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. CrackaCrunch
    Aug 13, 2012
    6
    Let me start on the positive side. This game is an absolute MUST for strategy gamers. Excellent total war combination of great battles with turn based strategy inbetween. The main reason I gave the game a 6 though, is that it is very unpolished. From poor AI to awful diplomacy, the game needs a little help. The only reason I'm writing this review is to inform people that with DarthVader'sLet me start on the positive side. This game is an absolute MUST for strategy gamers. Excellent total war combination of great battles with turn based strategy inbetween. The main reason I gave the game a 6 though, is that it is very unpolished. From poor AI to awful diplomacy, the game needs a little help. The only reason I'm writing this review is to inform people that with DarthVader's mod (called DarthMod) this game is an absolute 10. Look up his mod, it is by far and away the most popular, and it sets out to fix all of the things that keep this game from being scored higher. You will NOT be disappointed.… Expand
  2. bud389
    Jul 24, 2012
    10
    Fans don't give this game the due credit it deserves. Not only did it save CA from bankruptcy, but it also revitalized the Total War series by offering a new, original take on 18th Century warfare. It's Naval combat is unprecedented in and almost bar none compared to any and all other naval combat games taking place in the 18th century and it's new diplomacy and tech tree mechanics workFans don't give this game the due credit it deserves. Not only did it save CA from bankruptcy, but it also revitalized the Total War series by offering a new, original take on 18th Century warfare. It's Naval combat is unprecedented in and almost bar none compared to any and all other naval combat games taking place in the 18th century and it's new diplomacy and tech tree mechanics work nearly flawlessly in their functionality.

    The gameplay, oh the gameplay, theres a vast amount of tactics and strategies you can devise against opponents, some nations requiring a different approach because of their methods of warfare and tech. It offers more interactive and varied approach to the campaign, offering a wide amount of variation from not only nation to nation, but region to region as to what you use each one for, be it for military, economic, or even technological advances to your country, or perhaps enhancing its national prestige.    … Expand
  3. jetSetWilly
    Jul 23, 2012
    10
    Pretty much the best RTS available to date. Easy to pick up, fun to experiment with. Great battles both land and see. Great to play skirmish with a friend. Heaps of different ways to play the game. A great way to learn the general geography and the way things were back in the 1700's. All in all a masterpiece when compared to the lame sci-fi style rts crap being pumped out these days. AndPretty much the best RTS available to date. Easy to pick up, fun to experiment with. Great battles both land and see. Great to play skirmish with a friend. Heaps of different ways to play the game. A great way to learn the general geography and the way things were back in the 1700's. All in all a masterpiece when compared to the lame sci-fi style rts crap being pumped out these days. And the graphics, especially for the boats are just inspirational. Its a beautiful enjoyable game! Fact.… Expand
  4. FFStudios
    Jun 8, 2012
    7
    [First impressions] Steam and I have a complicated relationship: sometimes I see it as a smooth and intuitive way to manage games, whilst other times I curse it for my slow Internet and strange glitches. Anyway, back in 2009, I was causing Steam after I lost my first account and the ability to play Empire Total War. Recently, I managed to find my account and activate ETW; so here's a first[First impressions] Steam and I have a complicated relationship: sometimes I see it as a smooth and intuitive way to manage games, whilst other times I curse it for my slow Internet and strange glitches. Anyway, back in 2009, I was causing Steam after I lost my first account and the ability to play Empire Total War. Recently, I managed to find my account and activate ETW; so here's a first impression review. Empire is certainly quite spectacular with a heavier emphasis on gunpowder weapons and yet the stragegy has been lost somewhat now that your units use guns rather than physical weapons, making them less significant and somehow more dull than Medieval 2. The interface has been redesigned, and by that I mean it's completely incomprehensible thanks to the confusing styling and randomly rearranged functions. One of the most significant additions to the game is naval combat; so now you can actually fight the battle rather than clicking "auto-resolve" with every battle, followed by "clear defeat". The naval combat is spectacular, more so than land battles, but is virtually impossible to control. If you select a ship and right click on an enemy, they flat out don't attack; they just dither in circles while the enemy picks away at your hull. The world map isn't much better thanks to a confusing HUD and apparent lack of the flag colouring from Medieval 2 which made it much easier to tell which cities were weak and which we're overflowing. So, after first impressions; Empire Total War is spectacular and mind bending, but suffers from an unintuative interface and confusing AI.… Expand
  5. Bobbo
    Jun 3, 2012
    8
    An original franchise, a fine game, but dumbed down from Medieval 2 Total War. More realism is better, not less. Multiplayer campaign mode would be nice.
