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. AnonymousMC
    Mar 12, 2009
    0
    This game was obviously rushed to release and not thoroughly playtested. The fact that it shipped with a trade port bug, where you could not use trade ports while playing as certain factions, confirms the shoddy playtesting. They've fixed this particular problem, true, but it still is a smoking gun that signals time was not spent actually playing each faction to see if the gameThis game was obviously rushed to release and not thoroughly playtested. The fact that it shipped with a trade port bug, where you could not use trade ports while playing as certain factions, confirms the shoddy playtesting. They've fixed this particular problem, true, but it still is a smoking gun that signals time was not spent actually playing each faction to see if the game worked. There are many other bugs which remain to be fixed.

    I wish I could give a higher score, as it does have the promise to be an addictive game. However, seeing as it is not complete or working, it can only get a zero for now.

    Buy this immediately if you enjoy gambling. There's a great chance it will not work out well for you for quite some time.

    Otherwise, wait a few months for them to actually finish it.    … Expand
  2. AaronS
    Mar 12, 2009
    10
    The game is a phenomenal addition to the TW series. Definitely a choppy launch with a lot of memory leaks and bugs, but when you consider the epic scale of the game and the plethora of new features it's far beyond a fair trade. Unlike Medieval TW, this game doesn't have a bunch of pointless features and boring objectives. The battles are epic and the graphics are breathtaking. The game is a phenomenal addition to the TW series. Definitely a choppy launch with a lot of memory leaks and bugs, but when you consider the epic scale of the game and the plethora of new features it's far beyond a fair trade. Unlike Medieval TW, this game doesn't have a bunch of pointless features and boring objectives. The battles are epic and the graphics are breathtaking. Just finished my first campaign and it grows on me a little more every time I play.… Expand
  3. ML
    Mar 13, 2009
    8
    This is an amising game, but i expected more of it. I find he turns to be short, despite the large campain map. Naval battles get very chaotic very fast. Some people complain the AI will never transport troups over seas. I have founs this to be false as i was i got attacked by the french while playing the brittish. The AI pathfinding might seem terrible, but when u think about it, u see This is an amising game, but i expected more of it. I find he turns to be short, despite the large campain map. Naval battles get very chaotic very fast. Some people complain the AI will never transport troups over seas. I have founs this to be false as i was i got attacked by the french while playing the brittish. The AI pathfinding might seem terrible, but when u think about it, u see wat their trying to acomplish, wich is not much and could still use alot of improvements. The techtree, land battles in general the addition of sea battles and small towns are great. I have seen very litle bugs and crashes.The historaical acuracy could be beter. I find M2TW and Rome to be more "user friendly"(in lack of beter words). I realy liked the family tree in rome and medieval, wich has been remooved. I hope in the first expantion pact they will fix most of these problems and include the erly XIXth century and a seperate campain simular to the road to independance, but based on the napoleonic war.… Expand
  4. 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
  5. JoonaH
    Mar 14, 2009
    10
    First off, I was very critic about the gunpowder age since the gunpowder weapons werent very special in earlier games, but the game suprised me very much with its excelency! The naval fights are great too! I always wanted to have naval fights and now I got it! Only thing bad I have to say about the naval fights is that they are always on the open seas and the lack of islands, reefs and First off, I was very critic about the gunpowder age since the gunpowder weapons werent very special in earlier games, but the game suprised me very much with its excelency! The naval fights are great too! I always wanted to have naval fights and now I got it! Only thing bad I have to say about the naval fights is that they are always on the open seas and the lack of islands, reefs and coastline. Otherwise, an excelent Total War game. PS. I'm a huge Total War fan :P… Expand
  6. ISocratatus
    Mar 14, 2009
    6
    A potentially great game, but misses because it`s UNFINISHED. The units, the fighting, even the AI is better, but once you`ve played for a few turns you realise that the CampaignAI NEVER attacks you. Ok, I`ll be more specific. Indians of the Americas may actually attack you (I had one case), but Europeans NEVER do. I play as Britain. I declare war on them, they declare war on me then.. A potentially great game, but misses because it`s UNFINISHED. The units, the fighting, even the AI is better, but once you`ve played for a few turns you realise that the CampaignAI NEVER attacks you. Ok, I`ll be more specific. Indians of the Americas may actually attack you (I had one case), but Europeans NEVER do. I play as Britain. I declare war on them, they declare war on me then.. nothing. I`ve even left my towns with a skeleton army while France builds hundreds of troops, yet in 20-30 turns they simply do not take the intiative. Now if you take their lands they`ll fight to take it back. If they get their land, they stop. They won`t go further and attack your original territory. I don`t get why they have made the AI like this, surely, testing should have revealed this. Interestingly this happened in RTW and MTW2 until patched about 3 months later. Their are two possible reasons: 1.CA are stupid and just can`t get it right first time or.. 2. they make the Campaign AI Passive on purpose to make new players feel like their getting somewhere. I think the latter, so when they Patch it in 3 months so the European AI actually attacks it will be worth 810. Of course, graphics are nice battles are nice and there`s quite a bit of depth, but it`s useless if the enemy AI NEVER takes the INITIATIVE. It`s no strategy at all. Why only 8? Well because of Steam. Without Steam and the need to Activate online it would`ve gotten 9.5 And that`s a fact.… Expand
  7. MarcoT
    Mar 16, 2009
    1
    It's not enough that this game isn't much more than a beta (some would even go as far as rating it as an alpha), no, what puts insult next to injury is that the publisher adopted Steam for this release - a system technologically as reliable as a badly maintained 70s mainframe, hungry to gather all the data on you it can and effectively prohibiting you from ever reselling the It's not enough that this game isn't much more than a beta (some would even go as far as rating it as an alpha), no, what puts insult next to injury is that the publisher adopted Steam for this release - a system technologically as reliable as a badly maintained 70s mainframe, hungry to gather all the data on you it can and effectively prohibiting you from ever reselling the game. Which in my opinion is the number 1 reason why Sega adopted Steam: It's not the pirates they are after, but killing off the second hand gaming market, which most publishers these days see as a much bigger or at least as big threat to their revenues. Sorry Sega and CA. If you keep up with these politics then I bought the last of your games.… Expand
  8. RussD
    Mar 16, 2009
    2
    This game is so buggy. Even after the 3/10/09 fixes mine still crashed in later years on the grand board. The in battle graphics works (on high) pretty well but has some minor quirks Command not graphics). The (what I call ) the play board or grand board is where the big bugs sit. Not only crashing (a lot in out years) but, withdrawing soldiers to places where I can move them to other This game is so buggy. Even after the 3/10/09 fixes mine still crashed in later years on the grand board. The in battle graphics works (on high) pretty well but has some minor quirks Command not graphics). The (what I call ) the play board or grand board is where the big bugs sit. Not only crashing (a lot in out years) but, withdrawing soldiers to places where I can move them to other land space or move them onto ships. This was a good one. I had a fleet which left off on army and then 2 turns later I tried to move the fleet and it would not let me. It claims that the water I am trying send them to is land. I don't think the Atlantic Ocean is land. I pray evertime after 30+ years in that it does not crash when I make moves on the grand board. I am running Phenom AM3 with 4 meg DDR2 (2 megs a chip) and a 6800 GeForce Video card. I have played and liked the previous Total War but this was a major disapointment. You needed more beta testing. As shown by how soon you had to put a patch out. Maybe you are working off the Microsoft mentality. It doesn't have to work out of the box, we can patch it. The people who wrote the articles didn't play this game for 20hrs through a campain or they would have seen the issues. Send it back. They can do better.… Expand
  9. EricD.
    Mar 18, 2009
    3
    Like many others said this game had the potential to blow the competetion out of the water, but with the addition of steam and the unprecedented number of bugs its just another dissapointment, oh and to all the dumb people that hail steam i just spent 15 months in iraq with no internet connection i cant express the level of anger i had when i couldnt play even once a week with missions, Like many others said this game had the potential to blow the competetion out of the water, but with the addition of steam and the unprecedented number of bugs its just another dissapointment, oh and to all the dumb people that hail steam i just spent 15 months in iraq with no internet connection i cant express the level of anger i had when i couldnt play even once a week with missions, because you had to use steam that is rediculas, if they want to use steam to patch cool and even sell downloadable copies more power to them but to force me to get on steam to play a game i have a hard copy of is too much, as for the game i love it when it will work which isnt much if more patches dont come out and soon this will be the last ca sega game i and many friends ever buy.… Expand
  10. JesusZ.
    Mar 19, 2009
    9
    Excellent awesome game... a pity that lots of common bugs make the game unplayable at this date. I'm awaiting the necesary patches urgently in order to play without continuously crash to desktops and autodestructible savegames. Anyway, when CA launches the patch(es) that will correct all this things, this will be an epic game!
  11. SanderUnknown
    Mar 19, 2009
    4
    a 7.7 is way to much for this game. i give it a max of 4. the Ai is very stupid/retarded. if u sit in a building they just wait until they die. like suicide. more lags are the visuals. they are not that much in portent but i cant figure it out why the gun crew is cleaning the outside of the canon while they should push the gun powder into the canon. and not to forget the "very hard" mode a 7.7 is way to much for this game. i give it a max of 4. the Ai is very stupid/retarded. if u sit in a building they just wait until they die. like suicide. more lags are the visuals. they are not that much in portent but i cant figure it out why the gun crew is cleaning the outside of the canon while they should push the gun powder into the canon. and not to forget the "very hard" mode in "Grand campaign" what is the difference with "easy"? more bad things is if u loose your capitol (like London) you are as good as dead because you will lose almost everything. and specially in the first rounds. they really should fix this.… Expand
