of an historical period, you will find some enjoyment, but it does test your resolve and patience. And that, is probably why it does not score as high as it could have.    … Expand
  85. VagueShape
    Feb 25, 2016
    7
    Giving it a 7, A decent installment of the Total War franchise that offers some fresh mechanics like gunpowder, the ability to traverse continents, strategic battles that aren't focused solely on the capital city(forts and such) and good naval battles.

    While the game isn't perfect, the new features offer a fresh experience that should be fun for awhile for most people.
  86. hiltong55
    Jul 19, 2018
    7
    With over 100 logged hours I think I am in a position to judge this game. Also, I should note that I am including the Warpath DLC in my opinion. I will also say that I do have a bit of bias in my review since I have a deep love for this time in history and style of combat. But I also know that this is far from a perfect game.

    I first started with the Road To Independence campaign. It    With over 100 logged hours I think I am in a position to judge this game. Also, I should note that I am including the Warpath DLC in my opinion. I will also say that I do have a bit of bias in my review since I have a deep love for this time in history and style of combat. But I also know that this is far from a perfect game.

    I first started with the Road To Independence campaign. It definitely helps you learn how to control and maneuver a little bit but overall I would say the story is okay at best and really does not take that long to finish. Also, it is the only way you really get to play as America so it kind of does fulfill that itch but I still don't know why you can't play with them in the main campaign mode.

    The main campaign mode has a decent amount of countries to chose from along with varying victory conditions based on the size and location of your country. The map is very large covering all of Europe, North Africa, The Middle East, India, North America and the upper half of South America. There are also trading ports in places like Madagascar but that is all you can do there set up a trade route. The way you move around the map has largely gone unchanged from prior TW games and that is just fine with me. Diplomacy saw a change from the family tree system to a more timely government system that allows you to promote Generals instead of raising them which makes sense. You can fire people in places of government but I never found myself looking too much into this aspect of the game as it is self-propelling and does not have much impact on your progress. The technology bracket accelerated my building collages and universities is a much-welcomed improvement to the series as you unlock new abilities through study as well as being able to trade and steal technological discoveries as well. Diplomacy as with many games of the turn based genre could be better but is functional. Still feels like the whole if they like you they will work with you and if they don't they won't style of a system we usually get but at least you can often still trade with unfriendly nations if you make it worth their while. Alliances also do make some sort of sense and do have so impact on your decisions especially on harder levels. I am pleased to say that the AI is no pushover if you crank up the level but are still very much beatable if you have experience with the game.

    Let us talk about combat. Ground combat is very satisfying. Units are not perfect by any stretch of the imagination but are competent overall. Creative Assembly did a great job in getting the style of combat of that time down to where it feels like you are commanding troops of that time in a sensical manner. Newly added naval combat is total crap in my opinion and really needed to be worked on more before they added it to the game. I would have been happy with simulation just like in Rome TW and that is what I found myself doing anyway after several frustrating naval encounters where I had the clear upper hand. I thought maybe it was just me but apparently many others share my frustration.

    Lastly, I would like to mention the Warpath DLC where you can play as Native American factions. Basically what was done was the devs took the victory conditions from the European countries in the main game, slapped them on the native factions and called it a day. I played through the short campaign with one of the native factions and I lost not because I was playing on a hard difficulty or I was getting my ass kicked in combat, but because I could not get to my enemy fast enough with a reasonable amount of forces to take over a city. They did not take into account that the native cities are very spaced out and they do not have roads for a fairly long time due to the small size of your beginning cities. So travel is a lot slower without connecting roads and trough rough terrain which is what you are working through with most native factions. Plus the combat with natives is not nearly as fun given the design of the game. Combat was mostly designed around musket troops which the natives naturally have very few of. You really need the numbers advantage to have any chance of winning which is a chore with slow travel.

    For some reason, I wanted to give this game an 8/10 and that is only because as I said I am biased towards this time period. The game has flaws for sure but has kept me playing on and off for years. However my final verdict is a 7/10 GOOD. This is mostly due to the lackluster DLC and naval combat.    … Expand
  87. CountCristo
    Jul 19, 2019
    7
    aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
  88. Denis94
    Apr 27, 2021
    6
    Este título de la saga es el primero en abordar las grandes batallas tanto navales como terrestres del siglo XVIII y aunque sea uno de los que más cariño tengo tiene varios fallos importantes.

    Los gráficos no envejecieron muy bien el paso del tiempo hizo demasiada mella en este aspecto además popping es muy evidente, aunque hay batallas que desde ciertos ángulos parecen auténticos    Este título de la saga es el primero en abordar las grandes batallas tanto navales como terrestres del siglo XVIII y aunque sea uno de los que más cariño tengo tiene varios fallos importantes.

