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. JacobB
    Mar 31, 2009
    3
    Looks to be a great game, though I would agree that Rome and Medieval 2 had a better "feel" right out of the box. However, the numerous issues and problems with this game, causing graphical errors and CTD's like no other game I have ever bought, give this game it's current low score. Fans of the Total War series hear me! Do not buy this game yet! They have many patches to go Looks to be a great game, though I would agree that Rome and Medieval 2 had a better "feel" right out of the box. However, the numerous issues and problems with this game, causing graphical errors and CTD's like no other game I have ever bought, give this game it's current low score. Fans of the Total War series hear me! Do not buy this game yet! They have many patches to go before it isn't sinking from hull damage!… Expand
  2. BrentG
    Mar 31, 2009
    6
    They worried too much about the visuals and left the game full of bugs, memory leaks and crashes. The number of patches in just the first few weeks says a great deal. I've been a big Total War series fan, but the problems with Empire make it difficult to enjoy.
  3. ChrisR.
    Mar 31, 2009
    9
    While the game does have its glitches, and yes, it is laggy at times, the full scale of control that it gives you over every facet of economic and military institutions available in the 18th century makes it a spectacular game. Yes, the campaign map is a step down in graphics, but this is more than made up for by the in battle graphics and the ability to control towns, trade theaters, While the game does have its glitches, and yes, it is laggy at times, the full scale of control that it gives you over every facet of economic and military institutions available in the 18th century makes it a spectacular game. Yes, the campaign map is a step down in graphics, but this is more than made up for by the in battle graphics and the ability to control towns, trade theaters, colonies, and three zones of fighting that give the game a much larger presence than former Total War titles. In addition, the AI has been drastically increased and the addition of minor nations and the vast amount of territory in the maps give a large world to be ruled by diplomacy, trade, and war. The AI has also been made more aggressive, making the game more challenging, and, unlike previous Total War's, allowing the computer to attack you instead of you always having to go to the computer. While I'm a big fan of both Rome and Medieval II, Empire Total War definately tops them all.… Expand
  4. MattP
    Mar 31, 2009
    9
    I read that it crashes a lot but purchased it anyways a week ago. It probably has crashed 5 times and I have played it for 3-6 hours a day so I wouldnt worry about the crashes especially since they have released four patches since it came out. Love this game!
  5. TomT
    Mar 31, 2009
    4
    Short: Looks good, Game has high potentials - but Realisation is worse in coding. Compared to Medival2:Tw - AI: Errors and low level Intelligence. Code Errors with Crash to desktop. Design: AI cant land from sea, cant transport troops, makes mass Armies with 1 unit in it, cant do pathfinding ... and so on.. better giving this experimental gamecode some month to develop and it will become Short: Looks good, Game has high potentials - but Realisation is worse in coding. Compared to Medival2:Tw - AI: Errors and low level Intelligence. Code Errors with Crash to desktop. Design: AI cant land from sea, cant transport troops, makes mass Armies with 1 unit in it, cant do pathfinding ... and so on.. better giving this experimental gamecode some month to develop and it will become so good as expected. … Expand
  6. vincef
    Mar 31, 2009
    0
    Graphically magnificent, huge campaign map. But... what a disappointment ! I'm a fan of the serie from Shogun, it's the worst IA ever in a total war game : T_T The game crashes in many ways, so much that the main campain is just impossible to play to the end (total domination of the world) : T_T again. Loading times and AI turns are far too long : T_T (15 minutes for the AI turn Graphically magnificent, huge campaign map. But... what a disappointment ! I'm a fan of the serie from Shogun, it's the worst IA ever in a total war game : T_T The game crashes in many ways, so much that the main campain is just impossible to play to the end (total domination of the world) : T_T again. Loading times and AI turns are far too long : T_T (15 minutes for the AI turn after playing 70 turns !!!!!) This game uses STEAM : T_T again and again As a.… Expand
  7. KevinN
    Mar 31, 2009
    2
    The official review score is a total shame. The gamer's review score is closer to reality and it should even be a much lower score. Same old philosoply coming from Sega is a real disappointment. Selling an unfinished product is totally unacceptable. The game is a bug in itself. It will mess up your computer and slow down anything you do with it. Looking at the so called "reviews" The official review score is a total shame. The gamer's review score is closer to reality and it should even be a much lower score. Same old philosoply coming from Sega is a real disappointment. Selling an unfinished product is totally unacceptable. The game is a bug in itself. It will mess up your computer and slow down anything you do with it. Looking at the so called "reviews" from the official reviewers like gamespy makes me want to throw up on them. I'm proud to say that I never supported gamespy and will ONLY support them when they stop this nonsense "review". DO NOT buy this and support only publishers who deliver a product that works. Boycotting should be the name of gamer's game from this point on.… Expand
  8. 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!