  12. 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
  13. MarkusS.
    Mar 23, 2009
    9
    Greatest Game ever!!!! outstanding graphics and good tutorial. The batles are lots of fun and the campaign really keeps you on the game!!! Only kritik I have is that the first Patch keeps crashing the game...hope 2nd patch will solve this problem! 9/10 points.
  14. SimonW
    Mar 23, 2009
    4
    I loved this game from the start untill to the -- Crash? I tried to find the fix to this problem for a long time, this game is an unblemished diamond waiting for its release. SEGA please, dont hurry with your games, this is total damnation for all the players. They are apparently released an alpha version of the game and try to find out the bugs by torturing the players. AI, Crashes, and I loved this game from the start untill to the -- Crash? I tried to find the fix to this problem for a long time, this game is an unblemished diamond waiting for its release. SEGA please, dont hurry with your games, this is total damnation for all the players. They are apparently released an alpha version of the game and try to find out the bugs by torturing the players. AI, Crashes, and some diplomatical problems.. duh?… Expand
  15. Felixilef
    Mar 23, 2009
    6
    This is the best of the Total War Series, easily the most fun to play. But it does require some extensive patching. Certain behind the scene aspects of the game seem primitive or unfinished. The AI is very rudimentary, no advance on previous total war AIs. It is quite obvious that the AI is Dumb and unresponsive. Path finding of the units also needs a lot of work, especially during sieges This is the best of the Total War Series, easily the most fun to play. But it does require some extensive patching. Certain behind the scene aspects of the game seem primitive or unfinished. The AI is very rudimentary, no advance on previous total war AIs. It is quite obvious that the AI is Dumb and unresponsive. Path finding of the units also needs a lot of work, especially during sieges and around rocks and things. So although the units look really good, they're doing a lot of stupid things. I'm looking forward to some game play patches, this game really really needs them. If you got the money, get this game and wait for the patches, there's excellent re-playability here. If you're strapped for cash, probably wait til the patches are released, it'll probably be cheaper then too.… Expand
  16. NickW
    Mar 24, 2009
    8
    A fairly solid game that could use a little polish. Campaign AI is meak and the ship AI is even worse. Rakes, the assassination and spy unit, are quite weak and have a very low probability at succeeding in their task - making them quite unreliable. Sea battles are very hard to control, which is suprising considering that the land battles are so intuitive. I have to say, the focus on A fairly solid game that could use a little polish. Campaign AI is meak and the ship AI is even worse. Rakes, the assassination and spy unit, are quite weak and have a very low probability at succeeding in their task - making them quite unreliable. Sea battles are very hard to control, which is suprising considering that the land battles are so intuitive. I have to say, the focus on Firearms makes this Total War far more exciting than previous titles and the tactics change accordingly. Melee still has its place however, which some of the most effective units belonging to this catagory.… Expand
  17. TysonW
    Mar 25, 2009
    9
    Great game, hours of fun. didn't know if i would like it cause it takes place in 1700. got it cheap for 40 dollars at best buy 1 week ago. it has its bugs but just got the new patch that came out today and hasn't crashed or glitched on me yet. i highly recomend you buy this game.
  18. BarryS
    Mar 26, 2009
    2
    wouldnt of minded if i had a poor computer but its 2 grands worth so for the first and hopefully last time im saying this game is so very poo,r at the moment i would even consider it to be some sort of breach of ethics or if it was a bank then conduct or something like that. putting out a product that could of been brilliant and will be but there are loads of brits on the team for christ wouldnt of minded if i had a poor computer but its 2 grands worth so for the first and hopefully last time im saying this game is so very poo,r at the moment i would even consider it to be some sort of breach of ethics or if it was a bank then conduct or something like that. putting out a product that could of been brilliant and will be but there are loads of brits on the team for christ sake. we are awesome at this stuff.… Expand
  19. NigelBl
    Mar 26, 2009
    0
    Very unstable game, very disappointing, bought nes system to run this game and the game crashes all the time despite the recent update, i have bought all the games in the series and this has been the worst for stability, ship battle is disappointing and game play same as last offering, Steam are rubbish and dont respond to problems.
  20. FredD.
    Mar 27, 2009
    4
    Extremely pretty game, but was not ready for release. many users are plagued by crashs, some still cannot even play the game. also notable problems currently, very poor ai- wont even attack via navel assault for example. so to say, you need not garrison any islands you control as they are 100 percent safe!
  21. JimJ.
    Mar 27, 2009
    4
    Releasing it as such a buggy product was a grave error. Gameplay suffers hugely from CTDs. Even after 2 patches, it's not worth buying yet. Huge mistake on the part of the devs. I do not support game devs that pull this kind of garbage.
  22. JimW
    Mar 27, 2009
    3
    This game is nothing more then a black-eye on the superb Total War franchise. In a nut-shell: 1) Runs poorly and slow even on high-end computers 2) The AI is Terrible 3) More bugs then most Alphas that I have played 4) Few words in the English language can adequately describe how bad STEAM sucks In conclusion, This game is a train wreck. No amount of last minute patching can save it This game is nothing more then a black-eye on the superb Total War franchise. In a nut-shell: 1) Runs poorly and slow even on high-end computers 2) The AI is Terrible 3) More bugs then most Alphas that I have played 4) Few words in the English language can adequately describe how bad STEAM sucks In conclusion, This game is a train wreck. No amount of last minute patching can save it because of STEAM.… Expand
  23. derikr
    Mar 27, 2009
    1
    I own all Total war games, adding to my library for years now, one by one.First and foremost, I purchased Empire, and for my money, was given Steam. Having to use Steam irritates me to no end. I cannot defrag my hard drive because of Steam. Ca has been gracious enough to respond to support questions in a timely fashion. however Steam, and Sega have not responded in a week. Now to the I own all Total war games, adding to my library for years now, one by one.First and foremost, I purchased Empire, and for my money, was given Steam. Having to use Steam irritates me to no end. I cannot defrag my hard drive because of Steam. Ca has been gracious enough to respond to support questions in a timely fashion. however Steam, and Sega have not responded in a week. Now to the game, At first it was so buggy, I couldnt run it. After fooloing around with the graphics settings, I finally got it to work, For me it runs pretty well. Again, only pretty well. The AI is dumb as a box of rocks, There are in my mind, too few playable factions, and most are so similar, why bother giving them a name, just call it me - vs - them, and pick a spot to start. I do like many aspects of the game, such as tech tree, diplomacy, easy income, However Steam is so bad, you will wish you spent your money on used clothes instead. Your files are locked away, and in some cases hidden. If you try to defrag your hard drive, you cant, If you delete the files causing the problem, you have to reload the game, which takes several hours. Auto saved games can become unplayable, resulting in CTD over and over again. I make this promise to Ca, and Sega. If I ever have to buy Steam, to get thier game, I will not buy it. I'm giving you my very best advice....dont do it. You will feel better giving your money to a paper shredder. For Steam, and poor AI, my review is a big fat 1.… Expand
  24. JohnE.
    Mar 27, 2009
    9
    I have played a few total war games now and this is far the best of the lot. Naval battles take it all to a new dimension. I found it easy to understand, the only problem is random crashing which is annoying especially when you have just taken over a major town.
  25. 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
  26. 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!
  27. 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
  28. 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.
  29. 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
  30. williamc
    Apr 17, 2009
    2
    To many crashes when playing long campaign games,especially if you're will far along in developing technology. Also a downer is if steam decides to update you while playing your game will crash. Way to many crash bugs for the money they're asking. Compare to other Total War games this is a joke cause of the crashes.
  31. MiaE
    Apr 23, 2009
    0
    I will no longer pre-order games. A lesson learned with this POS. It's time to play with piracy copies maybe the makers will take notice and mend their ways. 0 for a terrible experience with ETW. I have returned it to the store.
  32. IanB
    Apr 27, 2009
    9
    Not quite perfection but very close. The Naval element, although a bit basic, is the bit that takes it up a level against other Total War games. It's tie-in with Steam seems unnecessary and causes difficulties if there is a problem with the internet. It would be interesting to include a squad-level element (land) or individual Captain in a fleet (sea).
  33. Karolis
    Apr 27, 2009
    8
    A great game, lacks some sound maybe. Because they weren't only playing drums while marching, there were flutes and all kinds of stuff. A bunch of bugs, and some balance issues. Overall a freakin awesome game! i bought it, and i suggest others to do it
  34. MauroB
    Apr 27, 2009
    4
    Unfortunately there are a lot of bugs that need to be fixed. AI is not as good as expected. The software is demanding too many hardware resources, even if I have 3 Gb Ram, ATI 4870 and a good dual core processor, the Game is not running smoothly. It is really a pity, due to the Game is really good, maybe we have to wait for a couple of patches, anyhow my advice is to wait for a few months Unfortunately there are a lot of bugs that need to be fixed. AI is not as good as expected. The software is demanding too many hardware resources, even if I have 3 Gb Ram, ATI 4870 and a good dual core processor, the Game is not running smoothly. It is really a pity, due to the Game is really good, maybe we have to wait for a couple of patches, anyhow my advice is to wait for a few months before buying Empire Total War (when it will cost 15 euro), and in general I raccomend to avoid Steam-like games (due to I would like to avoid to connect to Steam every time I want to play .. I don't have an internet flat contract).… Expand