    Los gráficos no envejecieron muy bien el paso del tiempo hizo demasiada mella en este aspecto además popping es muy evidente, aunque hay batallas que desde ciertos ángulos parecen auténticos planos de película.

    El Gameplay es bastante fluido pero tiene varios problemas entre ellos las tropas a veces no obedecen las indicaciones y hacen lo que quieren, luego la IA no está a la altura... llegué a ver cómo cargaba la caballería de frente sin ton ni son contra mi infantería de línea.

    La campaña puede que sea el mejor aspecto de este juego está muy cuidada.

    Históricamente no es correcto, los errores de uniformes y bandera Españoles son algo que choca mucho a la vista, da la sensación que solo está cuidado en ese aspecto las tropas de Inglaterra y es una lastima.

    En definitiva no es mal juego pero le condenan demasiado los errores tanto de jugabilidad como visuales que son bastante evidentes, una pena para un juego que pudo ser la joya de la corona de los TW.    … Expand
  89. erdogfu96
    Feb 9, 2020
    7
    For me it was one of the worst in total war series. Campaign idea of all of the world were good but not well designed. Also diplomacy were unstable and unrealistic. Game was not well paced, it was too slow.
    Graphics:7/10
    Sounds: 7/10
    Gameplay: 8/10
    Fun: 7/10
  90. RadiationGamer
    Feb 26, 2023
    6
    I generally liked Total war games. And this was one of them. Game mechanics offer you a realistic combat experience. I especially liked that it deals with the new age and colonialism, and this is the most beautiful feature that distinguishes it from other total war games . But the lack of variety for the game and the lack of development makes it extremely boring during the overall gameplayI generally liked Total war games. And this was one of them. Game mechanics offer you a realistic combat experience. I especially liked that it deals with the new age and colonialism, and this is the most beautiful feature that distinguishes it from other total war games . But the lack of variety for the game and the lack of development makes it extremely boring during the overall gameplay that the AI ​​behaves like an idiot even at the highest "difficulty". Although I am not very liked the naval warfare system of the game, I can see it as normal since naval warfare is tried for the first time. I was hopeful about many things from Empire Dan, but it fell far short of my expectations. The sound of the music could have been a little louder because the music in general is underpowered by the sound effects. The team or man who made the music should have noticed this. Of course, that's not a huge minus. Apart from these, one of the minuses of the game is that you cannot play with small states and Indian tribes. Playing only with big states can get boring after a while. Other than that, it's a average game. This is the highest rating I can give this game. 6… Expand
  91. Gorbunov2004
    May 24, 2021
    5
    Игра вроде и интересная а вроде и нет все бои стали скучными да появились морские битвы. Система дипломатии улучшилась.
  92. elefsar
    Apr 22, 2021
    6
    Boring, bad mechanics and ui. Did i mention it is boring? Animations are bad too.
  93. Bushido95
    Sep 27, 2021
    7
    После невероятной Medieval II продолжение Empire: Total War была не тем чего ждали фанаты.. слишком большой скачок в истории.
    Спустя годы попробовав снова откинув все предрассудки и попытавшись в объективность игра мне понравилось.    После невероятной Medieval II продолжение Empire: Total War была не тем чего ждали фанаты.. слишком большой скачок в истории.
    Спустя годы попробовав снова откинув все предрассудки и попытавшись в объективность игра мне понравилось.
  94. Yaav13
    May 9, 2022
    5
    My truthful honorable incorruptible conclusive rating of this considered game: 5.
  95. ZID346
    Apr 2, 2023
    7
    It's weird to fight with only ranged units and horses, but it worked. Interesting and campaign, A bit more complicated than in other installments of the series (advantage). Good title.
  96. VictorHugo1482
    Aug 30, 2022
    7
    In New York (ayy, ah-ha) (uh, yeah)
    Concrete jungle (yeah) where dreams are made of
    There's nothin' you can't do (yeah) (okay)
  97. LegateTheAnime
    Jan 31, 2023
    7
    This game's ambition is still inspiring, but it failed to meet that ambition. The trading is the best in the series and the battles become huge, but that's all it has going for it. It's bugs are so numerous I could not even begin to describe all the ones I encountered in 20 hours.
    I still really like this game, but it could be much better.
  98. erfunfazli
    Jul 21, 2023
    5
    Worst Total War game I ever played.
    Empire Total War is not good compared to other Total War games bad battles, weak AI and... make it bad game.
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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

All reviews »
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.
    Read full review
  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.
    Read full review
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