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
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. AndyA
    Sep 6, 2009
    10
    Brilliant game-it has some glitches, the patch helps, (and I am sure more patches to come), but given the flaws it still gets a 10 for pure brilliance! If all games reached this level I would have little social life! An expansion into the 18th century and the Napolionic wars would be great1.
  2. 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
  3. WilliamB
    Sep 3, 2009
    5
    Graphics are nice if you have a good enough video card! The minimum system requirements are far too low. to play it on those requirements would make the game nearly un-playable. Sea battles are a nice feature. Campaign map is boring and confusing. VERY BUGGY! Not finished.
  4. FatMan
    Sep 2, 2009
    10
    I don't know what is wrong with u ppl's computers, seriously. Steam works perfectly fine, and for Half Life 2 as well. The GAME IS NOT SLOW, just u ppl's cmops suck. A battle for me loads in 13 or less seconds, even te big ones, sure the custom battles are shit, but great campaign makes up for it! Even thouhg u can play as only 12 Nations is still enjoy it, adn the part I don't know what is wrong with u ppl's computers, seriously. Steam works perfectly fine, and for Half Life 2 as well. The GAME IS NOT SLOW, just u ppl's cmops suck. A battle for me loads in 13 or less seconds, even te big ones, sure the custom battles are shit, but great campaign makes up for it! Even thouhg u can play as only 12 Nations is still enjoy it, adn the part about crappy AI is only partly true. The AI IS AGRESSIVE and i have seen seaborne invasions happen, like a french capture of Ceylon. In around 50 turns the map looks so diffrent, Prussia has slaughtered everyone around it, Sweden is kicking Scandinavian ass, Spain has the Iberian and other areas, and the Maratha have all of India, those are just some examples. Crashes happen only around every 40 turns for me, and never during battles, so u ppl clearly have a CRAP COMP. Overall, aside from some very minor bugs, everything else is fine with the game.… Expand
  5. 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.
  6. ZEEH
    Sep 1, 2009
    0
    After testing out this title we come to the conclusion and sadly must say it is without a doubt the most interesting yet failure of the total war series. It falls short on numerous ways. The most obvious one is the AI; something that failed during the transition to QC. Coding is simply amiss. The poor execution and performance on several systems indicate this; glitches abound, twitches After testing out this title we come to the conclusion and sadly must say it is without a doubt the most interesting yet failure of the total war series. It falls short on numerous ways. The most obvious one is the AI; something that failed during the transition to QC. Coding is simply amiss. The poor execution and performance on several systems indicate this; glitches abound, twitches frequently. Orders are delayed while others are ignored. Steam may be a convenience for SEGA's pockets, but surely not for the customers. After testing out the patches that were supposedly to fix the numerous problems, we found even more of them. Quite simply an unfinished and rushed product to the consumer served cold. A game that "will" eventually be fixed and playable for everyone if supported until then. Good luck with that.… Expand
  7. 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
  8. MickeyS
    Aug 31, 2009
    10
    One of the best games I've played in years, and I game a few hours a day. It combines RTS with turn based strategy like I have never seen before. From full control over sea and land battles that are awesome, to meticulous turn based tech and structure building. Diplomacy, religion, trading, etc... Best RTS/Turn Based I've played yet. Voting down for crashes seems silly to me. One of the best games I've played in years, and I game a few hours a day. It combines RTS with turn based strategy like I have never seen before. From full control over sea and land battles that are awesome, to meticulous turn based tech and structure building. Diplomacy, religion, trading, etc... Best RTS/Turn Based I've played yet. Voting down for crashes seems silly to me. Could be your machine, etc... should vote on game play, not vague computer issues. It hasn't crashed on me once (three months of playing so far).… Expand
  9. Highelf
    Aug 30, 2009
    8
    The game itself is great. For the first time the Dutch play their part, and the ships aswell. A few negative points of the game are the following: first of all, Steam. The idea of Steam is great, but it should not be a prior for a game to play... Next, I miss the movies when rakes do their jobs. Luckily, the gentlemen do have the movies when they are duelling. Unfortunately, they are not The game itself is great. For the first time the Dutch play their part, and the ships aswell. A few negative points of the game are the following: first of all, Steam. The idea of Steam is great, but it should not be a prior for a game to play... Next, I miss the movies when rakes do their jobs. Luckily, the gentlemen do have the movies when they are duelling. Unfortunately, they are not able to duel with their eastern counterparts, the scholars...After all, an 8.… Expand