  35. ChrisS
    Apr 28, 2009
    1
    I bought this game and was genuinely excited as a seasoned TW player and multiplayer online enthusiast. How I was dissapointed. The support for online players on MTWII was frankly dreadfull and basically led to me putting the game back on the shelf once the campaigns and 6 months of online playing was up. I played RTW BI online for years! Now this, I havent had much trouble with the bugs I bought this game and was genuinely excited as a seasoned TW player and multiplayer online enthusiast. How I was dissapointed. The support for online players on MTWII was frankly dreadfull and basically led to me putting the game back on the shelf once the campaigns and 6 months of online playing was up. I played RTW BI online for years! Now this, I havent had much trouble with the bugs or steam I just find the game play boring. Running musket men into range and then doing the slow reload and fire routine before the bayonet charge is fun for the 1st half dozen battles and then you start auto resolving. The battles are what TW games are about IMO you can get similar campaign experiences but nobody else has ever acheived the unit balance and the real time battle engine that prevoius TW games had. This is woefull. I have played it for around 6 hours and have no appetite for more it bores me senseless and to cap it all I'm stuck with it, no trade in's or returns for me thanks to the registering. The last time I'll ever buy a game on release day, although i've had no problemms technically other than long load times I would have never gone near this having read the comments lamenting the now sadly horrific support provided for this series. They would do well to rehire the guys that were involved with RTW and BI for the next in the series, they've got our money now for this shocker so should be able to afford it!… Expand
  36. MortenB
    Apr 29, 2009
    4
    I haven't had any chrashes after updatin Display driver. The look and feel of the game is really good. The tactical part, both land and sea look just great, and here the AI plays OK, not really smart, but OK. But on the strategic level the AI is a disaster! It makes the most stupid decissions, and when you add the fact that i NEVER moves troops by sea, not even to defend, and it I haven't had any chrashes after updatin Display driver. The look and feel of the game is really good. The tactical part, both land and sea look just great, and here the AI plays OK, not really smart, but OK. But on the strategic level the AI is a disaster! It makes the most stupid decissions, and when you add the fact that i NEVER moves troops by sea, not even to defend, and it NEVER makes peace with enemies, it really ruins the challenge. It feels like they have used the AI from 15 years old 2. rate game. I have played 2 campains and I'm really too bored to start a new. What a shame.… Expand
  37. BryanD
    May 11, 2009
    10
    I dont know what your all crying about. if your crappy comp cant run the game dont give it a low score. Works fine for me and i have a 2 year old vista so stop ur wining. great battles fun gameplay its hard at first but overall a great game. cant see how you dont like it unless you can run it... and thats y it has such a low score.
  38. RickG
    May 11, 2009
    7
    Graphics very good... The idea was awesome... But the only thing that sucks is you need internet not only to activate the game, but to download and constantly updating the game to play, the reliance on the internet is the ONLY major problem with the game... So if the Total War series comes up with another like this although I am looking forward to it... I WILL NOT BUY IT!!! Because it Graphics very good... The idea was awesome... But the only thing that sucks is you need internet not only to activate the game, but to download and constantly updating the game to play, the reliance on the internet is the ONLY major problem with the game... So if the Total War series comes up with another like this although I am looking forward to it... I WILL NOT BUY IT!!! Because it will be a waste of money unless you have internet or if you need the internet and steam.… Expand
  39. AndrewS
    May 12, 2009
    4
    Of all the Total War games released, Empire: Total War ranks the worst. More than simply being unfinished (we've discovered incomplete features, inactive, but left in the game code) ETW is plagued with bugs, CTDs, and general poor optimization that results in long turn times on the strategic map. A.I. is nonsensical and poorly implemented. Graphics look worse than the previous Total Of all the Total War games released, Empire: Total War ranks the worst. More than simply being unfinished (we've discovered incomplete features, inactive, but left in the game code) ETW is plagued with bugs, CTDs, and general poor optimization that results in long turn times on the strategic map. A.I. is nonsensical and poorly implemented. Graphics look worse than the previous Total War titles yet demand far more out of your video card. No blood in tactical battles. A poor game through and through. Everyone involved in the development of this game should be ashamed of themselves for releasing such a blatantly terrible game. The professional reviewers giving this game ridiculously high scores have lost their integrity and should resign from their positions. Clearly they did not actually play this game for more than a few minutes and have cost people quite a bit of money. For Shame.… Expand
  40. JamesA.
    May 13, 2009
    9
    The gameplay is great for the most part, I still would have liked to see more depth in the options of diplomacy. You should note most of the negative user reviews come from people who either just dislike Steam, or experienced their share of crashes. The game has been heavily patched though, and the bulk of their complaints are therefore irrelevant.
  41. AndrewD
    May 14, 2009
    10
    This game rocks!!! Plan and simple. Sure some bugs are their but if you save often, which the game does for you, then just go back and dont repeat the move go on one turn and NO PROBLEM. The battles are fun, the campaign challenging, and the new streamlined diplomacy helps tremendously. Way to go Total War!!!!
  42. KurtL
    May 14, 2009
    10
    Like Bryan said, I don't know why all of you are whining. Get new computers. I have a 2 1/2 year old computer with an 8600gt, 1gig of ram, and a 3.2ghz singlecore. The game runs flawlessly on medium settings. Ive only crashed twice. Sure, when the game came out it was really glitchy, but there has been patches and its really improved.
  43. 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.
  44. RustyR
    May 18, 2009
    10
    This is possibly one of the best ballanced and presented games I have played and it compares favorably with its previous versions (Rome and Medieval). The combination of grand-strategy and empire managment in a tun-based model with real-time tactical battles is probably the best way to present total global or theatre warfare and makes other so-called real-time strategy (no such thing) This is possibly one of the best ballanced and presented games I have played and it compares favorably with its previous versions (Rome and Medieval). The combination of grand-strategy and empire managment in a tun-based model with real-time tactical battles is probably the best way to present total global or theatre warfare and makes other so-called real-time strategy (no such thing) games look rediculous.… Expand
  45. JackS
    May 21, 2009
    6
    The amount of CTD even after the latest patch during random instances is just unacceptable. Until this game crashs are reduced to at most once every 10 hours, my score on this game stands at a 6.
  46. DudeSicko
    May 22, 2009
    0
    Here it is, months since the release and I still cannot run ETW on my 64 bit system. I have recorded umpteen program failures in regards to memory management and just plain bad code, recorded them on the CA forums, and still nothing is being done except to make the horses look nicer in battle and the sound sweeter. Even though fixed in various patches, the AI is still the dumbest on the Here it is, months since the release and I still cannot run ETW on my 64 bit system. I have recorded umpteen program failures in regards to memory management and just plain bad code, recorded them on the CA forums, and still nothing is being done except to make the horses look nicer in battle and the sound sweeter. Even though fixed in various patches, the AI is still the dumbest on the planet even when playing at greater difficulties. And in the sea battles it is impossible to set a user AI to harass the enemy with Brigs and Sloops while manuevering you capital ships. Really a ridiculous piece or work for all the talking up it got in the beginning. NEVER AGAIN will I buy a title from Creative Assembly (some assembly required).… Expand
  47. BillF
    May 22, 2009
    1
    Games constantly crashes - unable to play complete campaign - totally disappointed with this total war game (previous games were excellant) and it seems that updates just make it worse.
  48. DaveP
    May 22, 2009
    0
    This game is unplayable. It was pushed out for monetary gain and they had to know full and well they were destroying a series. I am willing to bet they not only knew it would go over like a lead brick but intentionally did so to boost sales of other titles. Even the most inept developer and the greediest publishers couldn't be this dumb. They saw no future potential and given the This game is unplayable. It was pushed out for monetary gain and they had to know full and well they were destroying a series. I am willing to bet they not only knew it would go over like a lead brick but intentionally did so to boost sales of other titles. Even the most inept developer and the greediest publishers couldn't be this dumb. They saw no future potential and given the current state of the failed monetary system they took what they could get and brought the series to a close .Just a few of the major game stoppers; AI inept, Sea battles boring/buggy, Crashes with 4th rate fleets or better on campaign map,Armies dissapear, Diplomacy buggy/irrelevent,No Naval AI invasions, 3 major nations get their colonial territories for free and earlier than you can,Reinforcement armies single in(sometimes right next to the enemy), to few battle maps, A minister replacement system designed to destroy your economy... among countless other bugs( not hardware issues). I don't feel there is much potential given the amount of bugs and the time past. I feel this will flutter away like our money. Avoid this game and it's publishers/developers and tell/post to others. Stop buying games period. Boycott all games for a year unless their support forum is virtually bug post free. If they don't allow you to see the support forum till after purchase then don't buy it.… Expand
  49. EmilH
    May 24, 2009
    8
    Game is good, but as with alot of new games they release them to early, crashed alot when i started playing which causes frustration.