  9. MichaelB
    Mar 31, 2009
    5
    The graphics of the game look great, but during battles, you'll be zoomed out managing the battlefield and the game looks dated. There are very few battlefield maps, so you'll pretty much be fighting in a field or against the same looking fort over and over. That is not eye candy and it is not even keeping current. I don't care about the look of the battles, so much as the The graphics of the game look great, but during battles, you'll be zoomed out managing the battlefield and the game looks dated. There are very few battlefield maps, so you'll pretty much be fighting in a field or against the same looking fort over and over. That is not eye candy and it is not even keeping current. I don't care about the look of the battles, so much as the clunky game mechanics. The way units move in this version of TW is terrible. Having to navigate a wall or building is an exercise in patience due to poor design. Sending troops to a location is gamble, as they may decide to take the worst path their possible . The AI is terribly slow when reacting to your changing tactics. Battles will all feel the same and repetitive due to the lack of AI or variety. Don't get me started on the load times in the game... every battle takes a solid 1 to 2 minutes to load. Even worse is sometimes the game will hang during these loads and crash. This leads to the other bugs that fester through this game. Sounds errors, game crashes, flickering, unexplained slowdowns are just some of the issues. And like other people have, STEAM is crap and causes more problems than it solves. I played through the American campaign and the Spanish. It was moderately entertaining. Very very repetitive. I was bored cold by the end of the Spanish campaign, as there comes a point when you know you are going to win hours beforehand and you're just playing through the motions and surviving bugs and load time.… Expand
  10. WesS
    Mar 31, 2009
    5
    I sadly am giving this a 5 as of right now. Which on most gaming sites fall in the mediocre category. I too as many of you have purchased all the other total war games in the series because i love the depth. I havent played much as college can be prohibitive in the amount of time i have to play. That being said...from what i did get my hands on...I find it horrendous that a gamer should I sadly am giving this a 5 as of right now. Which on most gaming sites fall in the mediocre category. I too as many of you have purchased all the other total war games in the series because i love the depth. I havent played much as college can be prohibitive in the amount of time i have to play. That being said...from what i did get my hands on...I find it horrendous that a gamer should spend 50 dollars for a game only to be expected to fiddle with a dam client (steam). From reading other posters...Im slightly dissappointed that they tried to dumb down the interface...etc. I think that is one of the things that made the previous games so engrossing. I have a pretty decent computer... I can run MTW2 and the expansion just fine, as well as company of heroes with little if negligible lag. The game does seem to have been released too early... the fact that many in game cutscenes lag so horribly seriously detracts from what might be a overall awesome game. I only hope these issues are addressed in a patch which leads me to another frustration with steam. The fact you have to download updates through the steam client and set it up so you can even play it offline is just absurd. I worked hard for my 50$ i dont want any headaches installing or playing my game. Just let me play! While i think that it is important that piracy of games should be restricted, why should the many suffer for the actions of a few. And you cant tell me that with the amount of money they are making they cant afford to ditch this steaming pile of steam crap. Heck look how many people bought Empire total war only to be let down. I sympathize with all of you, and patiently wait with the rest of you for the patches that will fix the game that should not have needed fixing.… Expand
  11. dwillo1982w
    Mar 31, 2009
    6
    Despite heaps of bugs, hopeless AI and laggy at times gameplay I have been playing this now for 20+ hours. Ive enjoyed it, it has so much potential however it needs major work... agents in general need work with the most attention given to rakes (they are no way near as much fun as in previous versions of TW and rakes never seem to level even on successful missions). Tactical battles are Despite heaps of bugs, hopeless AI and laggy at times gameplay I have been playing this now for 20+ hours. Ive enjoyed it, it has so much potential however it needs major work... agents in general need work with the most attention given to rakes (they are no way near as much fun as in previous versions of TW and rakes never seem to level even on successful missions). Tactical battles are awesome however work needs to be done on attacking ai, defensive sieges are too easy and too frustrating with regards to pathfinding to bother with. Unfortunently the strategic game (ie campaign) is broken and is the reason why I will not play this game again until patches are released. Winning on the campaign is a guarantee dependent only on how long you are willing to slog things out for- the AI really does not do anything well enough to stop a dedicated player from doing whatever he wants. In my opinion naval battles are kinda slow, fun at first however no real tactics required to win despite looking great.… Expand
  12. StefanP
    Mar 31, 2009
    10
    There are some crashes and sometimes, especially in the late game, the game runs a little slow and/or reacts a little slow (especially when selecting fleets and ports), but I love it. I already finished three Grand Campaigns and I'm about to finish my fourth (~12 more years and already 65 regions). Also no problems in multiplayer.
