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. 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
  2. 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!
  3. 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
  4. 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
  5. 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
  6. 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
  7. 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
  8. 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
  9. 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.
  10. 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
  11. 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
  12. 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
  13. 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
  14. 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.
  15. 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
  16. 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.
  17. GKiloh
    Dec 12, 2009
    5
    My vote would have been higher save for the fact that lockups are so routine
  18. 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
  19. 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
  20. 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
  21. JohnS
    Mar 25, 2009
    5
    This could have been the best TW to date, and given six months of patching probably will be, at the moment though it is so poorly finished as to be a waste of money. The game has some awful bugs that couldn't have been missed in playtesting so I can only assume the publishers concluded a public beta was the cheapest way forward - the most game breaking bug for me is the inability ofThis could have been the best TW to date, and given six months of patching probably will be, at the moment though it is so poorly finished as to be a waste of money. The game has some awful bugs that couldn't have been missed in playtesting so I can only assume the publishers concluded a public beta was the cheapest way forward - the most game breaking bug for me is the inability of the AI to invade across water - it simply cannot use land armies and ships to land invasion forces. In effect nations like Great Britain are invulnerable at the present time. Its depressing that most reviewers (both professional and otherwise) are simply scoring it on the basis of the game they hope it will be rather than the game it is today, to what extent this is down to them simply not noticing the poor AI and attributing their success to 'skill' is an interesting question particularly in relation to those who do this for a living.

    It will almost certainly be a great game once patched up, but anyone considering the purchase may be better served holding off for a few patches.    … Expand
  22. 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.
  23. 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
  24. 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
  25. islesofurth
    Mar 9, 2011
    5
    while i enjoyed ships battles atlast "finaly can win every fight", the historics within the game were fasinating and playing with guns is always fun, however i greatly disliked the extra turn time that it brought and the lack of fighting capability of garasind units, its like lets go in that house and have tea party we dont need to shoot the oncoming hordes we will just invite them in forwhile i enjoyed ships battles atlast "finaly can win every fight", the historics within the game were fasinating and playing with guns is always fun, however i greatly disliked the extra turn time that it brought and the lack of fighting capability of garasind units, its like lets go in that house and have tea party we dont need to shoot the oncoming hordes we will just invite them in for some supper

    Rome Total War, still the best of the all    … Expand
  26. wordy_actions
    Jul 26, 2011
    5
    I am a massive Total War fan, but Empire: Total War was disappointing and a missed opportunity. While some new features were extremely welcome, such as more robust diplomacy and research, ultimately what stopped this from being great were the tactical battles. There was almost no interesting dynamics to the battles. Cavalry and artillery were under-powered, and you could win the entireI am a massive Total War fan, but Empire: Total War was disappointing and a missed opportunity. While some new features were extremely welcome, such as more robust diplomacy and research, ultimately what stopped this from being great were the tactical battles. There was almost no interesting dynamics to the battles. Cavalry and artillery were under-powered, and you could win the entire campaign with only massed line infantry. Naval battles were spectacular to look at, but controlling more than one ship was a headache. As to the campaign map, while the epic scope was appreciated, the fact that the map was so large that it made the campaign slow and unfocused. Compared to such masterpieces as Rome: Total War and Medieval II: Total War, this one was a let-down. Anyone interested in the Total War series I recommend you get Total War: Shogun 2 and skip this one.… Expand
  27. 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
  28. 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
  29. 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
  30. 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
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
90

Universal acclaim - based on 62 Critic Reviews

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