    Read a previous guys review and he said the game was very unstable, i have a similar setup to him, i got a Q6600 @ 3.4ghz 8gb of ram and a 4870X2, i run the game at max settings with 8AA at 1680x1050 and i have seen no lagg so far whatsoever, and i have    Game is good, but as with alot of new games they release them to early, crashed alot when i started playing which causes frustration.

    Read a previous guys review and he said the game was very unstable, i have a similar setup to him, i got a Q6600 @ 3.4ghz 8gb of ram and a 4870X2, i run the game at max settings with 8AA at 1680x1050 and i have seen no lagg so far whatsoever, and i have unit scale turned up to huge. Check ur comp for viruses dude ;)    … Expand
  50. SamH
    May 25, 2009
    0
    Game is a POS. As a customer I shouldn't have to wait several months after the game for it to be patched enough to be stable enough to play. Developers need to be taught a lesson. They can't get away with this. Other than that, the game is fairly boring. Not enough flavor to the game.
  51. ColbyF
    May 26, 2009
    9
    Though not as good as Rome, this is a good game. I had no technical problems (lucky me, I suppose) and it is very fun to forge an empire in the 18th century.
  52. SteveWolf
    May 29, 2009
    7
    Like most users (not critics), I'd give this about a 7. Its very well made, with wonderful craftsmanship, attention to detail, and a lot of love for the genre.