  13. 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
  14. MikeS
    Mar 30, 2009
    9
    Outstanding game! I can't stop playing it. The game does have a few minor bugs that need to be worked out as exspected with any new release. I'm sure these will be worked out here in the near future. It does not hinder your playing too much at all! All in all, a great game. The naval warfare is fantastic!
  15. SamuelW
    Mar 30, 2009
    10
    I haven't noticed any of these 'bugs', strange! I've enjoyed every single minute I've played. The campaign is amazing, the introduction of multiple towns and resource centres within a province are neat too. Multiplayer is great too, although it would be nice if more maps were introduced for 2vs2 and up. (There are plenty of 1vs1 maps)... All-in-all Empire comes I haven't noticed any of these 'bugs', strange! I've enjoyed every single minute I've played. The campaign is amazing, the introduction of multiple towns and resource centres within a province are neat too. Multiplayer is great too, although it would be nice if more maps were introduced for 2vs2 and up. (There are plenty of 1vs1 maps)... All-in-all Empire comes very close to the amazing game that is Rome: Total War, and is possible even on par with it. This game is truly awesome, I've spent countless hours on it (about 50 so far, and I'm a little more than a quarter through my first campaign). Very entertaining!… Expand
  16. 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
  17. JoãoSalvadoretti
    Mar 30, 2009
    9
    Despite somewhat rushed nature, Empires stand as a great game, offering a great gameplay, begin sea land battles really good. Its only issues rest is the already mentioned rushed state, but even this is begin fixed with a long patch process (off course, it would be better if it did not happen, but still...).
  18. ErikP.
    Mar 30, 2009
    5
    This game was actually a step down from the Total War series in every way except graphics. The game engine and interface were both simpler than Medieval II and Rome. It would seem that CA spends its time and money on graphical magic instead of a game that works and is fun to play. Lets not forget that in the world of gaming, graphics and a streamlined use interface really only affect how This game was actually a step down from the Total War series in every way except graphics. The game engine and interface were both simpler than Medieval II and Rome. It would seem that CA spends its time and money on graphical magic instead of a game that works and is fun to play. Lets not forget that in the world of gaming, graphics and a streamlined use interface really only affect how the game LOOKS. What people spend their money on to a large degree is how it PLAYS. CA and many other developers understand that making a game LOOK good is a great way to get a high metascore from reviewers, making it PLAY equally well is apparently just too much to ask any more. In this title, CA has actually backed off of functionalities and complexities that made Rome: Total War, and Medieval II: Total War great games. They have produced a disappointment, and have fallen well short of my standards, as well as their own.… Expand
  19. drewc
    Mar 30, 2009
    5
    In the long term, multiple patches will be needed to make the game viable and replayable. The game is plagued with inordinate amounts of lag at times, frequent crashes to desktop, and full of bugs (as is usual with total war games). At the end of the day, a range of problems, some of which are major, dramatically hold back what would otherwise be a spectacular game.