  10. AnonymousMC
    Aug 30, 2009
    1
    Yeah just another Total War waste of time. Every Total War Game except Shogun has crashed on me, leaving me with no possibility of moving further on in my campaign. Here I have invested who knows how many hours on my campaign and the game refuses to let me attack anyone or anything without crashing. 159 Turns in the game and now it decides to totally shut down. Total War is a Total WasteYeah just another Total War waste of time. Every Total War Game except Shogun has crashed on me, leaving me with no possibility of moving further on in my campaign. Here I have invested who knows how many hours on my campaign and the game refuses to let me attack anyone or anything without crashing. 159 Turns in the game and now it decides to totally shut down. Total War is a Total Waste as usual. I won't hold my breat for Napoleom Total War.… Expand
  11. Kazuma-
    Aug 29, 2009
    9
    First time in the total war series where you can actually fight using boats, it is also very different from previous ones in the fact that it takes a little more stratagy to play and doesn't mean you will win if you have the majority of the troops sad that it likes to crash sometimes (it happens once in a while) and you have to go through steam, glitches don't really happen that First time in the total war series where you can actually fight using boats, it is also very different from previous ones in the fact that it takes a little more stratagy to play and doesn't mean you will win if you have the majority of the troops sad that it likes to crash sometimes (it happens once in a while) and you have to go through steam, glitches don't really happen that much for me, sure they do happen but i've seen far worst so i was okay with that it is defintely a fun game to play though and i'm happy i have it.… Expand
  12. Jeff
    Aug 29, 2009
    3
    Almost the perfect total war game. The size of the map, the naval battles, the new tech tree and the detail are superb. Just watching bayonet duals can be very engrossing. But there is a is a VERY big downside to this game. The fact that you have to load and run STEAM, a 3rd party software is a bit of a nuisance, but even worse is the client stability, or rather lack there of. Even with a Almost the perfect total war game. The size of the map, the naval battles, the new tech tree and the detail are superb. Just watching bayonet duals can be very engrossing. But there is a is a VERY big downside to this game. The fact that you have to load and run STEAM, a 3rd party software is a bit of a nuisance, but even worse is the client stability, or rather lack there of. Even with a computer twice as powerful as the box says is required the game still crashes constantly. In my current campaign I have had to repeat the same year over and over for the last two days because of client crashes. These problems are expected in a beta, but not half a year after release. for this reason alone I am dropping the rating from a 9 to a 3.… Expand
  13. JasonS
    Aug 28, 2009
    2
    If it is not broke, then don't fix it. I have been a fan of Total War since the Shogun days. I eagerly awaited the arrival of each new series, with great anticipation and for the most part receiving great satisfaction with each game. Now the arrival of Empire Total War. My anticipation has been satisfied but I am not satisfied with this game at all. 1. I do not expect to have to If it is not broke, then don't fix it. I have been a fan of Total War since the Shogun days. I eagerly awaited the arrival of each new series, with great anticipation and for the most part receiving great satisfaction with each game. Now the arrival of Empire Total War. My anticipation has been satisfied but I am not satisfied with this game at all. 1. I do not expect to have to purchase an entirely new computer to run a new game 2. I do not expect to have to deal with some on line server to make the game I purchased with two discs in my possession each time I want to play. 3. I do not want a server automatically updating my machine with a game patch without having the ability to inspect all the updates first before installing them on my computer. 4.I do not expect a game that as Medieval Total War II which runs exceptionally well to be destroyed by a new game which does not play well does not load well and does not represent the quality of game that I have come to expect from The Creative Assembly. Finally. In the old Medieval Total War days a group calling themselves the Lordz mad a mod for the old game which was called Napoleonic Total War. This game functions way better than the brand new and improved Empire Total War. To the members of the Creative Assembly. Please forget about meeting deadlines and the bottom line of how much more money you are going to make by delivering a game by the deadline. Give the gamers the kind of game they have come to expect from you in the past. A game that delivers everything and stands for quality in gaming. It is what we expect from you and what your honor and integrity demands.… Expand