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

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

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

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

    And this from a guy who LOVEs TW: Shogun, TW: Rome, and TW: Medieval 2.    … Expand
  53. 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
  54. KyleK
    Jun 13, 2009
    9
    Hands down, the Total War series is the best RTS series ever. Combines all the strategy and planning from turn-based games in the campaign mode to RTS action in the land and naval battles. Empire:Total War, in my opinion could use a little more achievement feeling like unlocking new playable factions after you beat them, as in the previous titles.
  55. berty
    Jun 18, 2009
    6
    So i haven't got the best PC in the world 3GBram 3GBpro, downloaded the updates and still crashers ! changed the graphics still crashers ! great game but cant handle the crashing all the time its SO annoying. If ya get pissed off really quick DO not buy this game.
  56. PaulU
    Jun 19, 2009
    9
    Really good game, and those saying steam is so horrible are wrong. I myself love steam, its very convenient. Anyway, the game itself is great. The graphics are good, the AI is pretty good as well. I like how each individual unit fights, they aren't all clones doing the same thing. I do not have any bugs, but maybe that's just me.
  57. ArunJ
    Jun 21, 2009
    4
    This incarnation of Total War has well and truly lost its soul. Previous titles captured the importance of characters in the making of history and allowed you to cultivate their personalities from very young age until death. Empire has abstracted the player from any sense of political intrigue and focuses purely on the battle - but lest we forget, the other half of the game is turn-based. This incarnation of Total War has well and truly lost its soul. Previous titles captured the importance of characters in the making of history and allowed you to cultivate their personalities from very young age until death. Empire has abstracted the player from any sense of political intrigue and focuses purely on the battle - but lest we forget, the other half of the game is turn-based. This means it is not as well rounded a game as the other titles. I praise the team for including ships this time but too many little touches that made the other games so enjoyable are missing from this game. The general's speech before the battle, the incidental music is less impactful, the zooming into the battle from the campaign map, governors, creating spies and diplomats (for god's sake I wait interminably for gentlemen to spawn when I have full blown modern universities and then they are greats like Daniel Defoe and Adam Smith and are given 3-star ratings). In sum, the ability of the player to have a hand in developing different aspects of the game is missing. Re-equipping soldiers with the latest armour/sword upgrades meant you had to care a little more about your soldiers before they went into battle. Having very experienced soldiers meant they were more effective in battle and you could take them from battle to battle with pride knowing they were your soldiers and could win despite being outnumbered. The idea that you can regenerate soldiers without affecting the population or the experience level of the soldiers just contributes to the sense that soldiers are 'cannon fodder'. An accurate reflection of the times? Perhaps - but it takes away from the romance of the idea of war, and I say this as a staunch pacifist! Creative Assembly - you have truly taken away the soul of the game by abstracting the player from the development of characters and political intrigue. You have also abstracted the fan from truly enjoying the game by releasing it on Steam which lends itself to shoddy/sloppy work as you can always release bitty patches at will to hold the game together and bribe fans with new units when you get an earfull. It was ambitious but I hope you will reflect and realise that you must bring the game back to the fans so that the fans can interact with the game, can empathise with the nations/characters they play as and most importantly so the fans can get just satisfaction from having spent so much money to play your games.… Expand
  58. jeffp
    Jun 21, 2009
    0
    Wow....this is a sad sad attempt at making a cheap buck. I'd rather play pong nonstop for a week than play the campaign of this game...its so repetitive...or it at least feels that way cause im playing the same mission over and over cause it wont stop freaking crashing! I mean WTF?
  59. KevinR
    Jun 21, 2009
    10
    I think that this is a modern classic of gaming. I do not agree with all of the people that say it requires much tweaking. Yes some tweaking would be nice but as a basic game it did everything that it said it would do and could do. Naval Battles:Check Land Battles:Check Historical Accuracy: Check Graphics:Check I have never spent a better $50 in my life. Another great Total War game. I think that this is a modern classic of gaming. I do not agree with all of the people that say it requires much tweaking. Yes some tweaking would be nice but as a basic game it did everything that it said it would do and could do. Naval Battles:Check Land Battles:Check Historical Accuracy: Check Graphics:Check I have never spent a better $50 in my life. Another great Total War game. 10/10 all of the way.… Expand
  60. EivindE
    Jun 27, 2009
    9
    This is technically the best of the series in my opinnion, and the most packed i think. With different stuff you can do. I have played it since the first medieval total war. I was worried beacouse of the time period picked that it wouldnt be interresting. But they pulled it off and its a blast playing it. It would have gotten a 10 but because of bugs it gets one point lower. there are This is technically the best of the series in my opinnion, and the most packed i think. With different stuff you can do. I have played it since the first medieval total war. I was worried beacouse of the time period picked that it wouldnt be interresting. But they pulled it off and its a blast playing it. It would have gotten a 10 but because of bugs it gets one point lower. there are however, fewer bugs than in some of the older games at launch.… Expand
  61. VictorN
    Jul 13, 2009
    8
    This game is great, don't get me wrong, but the bugs and glitches just ruined my overall experience with this game. However, the game is pretty enjoyable if you are willing to get past its problems, so I'm gonna give this an 8/10. But just because it's a great at its core.
  62. daver
    Jul 14, 2009
    2
    The game is cool, i think, as i have not been able to play for more than 1 min before crash,crash,crash..... never buy a game requiring a steam account, it's brutal. will they ever release a version that does not require it?
  63. 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.
  64. 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.
  65. GregH
    Sep 17, 2009
    0
    This gane is Bugged!!!, I have every Total War game from Shogun, and this one just does NOT work, it crashes to desktop constantly, and dont give me that system stuff, I have a i7,12g ram, 1g card... it played fine until you get to a point in the game and it just will not let you take an enemy city, I can do everything except capture a city, once I send troops in *crash* and it This gane is Bugged!!!, I have every Total War game from Shogun, and this one just does NOT work, it crashes to desktop constantly, and dont give me that system stuff, I have a i7,12g ram, 1g card... it played fine until you get to a point in the game and it just will not let you take an enemy city, I can do everything except capture a city, once I send troops in *crash* and it doesn't matter what city, I was seiging 3 cities, and each city attempt resulted into a *crash*.. Also it crashes to desktop when u move generals out of Cities... And I am not very fond of playing a strategy Turn base game, and be required to havea steam account to play a game that doesn't require internet: that is just to much control demands for me... This will prolly be the last Total War series I purchase, do to the inablitlty of the game to not stop crashing and having be required to have a steam account. Sad… Expand
  66. FunS
    Sep 17, 2009
    0
    A solid 0 for a terrible game. Without bugs this game would get an easy 10. Unfortunately, it was released with bugs all over, and so much so that after almost a year diplomacy among several other features that were promised to the latest in the TW series leave us all completely in frustration. CA has definitely given themselves a serious bad reputation with this one for rushing this guy A solid 0 for a terrible game. Without bugs this game would get an easy 10. Unfortunately, it was released with bugs all over, and so much so that after almost a year diplomacy among several other features that were promised to the latest in the TW series leave us all completely in frustration. CA has definitely given themselves a serious bad reputation with this one for rushing this guy out to the gamers like you. The user rating is currently at 6.7 for a good reason. Always trust the user rating I say, NEVER with the official rating as it is promoted by greed and corruption as it is usually used for dirty marketing tricks for pretty much anything nowadays.… Expand
  67. 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
  68. Michael
    Sep 19, 2009
    0
    It is a Fine game. I don't really care for some small problems . I have Only one question: How it is possible such a team with so many years in that serie to make wrong the borders of GREECE and set them as F.Y.R.O.M (Former Yugoslavian Republic Of Makedonia) because Makedonia is not inside GREEKS borders but out of them. I loved that game till the moment I saw these bullshits .It is a Fine game. I don't really care for some small problems . I have Only one question: How it is possible such a team with so many years in that serie to make wrong the borders of GREECE and set them as F.Y.R.O.M (Former Yugoslavian Republic Of Makedonia) because Makedonia is not inside GREEKS borders but out of them. I loved that game till the moment I saw these bullshits . MAKEDONIA IS GREEKS. OH I RATED 0 BECAUSE THEY HAVE CREATED AN NON-HISTORY GAME.THEY ARE ASHOLDS… Expand
  69. SterlingS
    Nov 17, 2009
    8
    With an overclocked core 2 duo, NVidia GTX 260 video card, and only 2 GB of DDR2 800 memory the game runs great (custom built on newegg). Then again, there were a lot of complaints about Vista (I use Vista Ultimate 64 bit), which I could only describe as pathetically easy to use. The game was buggy at its release, but now, if your still having severe problems, it is either your hardware With an overclocked core 2 duo, NVidia GTX 260 video card, and only 2 GB of DDR2 800 memory the game runs great (custom built on newegg). Then again, there were a lot of complaints about Vista (I use Vista Ultimate 64 bit), which I could only describe as pathetically easy to use. The game was buggy at its release, but now, if your still having severe problems, it is either your hardware or you (unless I just happen to have a fluke operating system/hardware setup that is superior to everyone else, which I know is not the case.) My advice would be to use your computer for necessary tasks and get a console for gaming if your not a computer nerd (yes, I called myself a nerd) because it really is your fault that the game is running like garbage. Computer games like Crysis and Empire: Total War are not for people who have cheap computers or don't know what they're doing. A GTX 260 makes PS3 or XBOX 360 video rendering look like garbage, but If you don't know what a GTX 260 is, buy a console and stick with it. This game is awesome.… Expand
  70. [ANONYMOUS]
    Nov 24, 2009
    7
    I ahve had no problem with game crashes and the game has excellent variety. The siege battles are awful though and pathing issues make the calvary almost useless. This game definitely feels like it was rushed through the later stages of development. Most countries have the exact same units and stats so the only difference is map position.
  71. crage
    Nov 8, 2011
    1
    Two years after release and it's still buggy. Constant crashes and I get maybe 20-30 turns before saved games become corrupt. If it wasn't so frustrating to play because of the glitches it might be a good game.
  72. DrCola
    Nov 10, 2011
    8
    Dont give into the trolls, the bugs have been fixed, the games campaign is really immersed in tactical stratagems, in comparison to other RTS (that usually just have you click in rapid succession) I have played over 200 hours of this game, beaten it twice on hard and once on easy, you will constantly find yourself playing as different factions getting a different idea of the campaign, suchDont give into the trolls, the bugs have been fixed, the games campaign is really immersed in tactical stratagems, in comparison to other RTS (that usually just have you click in rapid succession) I have played over 200 hours of this game, beaten it twice on hard and once on easy, you will constantly find yourself playing as different factions getting a different idea of the campaign, such as how the dutch tend to win economically against their enemies while russia uses its huge space to slowly move out as a dominant super power, I will admit that the missions are more lame than in previous total war games, its not as polished as all the other total wars, but it brings in new stuff like sea battles, commanding your empire is easier than ever, take out the bugs and the user "totalwarfan" would be forced to bump this up to a 7 at least. But in retrospect, medieval 2 and empire are very different games, dont take it from the trolls that dont want to take the time to learn the endlessly complex game that is empire total war. They tried something new, and I like the new thing they did.… Expand
  73. aadms
    Mar 26, 2015
    7
    This is an updated grade for something that I would have given a zero if I was posting on metacritic back in 2010. I bought the game five years ago and was stunned when I got home and learned what the "online connection requirement" was needed really meant. I had to download it on my 12 kb per second connection! Two Days later....I get to finally play.....just to find out my graphicsThis is an updated grade for something that I would have given a zero if I was posting on metacritic back in 2010. I bought the game five years ago and was stunned when I got home and learned what the "online connection requirement" was needed really meant. I had to download it on my 12 kb per second connection! Two Days later....I get to finally play.....just to find out my graphics card was seriously out of date and that the spec requirements was a, at that time, $500 graphics card. YYYEEAAAARRRRRGH!!! I had whoafull looking characters moving on the screen, not even moving their feet, just floating along with bland backgrounds. I cried that day. And I played and enjoy TW: Medieval so much. That was a zero for this game.