  6. Ragegoat
    May 9, 2012
    5
    Empire: Total War is a grand scale strategy game in which you play a major power approximately form 1700 to 1800. The game, like other total war games, switches between a turn based mode where you administrate your cities, move armies, do research and so on and a battle mode, where you take real time command of the troops fighting the battles of the turn based mode. The game is very prettyEmpire: Total War is a grand scale strategy game in which you play a major power approximately form 1700 to 1800. The game, like other total war games, switches between a turn based mode where you administrate your cities, move armies, do research and so on and a battle mode, where you take real time command of the troops fighting the battles of the turn based mode. The game is very pretty on a system that can run it, but has unreasonable resource demands. On a low-spec system the usage of sprites is very obvious and pretty horrible to look at. Much older games of the series (Rome, Medieval 2) looked better on such a system as they employed less sprites, and if your PC can run Empire to look good it can also run Shogun 2 to look better. Granted, it is awesome to watch a cannon ball plow through an infantry regiment. The muzzle loader infantry combat also looks very cool, but unfortunately the AI is very unimaginative with regards to using the armies, and what it does usually only amounts to a mass suicide. In older or newer Total War games the AI does much better. The AI also suffers from bugs - for instance when you shoot a hole in a fortress wall the AI might place a unit there and re-evaluate this unit's plans so often that it pushes a good (and way above recommended specs) CPU to the limit. Only way to get the game responsive again is to charge said unit - as soon as it is engaged in close combat the game will start flowing again. While the system for tech, buildings and such is way better than the older installments, Empire also lacks something the older games have: the ability to play as defeated minors. This limits the play time of the game very much, since you'll have access to the same majors beating up the same minors. The diplomatic AI also does a lot for making the game repetitive. Once you end up in war with some country you'll probably be at war till either is destroyed. Peace agreements last few turns since the AI feels very sore about having just lost a war against you decides to go lose another. On the other hand naval combat is very good with historically accurate ships, beautiful graphics and such. Best (and first) total war game for a naval battle in my experience. While Empire: Total War provides a good many hours of entertainment there are better Total War titles out there. I'd recommend playing them first.… Expand
  7. TomPD
    May 6, 2012
    10
    When this game first came out, I could understand the negative reviews, this was an unfinished game with too many bugs. But here we are 3 years later and the game has reached its full potential. Go download DarthMod or one of the many other great mods for this game and you have a masterpiece that, if reviewed again today, would receive many more 10 out of 10s. I have played all of theWhen this game first came out, I could understand the negative reviews, this was an unfinished game with too many bugs. But here we are 3 years later and the game has reached its full potential. Go download DarthMod or one of the many other great mods for this game and you have a masterpiece that, if reviewed again today, would receive many more 10 out of 10s. I have played all of the TW games and ETW is my favorite by measure of hours played (over 500). If you like the blend of risk, civilization, and great battles, then this game is a must have.… Expand
  8. Psychopski
    Mar 29, 2012
    1
    I played every Total War release up till Empire. Rome was amazing, and had a Mod community in the hundreds of thousands. Empire, while visually stunning, was a heap of garbage once you get into the nuts and bolts of the game. While graphics have made vast improvements since Rome, Empire TW's diplomacy, combat mechanics, AI, reinforcement system, "ease of access" for modding, and siegeI played every Total War release up till Empire. Rome was amazing, and had a Mod community in the hundreds of thousands. Empire, while visually stunning, was a heap of garbage once you get into the nuts and bolts of the game. While graphics have made vast improvements since Rome, Empire TW's diplomacy, combat mechanics, AI, reinforcement system, "ease of access" for modding, and siege mechanics were a step backwards 10 years from Rome. I cannot for the life of me see how this game has a 90 rating. It's a candy coated lump of garbage. I have to laugh at all the PC gamer magazines that gave this game a 90+ or 100 rating. If you played any of the amazing Rome TW mods, you have to wonder why Creative Assembly decided to snub their noses at their modding community by making Empire so incredibly difficult to mod. In addition, Creative Assembly pretty much abandoned ship on fixing the infinite number of bugs and gave up on improvements for Empire, moving on to release an entirely new title Napoleon TW. As much as I loved the TW series, Empire was my last purchase from Creative Assembly.… Expand
  9. stoneysilence
    Mar 27, 2012
    3
    The graphics are beautiful, there is no doubting that. However everything else was a huge step backwards from TW:M2.