  14. JesseS.
    Aug 27, 2009
    3
    This game makes me furious. I've been waiting for a good 4 hours for it to install and it still says it will take another 5 hours. The most retarded thing i have seen out of any computer game !!! Just installing the game is a huge piss off ! I'm already disappointed with it, and I haven't even started playing it yet !
  15. PaulB
    Aug 27, 2009
    6
    Playable and fun, but essentialy a beta version. Some of the standard features of other TW games are ommitted, leaving me feel a little cheated. Luckily the modders are improving this game all the time and patches are available, with more promised.
  16. OliverSlaughter
    Aug 26, 2009
    9
    An amazing new edition to the Total War: Empire Total War improves on the earlier games in the series in nearly everyway. The game is massive in scope as you find yourself taking on massive amounts of strategic diplomacy and fighting. This game is definitely not casual as days need to spent on it to complete the 'Grand Campaign' and some more casual people will go insane with theAn amazing new edition to the Total War: Empire Total War improves on the earlier games in the series in nearly everyway. The game is massive in scope as you find yourself taking on massive amounts of strategic diplomacy and fighting. This game is definitely not casual as days need to spent on it to complete the 'Grand Campaign' and some more casual people will go insane with the micro-management. The game runs on steam, which some don't agree with but I personally find to be great as you do not need a disc and you can link it easily to your friends and find great servers everywhere in the world.… Expand
  17. EdwardV
    Aug 26, 2009
    10
    This game is more than what people just play and get over with this game is telling storys about the men who fought and died.This game can be be played over and over and you still wouldn`t get the same result.This game is the one to stop all other games in the 18th centruy.This is unstopible
  18. mannyg.
    Aug 25, 2009
    9
    The game is great, I would have gaven it a "10" if they put in a little more time and making the game more historic. like music, colors and advents, but all in all for now the game is great and you should buy it .
  19. 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.
  20. MarcioT.
    Aug 23, 2009
    2
    Activating the game just sucks. A bad strategy for such renowed marks as SEGA, Creative Assembly, and the Total War branch. That Steam thing idea is so weird that I never more want to see it again.
  21. joew
    Aug 21, 2009
    9
    This new edition to the total war franchise is the most easy to play and navigate with a 100% epic campaign map with a lot more detail than any of the previous games. The only downside is you need a very high performance computer for it to work but this is no a game fault just annoying.
  22. HB
    Aug 18, 2009
    2
    A real step backwards in gameplay compared to Medieval II. The new features do not compensate for what was lost from the old game. However, most annoying is that you have to play from Internet/Steam especially when messages appear when you want to play "our servers are too busy". Bought the disk and still have to be connected and play (if their servers are not too busy) via Steam. I will A real step backwards in gameplay compared to Medieval II. The new features do not compensate for what was lost from the old game. However, most annoying is that you have to play from Internet/Steam especially when messages appear when you want to play "our servers are too busy". Bought the disk and still have to be connected and play (if their servers are not too busy) via Steam. I will never buy again a game from Sega if it only can be played via a server. Probably the sad end of the Total War series which used to be a delight.… Expand
  23. NeilH.
    Aug 18, 2009
    9
    Buggy when it first came out, but CA have supported and patched this to become the most complex and addictive Total War yet. Still a little more work to do (upcoming 1.4 patch looks as though it will solve most pressing problems), but if you like your strategy deep, Empire will give you many many hours of gaming pleasure. I recommend trying some of the excellent mods out there too.