    Now...about a half a year after buying a brand new computer with a top of the line processor and graphics card, I remembered this game and finally played it. It plays like all the other Total War games, so expect the same experience. I liked the ship movements and building fleets to control the seas. I did not like the slow tedious ship battles, so I just clicked the resolve immediately button every time. The A.I. is a little suspect. When I attack someone, even if they are out numbered 10 to 1, they will just march forward to attack me which allowed me in every battle to employ the same strategy. I did not like the "gentlemen" who are suppose to help you town make improvements faster, because, it didn't seem like they did that at all. They could be use for research, but only one research can be down at a time as I found this out thinking I had three smart gentlemen researching only to find out I was just researching the last one I clicked on. Useless. I played Sweden and hurried as fast as I could to the New World to establish colonies, only to discover that in 1718 all the land was colonized. Great. The campaign doesn't even start until 1701. Heck! Sweden did colonize New York in the 1600s but no, I have to play when the British were firmly established there. They should have started the campaign in the early 1600s. Other than that, its Total War: A Game Five Years Ahead of Its Graphic Card and stupid DRM through Steam.    … Expand
  74. sdg
    Dec 26, 2011
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Overall Good Game. Positives: Vast map. Naval battles. Huge scale of combat across continents. Negatives: The economy system early on is a pain, especially in higher difficulties. Often, the Enemy AI is not very smart (will rush cannon's loading grape shots). Negotiations and Diplomacy options are limited. AI acts illogically diplomatically if higher difficulties (will declare war even when at highly disadvantageous position). Lastly, no FBR skill for Maratha's.… Expand
  75. Bekenel
    Oct 28, 2011
    10
    Truly an exceptional game. This is one of the very best in the series, alongside Medieval 2 and Napoleon.
    The campaign has been expanded by a massive amount, becoming perhaps two-thirds again the size of that in Medieval 2, which means that the capacity for re-playability has become huge. granted, in the main campaign, the number of playable factions has been reduced from 17 to 11, however    Truly an exceptional game. This is one of the very best in the series, alongside Medieval 2 and Napoleon.
    The campaign has been expanded by a massive amount, becoming perhaps two-thirds again the size of that in Medieval 2, which means that the capacity for re-playability has become huge. granted, in the main campaign, the number of playable factions has been reduced from 17 to 11, however there are now a large number of minor factions, those that are unplayable, very accurately reflecting the various nations around at the time., and these can be exploited both for profit and for territorial expansion.
    Trade has become a huge aspect of the game, encompassing up to perhaps 45% of all income, and the aspects of it, including establishing trade lanes to particular trading resources such as ivory or coffee through your faction's navy, exploitation of regional resources in the Americas and India, and of course raiding other nations' trade lanes, pirating them in an attempt to ruin their economy.
    Technology research has become a hugely important aspect of the game, vital to improvement of your economy, army, navy, and political systems.
    Micromanagement has been more-or-less downgraded, with a single page to control tax rates for a whole theatre rather than individual regions. However unrest and rebellion are still a very prominent threat, and if not managed well, can turn to revolution, that can be turned one way or another, with your choice of preserving your political system, or you can engineer a revolution to change to another.
    The vast scope of the campaign makes the game thoroughly enjoyable, which is also reflected in the other major aspect of the game - your military.
    As with every Total War game, your Army is the most important feature of the entire game. However there are obvious changes to it, reflecting of course the new 18th-century setting. Guns - encompassing muskets, and artillery, are now the weapon of choice for the vast majority of factions, meaning largely different tactics are required to achieve victory - simply charging headlong into combat will get your soldiers shot and likely lose you the battle, unlike with the other games in the series. This does however mean that the factions with still prominent melee-based armies: the native americans and Indian factions, will have to utilise their armies cleverly if they want to defeat their superior european opponents The Navy also now has a massively improved role, since naval combat has become real-time. Combat by sea is a very new addition and is hard to master thanks to the very different tactics needed to succeed than with land battles. The graphics are excellent, however it can lag when settings are too high, but even on low settings, the visuals are rewarding.
    However, as with most games, it does have its weak points. The AI in battle is still not up to scratch, although it has been improved, and in several cases i have found it executes the odd suicidal charge, stupid manoeuvre or sometimes does not move at all. At least twice I have not lost a single soldier thanks to the AI force simply running in front of my gun line, being shot to pieces and retreating, not bothering to engage in combat even once - although amusing, clearly not how it should fight.
    All in all, Empire is one of the best strategy games there has ever been thanks to its immense depth, re-playablity, how well it has been built and though it does have its downfalls, it is well worth playing.    … Expand
  76. 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
  77. spasmoid
    Jul 5, 2011
    9
    I love the total war series. And here it is with muskets, cannon, and tall ships. I love this game. I never experienced any tech issues that people have mentioned but I bought from steam in 2011 so perhaps all issues are fixed (or maybe it just needed a quad core CPU?) The battle maps are kind of sparse in settled areas. They could have made some sort of urban combat outside theI love the total war series. And here it is with muskets, cannon, and tall ships. I love this game. I never experienced any tech issues that people have mentioned but I bought from steam in 2011 so perhaps all issues are fixed (or maybe it just needed a quad core CPU?) The battle maps are kind of sparse in settled areas. They could have made some sort of urban combat outside the fortifications, etc. But still fun and playable. Not the best in Total War, but a worthy addition to a great series.… Expand
  78. dmreichard
    Sep 27, 2011
    9
    After reading the many negative and mixed reviews of this game I was wary of purchasing it at first. After a recent sale I decided to pick it up and I am very happy that I did. The game play is similar to that of previous Total War games, with a few additions mixed in to the formula that made it even more fun in my opinion. The graphics are very good considering all of the processing powerAfter reading the many negative and mixed reviews of this game I was wary of purchasing it at first. After a recent sale I decided to pick it up and I am very happy that I did. The game play is similar to that of previous Total War games, with a few additions mixed in to the formula that made it even more fun in my opinion. The graphics are very good considering all of the processing power and video ram needed to render the many textures and shader effects being used during battles. After the many patches since launch and a decent workaround provided at http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=238484, crashes to the desktop are much less prevalent than before, making the game playable to a good degree. Game play wise, I sat down to play for an hour or two and six hours later I realized I soon had to go in to work! It is fun and addictive, which will have you leaning forward in your seat during very intense moments. I only took one point off for the fact that I had to do a manual workaround for virtual memory addressing issues (see above). Bottom line, if you enjoy the previous Total War games and/or enjoy historical, huge scale strategy games, this is a must have.… Expand
  79. Ericius
    Nov 13, 2011
    9
    Great game. Huge world with a very exciting struggle for power. I really enjoy the historical background of the game, the trading is nice, maybe the slave trading is missing to the game but I understand this would insult a lot of people. (but on the other hand you kill a lot of Indians to gain land in America which is also a sore historical subject). Only down point in my opinion is thatGreat game. Huge world with a very exciting struggle for power. I really enjoy the historical background of the game, the trading is nice, maybe the slave trading is missing to the game but I understand this would insult a lot of people. (but on the other hand you kill a lot of Indians to gain land in America which is also a sore historical subject). Only down point in my opinion is that the game crashes a lot.… Expand
  80. safjac
    Dec 1, 2011
    0
    This game looks like a 10. I read the cover when I bought the bloody thing at Walmart. It seems that I will never know because the game is not on the disks that I bought. Steam is. After painfully complying with all the hoops and faithfully sitting, rolling over, and playing dead I finally get a Steam account created. Great! Now I get to play, right? Not so fast, Rover. Steam is currentlyThis game looks like a 10. I read the cover when I bought the bloody thing at Walmart. It seems that I will never know because the game is not on the disks that I bought. Steam is. After painfully complying with all the hoops and faithfully sitting, rolling over, and playing dead I finally get a Steam account created. Great! Now I get to play, right? Not so fast, Rover. Steam is currently unable to process your request. Bad dog! Please try again later. So I sat, rolled over, played dead, chewed my shoes and tried again. Eventually I catch Steam at a moment when it is not on break (that daily 15 minute window). Wow! I actually get to play! Not so fast, Amigo! First you have to say hello to my little friend. 5 hours and 58 minutes to download something that I bought in a store. I must commend Creative Assembly for their laudable effort at making masturbation with ground glass and barbed wire seem like an attractive alternative. Jolly good show. I have to rate this game a 0 only because all the schlep involved makes it worth a -8. I buy games in stores, on disk because I do not want to deal with the interweb. I pay, I play... or so I thought.… Expand
  81. iceonfire1
    Dec 15, 2011
    8
    Meh. This game had a lot of potential, and that's probably a big part of the reason that it wasn't able to go through with all of it. Going down the list, everything was "fine." The strategy hadn't changed much, neither had pretty much anything else. The game was basically a polished version of Medieval II, which was a plus, but it came out shortly before Napoleon, which started theMeh. This game had a lot of potential, and that's probably a big part of the reason that it wasn't able to go through with all of it. Going down the list, everything was "fine." The strategy hadn't changed much, neither had pretty much anything else. The game was basically a polished version of Medieval II, which was a plus, but it came out shortly before Napoleon, which started the process of obsolescence early. I had just finished Rome when I started Empire, so I saw a lot of rough edges and dubious plausibilities.… Expand
  82. strangermoon
    May 24, 2023
    8
    empire tw have great potensial over legedanry mediveal 2 but miss the potenisal greatly. game focuses sea battle and gun play more than nations maps and close combat. ottomans here compared mw2 feels west nastinon. some untis like normal janssary use sword but every nation mostly gun focused untis more. maps also feels much smaller. less cityies. game simply go too forward on time beempire tw have great potensial over legedanry mediveal 2 but miss the potenisal greatly. game focuses sea battle and gun play more than nations maps and close combat. ottomans here compared mw2 feels west nastinon. some untis like normal janssary use sword but every nation mostly gun focused untis more. maps also feels much smaller. less cityies. game simply go too forward on time be good history total war game.… Expand
  83. AlexanderVascus
    Jan 30, 2012
    10
    Many of the reviews here are either graphics bugs based on ones system or lag. This game uses shader models that impact animations and almost the game's entire system. For those who's graphics cards can run SM3, but seem to have graphical issues or lag. Change it to SM3 Low, or SM2 on which I play it on.
    Performance is now perfect for me and my frames hardly fall with battles unit sizes on    Many of the reviews here are either graphics bugs based on ones system or lag. This game uses shader models that impact animations and almost the game's entire system. For those who's graphics cards can run SM3, but seem to have graphical issues or lag. Change it to SM3 Low, or SM2 on which I play it on.
    Performance is now perfect for me and my frames hardly fall with battles unit sizes on Ultra and everything except grass turned in basic settings.