  20. ChrisB
    Mar 30, 2009
    5
    Agree with all below, will be a great game when finnished. Really needs the M2TW/ Kingdoms detail, towns are poor. Invaded Paris and it looked like a small hamlet - no history in the layout at all. Battles are always in green fields even when standing on a bridge on the campaign map!! Come on guys you are better than this look at the detail in Kingdoms for a lead.
  21. AndrewB
    Mar 30, 2009
    3
    As per everyone else here, the game looks great, but its six months too early (Campaign AI & Bugs), DONT buy this game yet, wait for a sale in around six months and you will hopefully love every minute of it.
  22. OliverDay
    Mar 30, 2009
    6
    A good total war title..
    some how doesnt do it all for me though, in comparrison to say Medival total war the game play is just far better on that, If it wasnt for the sea battles this rating would be a flat 5. I feel that with the release of the patch in may that alot of the lag and jerkyness can be remidied.
  23. RobM
    Mar 30, 2009
    6
    Empire: Total War follows The Creative Assembly's MO as seen in previous Total War titles as far back as Rome of being a promising game full of good ideas and features obscured by a ridiculous amount of bugs and glitches. The positive aspects of this game include the new, deeper campaign map interface that allows more thorough control of your faction than in previous titles. Empire: Total War follows The Creative Assembly's MO as seen in previous Total War titles as far back as Rome of being a promising game full of good ideas and features obscured by a ridiculous amount of bugs and glitches. The positive aspects of this game include the new, deeper campaign map interface that allows more thorough control of your faction than in previous titles. Diplomacy, a longtime failure of the Total War series, is at least brought up to the basic standard of today's strategy games, though it can still be obtuse and useless at times. The different campaign theaters (Europe, America and India) are represented in a way that allows for great detail in all of them. Battles are at least as well-done as in previous titles and the battle maps themselves are far larger than before, which allows for more tactical maneuvering. The bad is, as usual, mostly bug related. Total War games since at least as early as Rome have been almost more trouble than they're worth until a series of patches is released due to obstructive bugs and crashes littering the game at release. Most of these are fixed after two or three patches, but there are always some that are never fixed. Pathfinding is absolutely pathetic and I am unable to trust units to find their way around anything bigger than a hay bale. The failure of pathfinding makes sieges more or less unplayable. The inclusion of Steam has itself led to a slew of problems visible on The Creative Assembly's official tech support forums and I don't see one convincing redeeming quality in it's involvement. I am generally very impressed with this game in theory, but the bugs strain my patience when attempting to play it. It should be made clear that in the past the bugs have always eventually been fixed, bringing the game to a reasonable level of playability which then allows it to shine. However, Steam may throw off the balance after all and make this game more trouble than it's worth. I certainly don't recommend this game yet; I suggest waiting several months for the patches to be released, and only then if Steam doesn't bother you.… Expand
  24. johnl
    Mar 29, 2009
    1
    This game so, far is a disaster at best. With specs that are questionable and a load of bugs that seem to plague all computers great and small. What happened to the days when you purchased a game and you didn't need to connect to the internet. As a long time fan of the total war series I have come to see the fall (or beginning stages of) a great game franchise. Next time take an This game so, far is a disaster at best. With specs that are questionable and a load of bugs that seem to plague all computers great and small. What happened to the days when you purchased a game and you didn't need to connect to the internet. As a long time fan of the total war series I have come to see the fall (or beginning stages of) a great game franchise. Next time take an extra 6 months to finish the product.… Expand
  25. OdinA
    Mar 29, 2009
    6
    Still after 3 patches on a computer that has the latest windows updates with nothing that is not needed to play this game. Graphics and gameplay makes this a unique beautiful game. The bugs and this atrocity of a gaming client called Steam tears it down into decease ridden pool of decomposing dreams. Over half the battles I play in campaign crash the game in battle summary. Steam refuses Still after 3 patches on a computer that has the latest windows updates with nothing that is not needed to play this game. Graphics and gameplay makes this a unique beautiful game. The bugs and this atrocity of a gaming client called Steam tears it down into decease ridden pool of decomposing dreams. Over half the battles I play in campaign crash the game in battle summary. Steam refuses to launch the game 1/4th of the time saying it's "unavailable". The AI is clueless at veryhard/veryhard both campaign and in battle. The fences in battles make me cry when units hit a corner. The sound clipping makes battles kind of confusing. Several shadow graphic bugs. Still I love the game and hope they manage to make it playable.… Expand