    Rather than going to one place in every region now you have to click on a bunch of different areas. Haven't been able to figure out how to speed up the enemy or my own troop movement on the world map. In general I just can't stand this new version.
  10. p360assassin
    Mar 22, 2012
    0
    Now before i write this review, i must say that i, like many pc users, pirated this game so i could try it before i buy, so i have no bias from steam, even tho i have heard u need ot download the game off steam just to play, using steam isent bad, and the servers are almost always up, the **** about them constantly down is ****.

    Anyways... this game is horrible. The idea of guns sounds    Now before i write this review, i must say that i, like many pc users, pirated this game so i could try it before i buy, so i have no bias from steam, even tho i have heard u need ot download the game off steam just to play, using steam isent bad, and the servers are almost always up, the **** about them constantly down is ****.

    Anyways... this game is horrible. The idea of guns sounds good, but the realistic shooting is INCREDIBLY annoying, the soldiers have to line up just to shoot and then take 1 million years to miss and reload, AND THATS THE BEST SOLDIERS.
    You can no longer edit map in custom battles (choose settlement size and other things).
    The soldiers are useless, the first battle in road to independence was horrible since it shows that the guys using swords and arrows are more powerful then the guys using guns.

    The game doesent crash NEARLY as much as people say, if the game isent starting, its because ur computer cant handle the graphics which btw is way higher then specified. Graphics look great even tho my pc lags if i zoom in.

    AI is the worst in the series, soldiers dont do a dam thing i say.

    Dont buy this game, thank god i pirated before i bought or id of been scamed by ****. Also people insulting game, dont say its bad just because it needs steam to play, steam aint that bad and ive never had a game that i couldent install from disk that required steam, it just still needs to patchs, although i dont know if ur arguement on that is valid.    … Expand
  11. grandusalenius
    Mar 19, 2012
    10
    This is a strategy game. You will have to defend and expand your empire to get a victory. But this is not easy, you will have to manage city tax policies, deal with revolts, use religion to convert population to the one of you're empire, deal with happiness of cities, train land and naval units, use research to develop technology (by constructing science buildings in cities) and otherThis is a strategy game. You will have to defend and expand your empire to get a victory. But this is not easy, you will have to manage city tax policies, deal with revolts, use religion to convert population to the one of you're empire, deal with happiness of cities, train land and naval units, use research to develop technology (by constructing science buildings in cities) and other complex things typical of strategy games. This series of Total War games is special because in here you can manually fight your battles. What i mean is that if you choose to fight an army with your army (or whatever) you have 2 choices: 1) Auto resolve: based on your unit strength stats against the enemy unit strength stats (and other factor like terrain) one will automatically emerge victorious. And 2) you will fight the war yourself. You will direct your units in real time in the battlefield.

    You have several Empires to select from. Just to name a few: Spain, England, Russia...etc. But you are not in a modern era setting. The game starts somewhere (i don't exactly remember) in the 1750's. So you have to make use of archers, catapults and swordsmen (althought in time you will be able to use cannons and some rifle units) to fight your way to victory. This game is almost as good as Rome: Total War.

    Enjoy!    … Expand
  12. widez
    Mar 10, 2012
    9
    I just finished playing another long campaign in this game after having reinstalled it again some weeks ago and so I thought I should do a review of this game, having played it for over 350 hours in all.
    This is one epic game overall. The move to the age of muskets, rifles and cannons is a very welcome addition to the Total War franchise. The real time battles are stunningly awesome. Both    I just finished playing another long campaign in this game after having reinstalled it again some weeks ago and so I thought I should do a review of this game, having played it for over 350 hours in all.