    Gameplay- If your a die hard veteran of the Total War franchise, you may find yourself a tad disappointing based on your preferences. The previous games have all been either Medieval or Ancient warfare from Thermopylae or the Fields of Agincourt. This game is the Imperialistic expansion of Europe to the new world and setting a foot hold in India. This game takes some serious strategy both on the game map in turn based strategy to the real-time battles of heated combat the series is so known for. Muskets, cannons, and cavalry, placing is key and making units work together well is required for a less costly victory or victory at all. The Naval combat which was unheard from the previous titles is now in real time rather then CPU calculated and auto-resolved. Whilst you can still do this, I find some of the most fun is the naval combat, that hair raising moment of pulling off a well timed broadside strike can seriously cause some eye satisfying carnage. This game holds up to the franchise. I have had absolutely count it ZERO crashes, and minimal graphic issues, with some common sense and tweaking this game runs like a dream. The modding community has also made the improvements to the game that it should have had at launch, including better fire and smoke textures, and improved naval combat. One such mod is the well known DARTHMOD, playing this game turns the already wonderful vanilla game into a perfect RTS with even more satisfying combat, fixing the inconsistencies the game suffered from beforehand. This game is a gem, and to anyone suffering issues with the game, I don't know what to say to you, complaining about it won't help, consulting these issues on forums like Total War center is highly advised. This game is to good to miss out on because of some graphical issues or bugs, the community is there to help.    … Expand
  84. Dusty_Hayes
    Oct 4, 2012
    8
    One of the best Early modern period warfare game still and the first Total War to include actual naval combat, which is a plus and apart from the standard campaign mode which has large amount of content, the game includes a special campaign "Road to Independence" which chronicles the birth of the US from settlement of Jamestown to the American War of Independence and a multiplayer mode.One of the best Early modern period warfare game still and the first Total War to include actual naval combat, which is a plus and apart from the standard campaign mode which has large amount of content, the game includes a special campaign "Road to Independence" which chronicles the birth of the US from settlement of Jamestown to the American War of Independence and a multiplayer mode. With improved interface and controls 15+ nation including Native American armies & an introduction of a technology tree make Empire an excellent addition to the total war series and will provide many hours of gameplay & complex and rewarding fun.
    The only downside is the AI isn't always reliable & the custom mode lacks the some options and flexibility compared to medieval 2 all in all Empire is still a great strategy game    … Expand
  85. scottish1900
    Jan 15, 2012
    10
    This game is immensely fun. I have played this game in total for 144 hours so I think I have played this long enough to rate it. I enjoy the units it has, It adds a new difficulty to assaulting forts. It adds a new dimension, Sea warfare, and that is probably the highlight for me. I have had ZERO issues with the game crashing and lagging. I love this game, and i still play it. It may notThis game is immensely fun. I have played this game in total for 144 hours so I think I have played this long enough to rate it. I enjoy the units it has, It adds a new difficulty to assaulting forts. It adds a new dimension, Sea warfare, and that is probably the highlight for me. I have had ZERO issues with the game crashing and lagging. I love this game, and i still play it. It may not be the most realistic in terms of warfare, diplomacy etc, but I still like it.… Expand
  86. Jacob8287
    Feb 4, 2012
    8
    Great strategy game, adds a new perspective while maintaining a fast-paced epic gameplay. Sea battles may be slow, but it's more realistic that way, even if we would like it to be faster. The land battles are great, but the campaign could use some work. Also, the trading system was descent. Though there may be a some flaws, the good outweighs the bad.
  87. Jay8329
    Sep 16, 2013
    9
    As everyone already knows, the launch for this game was a disaster, but, and ultimately still unacceptable, after a yr or so of patching, the game as actually become one of my favs of the total war series. But to be honest, it should not take me a yr or better to actually enjoy this game when I made the horrible mistake of purchasing it upon release. Now those bugs and little glitchyAs everyone already knows, the launch for this game was a disaster, but, and ultimately still unacceptable, after a yr or so of patching, the game as actually become one of my favs of the total war series. But to be honest, it should not take me a yr or better to actually enjoy this game when I made the horrible mistake of purchasing it upon release. Now those bugs and little glitchy issue are relatively gone. Not to mention that there are a ton of mods out for this game, Darth Mod and Toon Total War are 2 of which should really be checked out by any new comers to this game.