  24. 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
  25. KarlH
    Aug 16, 2009
    4
    Game is not working like promised from the publishers. Multiplaying community lags very because of limited chatting abilities like public places beyond steams friends and groups. Game is still buggy and not all stable after many month of release. multicore support was even given with a patch... a fact that shows how we are treated: beta testers... anyway this game would have 10 if there Game is not working like promised from the publishers. Multiplaying community lags very because of limited chatting abilities like public places beyond steams friends and groups. Game is still buggy and not all stable after many month of release. multicore support was even given with a patch... a fact that shows how we are treated: beta testers... anyway this game would have 10 if there would be following: chat lobby for making clans satisfied fixing all bugs and introduce steams anti cheat functionalities more flexible games and more maps! theres no 3v3 maps at all like in rome or mtw2 sieges can be only fought 1v1 what a shame! more different and more balanced factions a ranking system that is not just there but fair and working and dont suffer people for game crashes! i dont give a s... on meta score they are all proven untrue. i wont buy a total war game until the community have prooved it being fine.… Expand
  26. SteveC
    Aug 11, 2009
    4
    I would be happy to give this game an 8 or 9 if it wasn't so buggy. I have never had issues like I do with this game. I will say I have been using Steam for quite a while and have been satisfied with it. The problems with this bug filled piece of software belong to Creative Arts and SEGA. Fix this darn game and make it a good edition to a great family of games.
  27. RichH.
    Aug 10, 2009
    2
    I have been a big fan of the Total War Series but this game is a disappointment. Do not waste your money until they fix the bugs. As soon as you build up a large empire and decide to take over the world, the game keeps crashing. It's frustrating as you invested so much time. Also Steam sucks. Why do I have to pay $50.00 and cant own the game! I will never buy a game that is Steam I have been a big fan of the Total War Series but this game is a disappointment. Do not waste your money until they fix the bugs. As soon as you build up a large empire and decide to take over the world, the game keeps crashing. It's frustrating as you invested so much time. Also Steam sucks. Why do I have to pay $50.00 and cant own the game! I will never buy a game that is Steam only again. Doubt I will ever buy a total war game again.… Expand
  28. ValentinoGamboa
    Aug 10, 2009
    10
    Awsome much btter than other total wars but unit graphics well still really cool but its the same way rome tw looks all units same but no problem and campaigh may go fast but makes u fight faster and to all the whiners complaining abought boring als its beacuse ur setting difficulty on easy retard and the graphics are still awsome on laptop come on u stupid dumbass
  29. Dan
    Aug 10, 2009
    9
    Excellent game, a few bugs. Gameplay is amazing, whether managing your cities during the campaign or taking charge of your men during battle. There are a few bugs that need to be fixed soon. There are times when the pathing gets screwed up and your men will end up facing the wrong direction. Sometimes the artillery won't unlimber/limber making it impossible to move it. Besides those Excellent game, a few bugs. Gameplay is amazing, whether managing your cities during the campaign or taking charge of your men during battle. There are a few bugs that need to be fixed soon. There are times when the pathing gets screwed up and your men will end up facing the wrong direction. Sometimes the artillery won't unlimber/limber making it impossible to move it. Besides those 2 gameplay issues there is some trouble with online play on rare occasions. Overall, this game is well worth the purchase, I have played this more than most games that I purchase. On another note, I don't know why people are giving this game a bad review when they are upset about downloading it through steam- that is your choice. It will take time to download and install as it is a very large file.… Expand
  30. DesmondK
    Aug 9, 2009
    9
    The last total war game I played was Rome. It was, and remains to this day, one of my favourite games of all time. Empire, while not quite as perfect as Rome, is still a bloody good game. The only problem it has is a plethora of bugs (which in my opinion have been greatly exaggerated - I've had the game 2 weeks and haven't had a problem starting up nor gotten a single CTD) and The last total war game I played was Rome. It was, and remains to this day, one of my favourite games of all time. Empire, while not quite as perfect as Rome, is still a bloody good game. The only problem it has is a plethora of bugs (which in my opinion have been greatly exaggerated - I've had the game 2 weeks and haven't had a problem starting up nor gotten a single CTD) and even then there is nothing that can't be fixed with patches (although I do agree that it could have used a bit more time in the oven).… Expand
Page:

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]
    Read full review
  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
See all critic reviews »