    This is one epic game overall. The move to the age of muskets, rifles and cannons is a very welcome addition to the Total War franchise. The real time battles are stunningly awesome. Both land and sea battles are fun to play. They have really great graphics and seeing your units and ships fire off volleys of death never gets old. The campaign map is also nice and works smoothly most of the time. Sound is great throughout the whole game from the soundtrack to the sound of cannon fire to the command acknowledgements of your units. UI looks great and is very friendly.
    I would say Empire is definitely on par with Rome and Medieval2 when it comes to Total War games and epicness and awesomeness. There are a few annoyances with the game though of course. The well documented initial legion of bugs that the game was released with are now mostly gone but you can still get some CTDs occasionally. Diplomacy and AI leave a lot to be desired but what else is new about Total War games? Rakes are almost useless, small ships fire longer than bigger ships, some factions have too few unique units, France is represented by a single region etc etc. There are a lot of minor stuff that you can complain about but with a game this big in scope it is only natural.
    Empire: Total War is one of my favorite games from recent years and I probably won't stop playing it until I have played all the major factions in it.    … Expand
  13. Wulfburk
    Mar 9, 2012
    7
    At the first months after release the ammount of bugs really ruined the game, but now after 4 years, the game does give justice to the Total War series. The only issue is lack of mod tools, being the reason that i took one point of its score (was going to give it a 8) but even without mod tools DarthMod does a great job at making a total overhaul of the game gameplay, graphics, scale andAt the first months after release the ammount of bugs really ruined the game, but now after 4 years, the game does give justice to the Total War series. The only issue is lack of mod tools, being the reason that i took one point of its score (was going to give it a 8) but even without mod tools DarthMod does a great job at making a total overhaul of the game gameplay, graphics, scale and other elements!… Expand
  14. Jarec
    Mar 6, 2012
    10
    Fantastic game, seriously. I have spent approximately 600 hours on and off playing this game since release and I still keep coming back to it. I only had a couple of issues with it, both of which were easily fixed by modding. The amount of turns in any given game is woefully low (only 200 turns, this is true for all Total War games and is really not enough). The other issue for me wasFantastic game, seriously. I have spent approximately 600 hours on and off playing this game since release and I still keep coming back to it. I only had a couple of issues with it, both of which were easily fixed by modding. The amount of turns in any given game is woefully low (only 200 turns, this is true for all Total War games and is really not enough). The other issue for me was the unit sizes, the battles felt more like skirmishes as opposed proper epic battles. I would still recommend it to any fans of the Total War series. It's probably my favorite after Medieval II.… Expand
  15. GamerLegend
    Feb 12, 2012
    8
    This was my first Total War game and one of my very first pc games. Overall this is a fun game that includes much planning and strategy in order to succeed in. There are many different nation to choose and campaigns to play which adds a lot of variety to the overall gameplay. The multiplayer is fun but a bit glitchy like failing to join a game or random freezes and disconnections. YourThis was my first Total War game and one of my very first pc games. Overall this is a fun game that includes much planning and strategy in order to succeed in. There are many different nation to choose and campaigns to play which adds a lot of variety to the overall gameplay. The multiplayer is fun but a bit glitchy like failing to join a game or random freezes and disconnections. Your units in battle will sometimes not respond to commands. Although this is annoying this is still a great game and worth your 20 bucks on steam.… Expand
  16. Jacob8287
    Feb 4, 2012
    8
    Great strategy game, adds a new perspective while maintaining a fast-paced epic gameplay. Sea battles may be slow, but it's more realistic that way, even if we would like it to be faster. The land battles are great, but the campaign could use some work. Also, the trading system was descent. Though there may be a some flaws, the good outweighs the bad.
  17. AlexanderVascus
    Jan 30, 2012
    10
    Many of the reviews here are either graphics bugs based on ones system or lag. This game uses shader models that impact animations and almost the game's entire system. For those who's graphics cards can run SM3, but seem to have graphical issues or lag. Change it to SM3 Low, or SM2 on which I play it on.
    Performance is now perfect for me and my frames hardly fall with battles unit sizes on    Many of the reviews here are either graphics bugs based on ones system or lag. This game uses shader models that impact animations and almost the game's entire system. For those who's graphics cards can run SM3, but seem to have graphical issues or lag. Change it to SM3 Low, or SM2 on which I play it on.