  26. JetL
    Mar 29, 2009
    4
    On a scale of 1 to 10, I give this a 4 because of several issues. First, Sega's going Steam. Definitely not a good thing with their DRM which is known to malfunction your PC entirely. Second, Empire TW is using the old formula of previous titles; AI has changed little, from dumb to dumber, absolutely no brain to win even at the hardest levels and even worse then before. Third, at On a scale of 1 to 10, I give this a 4 because of several issues. First, Sega's going Steam. Definitely not a good thing with their DRM which is known to malfunction your PC entirely. Second, Empire TW is using the old formula of previous titles; AI has changed little, from dumb to dumber, absolutely no brain to win even at the hardest levels and even worse then before. Third, at release and even with presto patch, CTD's, freezes, game acting up mid battles, unexplained slowdowns, pc death status. Fourth, feels like QA left town to fix bawdy houses instead. Game is NOT finished, poorly done, and fails my expectation as a gamer. Final thought, take your best friend out with 50 bucks, you'll enjoy much more than "this".… Expand
  27. AaronJ
    Mar 29, 2009
    3
    I have bought every previous TW game since Shogun came out. One of the reasons why I'm such a loyal TW fan is because I knew my money was buying a game ready to play and that the guys at TW didn't realease games early and unready like the other chumps. I bought my computer for 2k last year and belive me when I say it's well past min requirements. Still this is the laggiest I have bought every previous TW game since Shogun came out. One of the reasons why I'm such a loyal TW fan is because I knew my money was buying a game ready to play and that the guys at TW didn't realease games early and unready like the other chumps. I bought my computer for 2k last year and belive me when I say it's well past min requirements. Still this is the laggiest game ever.. Unplayable!!! And I haven't even run into the crashing bugs that everyone is talking about. Why would someone want to buy anything thats not ready? It's like buying a car with no wheels yet. I'm not old but I do remember days when you bought a game it was playable and finished when you spent your $70!!!!! I'm taking this back to EB games today and getting back my money one way or the other... Then I'll buy the game when these bastards decide to finish it. Unbelievable.… Expand
  28. DavidC
    Mar 28, 2009
    8
    I have every Total War game and I have thouroughly rnjoyed every one of them. I looked forward to this one with great anticipation. I have played it now (as the British) up to 1778. I find it absolutely fantastic - really engrossing - with some problems however. My game played flawlessly until about the 1750's, and now I tend to get crashes when I click on a port or a fleet. Also, I have every Total War game and I have thouroughly rnjoyed every one of them. I looked forward to this one with great anticipation. I have played it now (as the British) up to 1778. I find it absolutely fantastic - really engrossing - with some problems however. My game played flawlessly until about the 1750's, and now I tend to get crashes when I click on a port or a fleet. Also, the AI is terribly stupid. Nevertheless, it is a game I will continue to play, with great pleasure - but I do look forward to the patches!!!!!… Expand
  29. dirk0815
    Mar 28, 2009
    3
    Sorry for my poor English first (I come from Germany): After installation (almost 30 minutes), I've waited again about 40 minutes (because of the steam updates and fixes) until to start the game first. After 1-2 minutes it crashed. It is stressful to play it and my computer is not the oldest one. So I think this game is released to the market although the producer knows the gaps and Sorry for my poor English first (I come from Germany): After installation (almost 30 minutes), I've waited again about 40 minutes (because of the steam updates and fixes) until to start the game first. After 1-2 minutes it crashed. It is stressful to play it and my computer is not the oldest one. So I think this game is released to the market although the producer knows the gaps and errors. On the other hand I don't know what datasets of me and my computer are sent throught the internet with this steam account. I'll never accept in future this kind of software installation again. Sorry, but I can't comprehend this business model.… Expand
  30. BillB
    Mar 27, 2009
    6
    Unstable! Very happy with gameplay. I just wish i didn't have to abandon a campaign or replay a single battle four-five times before the game will allow me to save progress without crashing. Right now I am stuck in a loop where all the hours i have put into the current campaign will be lost because the game always crashes after this particular battle.
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 »