    Performance is now perfect for me and my frames hardly fall with battles unit sizes on Ultra and everything except grass turned in basic settings.

    Gameplay- If your a die hard veteran of the Total War franchise, you may find yourself a tad disappointing based on your preferences. The previous games have all been either Medieval or Ancient warfare from Thermopylae or the Fields of Agincourt. This game is the Imperialistic expansion of Europe to the new world and setting a foot hold in India. This game takes some serious strategy both on the game map in turn based strategy to the real-time battles of heated combat the series is so known for. Muskets, cannons, and cavalry, placing is key and making units work together well is required for a less costly victory or victory at all. The Naval combat which was unheard from the previous titles is now in real time rather then CPU calculated and auto-resolved. Whilst you can still do this, I find some of the most fun is the naval combat, that hair raising moment of pulling off a well timed broadside strike can seriously cause some eye satisfying carnage. This game holds up to the franchise. I have had absolutely count it ZERO crashes, and minimal graphic issues, with some common sense and tweaking this game runs like a dream. The modding community has also made the improvements to the game that it should have had at launch, including better fire and smoke textures, and improved naval combat. One such mod is the well known DARTHMOD, playing this game turns the already wonderful vanilla game into a perfect RTS with even more satisfying combat, fixing the inconsistencies the game suffered from beforehand. This game is a gem, and to anyone suffering issues with the game, I don't know what to say to you, complaining about it won't help, consulting these issues on forums like Total War center is highly advised. This game is to good to miss out on because of some graphical issues or bugs, the community is there to help.    … Expand
  18. scottish1900
    Jan 15, 2012
    10
    This game is immensely fun. I have played this game in total for 144 hours so I think I have played this long enough to rate it. I enjoy the units it has, It adds a new difficulty to assaulting forts. It adds a new dimension, Sea warfare, and that is probably the highlight for me. I have had ZERO issues with the game crashing and lagging. I love this game, and i still play it. It may notThis game is immensely fun. I have played this game in total for 144 hours so I think I have played this long enough to rate it. I enjoy the units it has, It adds a new difficulty to assaulting forts. It adds a new dimension, Sea warfare, and that is probably the highlight for me. I have had ZERO issues with the game crashing and lagging. I love this game, and i still play it. It may not be the most realistic in terms of warfare, diplomacy etc, but I still like it.… Expand
  19. namDa65
    Jan 6, 2012
    9
    I am very surprised at the user score for this game. This is a step up in graphics, and the game involves a different kind of strategy this time around. My pc died and choked to death on the campaign map at 1080p max settings. Endless replayability, great animations, top notch gameplay. Haters get out!
  20. Interloper
    Dec 30, 2011
    9
    The Total War series have always impressed me, mainly due to their vast size, complexity and attention to detail. Empire Total War raises the bar even higher with its absolutely HUGE map size, its meaningful strategy and addictive gameplay. Truly one of the most immersive and engrossing strategy games ever made.
  21. 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
  22. lostintime
    Dec 17, 2011
    0
    I would have given this game a 10, but when I play a grand campaign it will after a period of time crash to desktop. I could handle this, unfortunately it gets worse. When I load the game back up and try to load my last saved game, it crashes again! I can't continue my game from the initial crash. Every saved game crashes. I have tried every fix I could find on internet forums to no avail.I would have given this game a 10, but when I play a grand campaign it will after a period of time crash to desktop. I could handle this, unfortunately it gets worse. When I load the game back up and try to load my last saved game, it crashes again! I can't continue my game from the initial crash. Every saved game crashes. I have tried every fix I could find on internet forums to no avail.

    Really, what a pile of crap game. I am glad I only grabbed it from steam really cheap because if I paid a fair sum I would be really pissed off. Still what a rip off! Years after its release and it still doesn't work.    … Expand
  23. iceonfire1
    Dec 15, 2011
    8
    Meh. This game had a lot of potential, and that's probably a big part of the reason that it wasn't able to go through with all of it. Going down the list, everything was "fine." The strategy hadn't changed much, neither had pretty much anything else. The game was basically a polished version of Medieval II, which was a plus, but it came out shortly before Napoleon, which started theMeh. This game had a lot of potential, and that's probably a big part of the reason that it wasn't able to go through with all of it. Going down the list, everything was "fine." The strategy hadn't changed much, neither had pretty much anything else. The game was basically a polished version of Medieval II, which was a plus, but it came out shortly before Napoleon, which started the process of obsolescence early. I had just finished Rome when I started Empire, so I saw a lot of rough edges and dubious plausibilities.… Expand
  24. safjac
    Dec 1, 2011
    0
    This game looks like a 10. I read the cover when I bought the bloody thing at Walmart. It seems that I will never know because the game is not on the disks that I bought. Steam is. After painfully complying with all the hoops and faithfully sitting, rolling over, and playing dead I finally get a Steam account created. Great! Now I get to play, right? Not so fast, Rover. Steam is currentlyThis game looks like a 10. I read the cover when I bought the bloody thing at Walmart. It seems that I will never know because the game is not on the disks that I bought. Steam is. After painfully complying with all the hoops and faithfully sitting, rolling over, and playing dead I finally get a Steam account created. Great! Now I get to play, right? Not so fast, Rover. Steam is currently unable to process your request. Bad dog! Please try again later. So I sat, rolled over, played dead, chewed my shoes and tried again. Eventually I catch Steam at a moment when it is not on break (that daily 15 minute window). Wow! I actually get to play! Not so fast, Amigo! First you have to say hello to my little friend. 5 hours and 58 minutes to download something that I bought in a store. I must commend Creative Assembly for their laudable effort at making masturbation with ground glass and barbed wire seem like an attractive alternative. Jolly good show. I have to rate this game a 0 only because all the schlep involved makes it worth a -8. I buy games in stores, on disk because I do not want to deal with the interweb. I pay, I play... or so I thought.… Expand
  25. Ericius
    Nov 13, 2011
    9
    Great game. Huge world with a very exciting struggle for power. I really enjoy the historical background of the game, the trading is nice, maybe the slave trading is missing to the game but I understand this would insult a lot of people. (but on the other hand you kill a lot of Indians to gain land in America which is also a sore historical subject). Only down point in my opinion is thatGreat game. Huge world with a very exciting struggle for power. I really enjoy the historical background of the game, the trading is nice, maybe the slave trading is missing to the game but I understand this would insult a lot of people. (but on the other hand you kill a lot of Indians to gain land in America which is also a sore historical subject). Only down point in my opinion is that the game crashes a lot.… Expand
  26. DrCola
    Nov 10, 2011
    8
    Dont give into the trolls, the bugs have been fixed, the games campaign is really immersed in tactical stratagems, in comparison to other RTS (that usually just have you click in rapid succession) I have played over 200 hours of this game, beaten it twice on hard and once on easy, you will constantly find yourself playing as different factions getting a different idea of the campaign, suchDont give into the trolls, the bugs have been fixed, the games campaign is really immersed in tactical stratagems, in comparison to other RTS (that usually just have you click in rapid succession) I have played over 200 hours of this game, beaten it twice on hard and once on easy, you will constantly find yourself playing as different factions getting a different idea of the campaign, such as how the dutch tend to win economically against their enemies while russia uses its huge space to slowly move out as a dominant super power, I will admit that the missions are more lame than in previous total war games, its not as polished as all the other total wars, but it brings in new stuff like sea battles, commanding your empire is easier than ever, take out the bugs and the user "totalwarfan" would be forced to bump this up to a 7 at least. But in retrospect, medieval 2 and empire are very different games, dont take it from the trolls that dont want to take the time to learn the endlessly complex game that is empire total war. They tried something new, and I like the new thing they did.… Expand
  27. crage
    Nov 8, 2011
    1
    Two years after release and it's still buggy. Constant crashes and I get maybe 20-30 turns before saved games become corrupt. If it wasn't so frustrating to play because of the glitches it might be a good game.
  28. Bekenel
    Oct 28, 2011
    10
    Truly an exceptional game. This is one of the very best in the series, alongside Medieval 2 and Napoleon.
    The campaign has been expanded by a massive amount, becoming perhaps two-thirds again the size of that in Medieval 2, which means that the capacity for re-playability has become huge. granted, in the main campaign, the number of playable factions has been reduced from 17 to 11, however    Truly an exceptional game. This is one of the very best in the series, alongside Medieval 2 and Napoleon.
    The campaign has been expanded by a massive amount, becoming perhaps two-thirds again the size of that in Medieval 2, which means that the capacity for re-playability has become huge. granted, in the main campaign, the number of playable factions has been reduced from 17 to 11, however there are now a large number of minor factions, those that are unplayable, very accurately reflecting the various nations around at the time., and these can be exploited both for profit and for territorial expansion.
    Trade has become a huge aspect of the game, encompassing up to perhaps 45% of all income, and the aspects of it, including establishing trade lanes to particular trading resources such as ivory or coffee through your faction's navy, exploitation of regional resources in the Americas and India, and of course raiding other nations' trade lanes, pirating them in an attempt to ruin their economy.
    Technology research has become a hugely important aspect of the game, vital to improvement of your economy, army, navy, and political systems.
    Micromanagement has been more-or-less downgraded, with a single page to control tax rates for a whole theatre rather than individual regions. However unrest and rebellion are still a very prominent threat, and if not managed well, can turn to revolution, that can be turned one way or another, with your choice of preserving your political system, or you can engineer a revolution to change to another.
    The vast scope of the campaign makes the game thoroughly enjoyable, which is also reflected in the other major aspect of the game - your military.
    As with every Total War game, your Army is the most important feature of the entire game. However there are obvious changes to it, reflecting of course the new 18th-century setting. Guns - encompassing muskets, and artillery, are now the weapon of choice for the vast majority of factions, meaning largely different tactics are required to achieve victory - simply charging headlong into combat will get your soldiers shot and likely lose you the battle, unlike with the other games in the series. This does however mean that the factions with still prominent melee-based armies: the native americans and Indian factions, will have to utilise their armies cleverly if they want to defeat their superior european opponents The Navy also now has a massively improved role, since naval combat has become real-time. Combat by sea is a very new addition and is hard to master thanks to the very different tactics needed to succeed than with land battles. The graphics are excellent, however it can lag when settings are too high, but even on low settings, the visuals are rewarding.
    However, as with most games, it does have its weak points. The AI in battle is still not up to scratch, although it has been improved, and in several cases i have found it executes the odd suicidal charge, stupid manoeuvre or sometimes does not move at all. At least twice I have not lost a single soldier thanks to the AI force simply running in front of my gun line, being shot to pieces and retreating, not bothering to engage in combat even once - although amusing, clearly not how it should fight.
    All in all, Empire is one of the best strategy games there has ever been thanks to its immense depth, re-playablity, how well it has been built and though it does have its downfalls, it is well worth playing.    … Expand
  29. dmreichard
    Sep 27, 2011
    9
    After reading the many negative and mixed reviews of this game I was wary of purchasing it at first. After a recent sale I decided to pick it up and I am very happy that I did. The game play is similar to that of previous Total War games, with a few additions mixed in to the formula that made it even more fun in my opinion. The graphics are very good considering all of the processing powerAfter reading the many negative and mixed reviews of this game I was wary of purchasing it at first. After a recent sale I decided to pick it up and I am very happy that I did. The game play is similar to that of previous Total War games, with a few additions mixed in to the formula that made it even more fun in my opinion. The graphics are very good considering all of the processing power and video ram needed to render the many textures and shader effects being used during battles. After the many patches since launch and a decent workaround provided at http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=238484, crashes to the desktop are much less prevalent than before, making the game playable to a good degree. Game play wise, I sat down to play for an hour or two and six hours later I realized I soon had to go in to work! It is fun and addictive, which will have you leaning forward in your seat during very intense moments. I only took one point off for the fact that I had to do a manual workaround for virtual memory addressing issues (see above). Bottom line, if you enjoy the previous Total War games and/or enjoy historical, huge scale strategy games, this is a must have.… Expand
  30. schmo
    Sep 5, 2011
    4
    I have not yet played this game because it has been downloading for 4 hours. Only 16 hours remaining. Really excited to play the new game TOMORROW!!!!
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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.
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  3. InsideGamer.nl
    93
    This is the best Total War game thanks to all the little tweaks. Sometimes little differences make a good game great. The battles ask of you that you think more about your actions and managing your empire never was easier. The sea battles are fun to watch, but are a little hard to control. Nevertheless, Empire: Total War is a game that can make you forget about the time.
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