    With that being said, the overall size of the map, tons of excellent features and a tech tree, mixed with a huge variety of units to customize your armies with, makes this game great. I mean there is hrs upon hrs of replay ability for this game. over all I'd change my previous 3/10 to a 9/10 for this game. Well worth the money and it's pretty cheap now too.    … Expand
  88. Casual_gamer
    Mar 31, 2014
    10
    I truly like this game very much! Its a pitty there are so few players anymore, its difficult to get a hold on a multiplayer battle nowadays. Huge replayablity value.
  89. Muan142
    Mar 14, 2013
    10
    The only thing that might have made this game better is a map of the whole world to conquer. I've logged 201 hours on this in steam. I can't seem to get into the other Total War games that revolve around melee combat. I love my musket men and their formations and maneuvers. I love playing as Russia and spreading Orthodoxy all over the world until there is only one religion destroyingThe only thing that might have made this game better is a map of the whole world to conquer. I've logged 201 hours on this in steam. I can't seem to get into the other Total War games that revolve around melee combat. I love my musket men and their formations and maneuvers. I love playing as Russia and spreading Orthodoxy all over the world until there is only one religion destroying schools and erecting churches in their place. Slowly bombarding a fort to pieces the constricting my forces about it and attacking in waves. Or holding back and assuming a defensive position letting the enemy scater his forces against my line like wind before a stone wall. I simply love this game.… Expand
  90. Hardcard
    Apr 11, 2015
    9
    I'll review Empire:Total War v1.5 plus all DLCs.

    Like a lot of people here I discovered the Total War series with Rome:TW, back in 2005. After ten years of playing every title Creative Assembly has released, I think Empire:TW has all the necessary elements to claim the throne of the Total War saga. Its attention to detail and richness of features is remarkable. Powerful ships of    I'll review Empire:Total War v1.5 plus all DLCs.

    Like a lot of people here I discovered the Total War series with Rome:TW, back in 2005.
    After ten years of playing every title Creative Assembly has released, I think Empire:TW has all the necessary elements to claim the throne of the Total War saga. Its attention to detail and richness of features is remarkable.

    Powerful ships of the line, pirates, best sea battles ever, commerce all around the globe, profitable trade lanes, plenty of colonies, very useful technology research options, musketeers of all kinds and the first riflemen, devastating artillery, classical music, very interesting historical announcements, silly mustaches, wigs and uniforms, great graphics, details and effects, gunpowder and smoke everywhere, etc. If you have a craving for these things, Empire:TW is just the thing you are looking for.

    This game separates itself from the rest of TW titles (except for Shogun II and perhaps Rome II in certain aspects) with respect to naval commerce and battles, regions on the map, types of agents, unit replenishment, building options and tech tree
    If you are used to the endless building options from Rome:TW or Medieval II:TW, you'll find Empire:TW a tad simplistic in this regard, but the amount of amazing stuff this game has to offer compensates for it. Don't get me wrong, you can still build a fair number of different buildings in both cities and towns, but the assortment has been reduced in comparison (cosmetic buildings have been eliminated, which is a good thing, if you ask me).
    Empire:TW is all about smart diplomacy, a strong navy, colonization, trade, trade and yet more trade.
    Trade lanes can be raided by fleets, damaging the economy and, for the first time in TW, the blockade of a major commercial port (connecting you to your colonies and major trade partners) can lead to disaster.
    In Rome/Medieval II you could conquer most of the campaign map without a decent navy, that's not the case in Empire:TW... without a strong navy you can't secure trade lanes, can't defend your ports, can't transport invasion forces safely, etc. Besides, you'll be missing one of the best things in the game: naval battles between frigates, galleons, brigs, sloops, etc.
    In Rome II:TW I usually autoresolve naval battles because they are pretty dumb and broken, but in Empire:TW I just can't stop commanding my fleets personally, positioning my ships for a deadly broadside, taking the wind into account, surrounding the enemy fleet, boarding enemy ships and capturing them when they are worth it, fighting pirates in the Caribbean, researching technologies to improve my fleet, it's exhilarating!!! Graphics and effects are pretty good too, even for 2015. I can't get enough naval battles in Empire:TW, I'm totally addicted... Every time my first /second rate ships of the line fire their three decks of heavy cannons at the enemy, I feel a unique excitement. The sound of the cannons, the smoke from the gunpowder, the wooden hulls being splintered, the sails being ripped, the masts being broken...as I said, graphics and effects are great, naval battles are thrilling and feel quite realistic, also, strategy is essential, which finishes the package.

    What about the regular land battles? Well, effects and graphics are great too, the unit firing dynamics is amazing too, specially after researching milestone technologies like "fire in ranks", "platoon fire" and others. It's awesome to see how the first rank of soldiers crouches after firing, so the second rank can fire right after, and then the third one. The musket sounds, the gunpowder smoke, units being decimated by enemy fire, etc., it's just awesome. Not to mention the artillery, mortars and howitzers are specially deadly when loaded with special kinds of ammo, which needs to be researched too.
    Strategy is vital here too, which also finishes the package nicely.

    Research is conducted in special buildings (schools, colleges, universities) and can be accelerated using gentlemen (agents than can duel other agents, steal technologies or research them), technologies can be exchanged with other nations through diplomacy, which is great.

    Diplomacy options are more complete than in previous TW titles.
    Several buildings can be constructed in specific landmarks outside major cities.
    Ministers can be sacked if they are incompetent.
    Units can be replenished almost everywhere and can also be separated from their parent army.

    To summarize, Empire:TW is a delight to play, specially if you have a craving for this historical period.

    As always, TW titles are vastly improved using mods, in this case I recommend DarthMod.
    It introduces tons of improvements, several new units, increased income from settlements and trade, graphical improvements, AI improvements, new awesome classical music and themes, etc.    … Expand
  91. 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
  92. MrStaggerLee69
    Nov 4, 2012
    9
    Best game i have ever played (so far).... siege battles are disappointingly bad to say the least, although that is the only blemish on this amazing game.. clocked up at least 700 hours on this badboy.. cant wait until Rome 2.
  93. Klewer
    Dec 13, 2013
    8
    The combat features of the game are A+ standard and very enjoyable, which is the most important aspect as this is the main selling point of the game.

    However the other aspects on the actual world map are not as strong and do hold the game back in a few aspects. Still well worth a look.
  94. TheGamer31
    Aug 2, 2015
    7
    This is easily the worst entrance into the series (other than Rome II). The concept for this game was so good and it had so much potential but it all got wasted for some reason. It could have been that they were rushed for release or that they were using a new engine, but whatever the reason, it still doesnt excuse this game for its quality. That being said it is still a good game. ThereThis is easily the worst entrance into the series (other than Rome II). The concept for this game was so good and it had so much potential but it all got wasted for some reason. It could have been that they were rushed for release or that they were using a new engine, but whatever the reason, it still doesnt excuse this game for its quality. That being said it is still a good game. There are a lot of very memorable things about this game like some of the battle. I remember in my first playthrough I played as the United Provinces, it was late game and I was invading Russia. I was on their final settlement, which was Moscow and they had built a star fort for the city. It was a massive battle, my army was made of 3 max chevroned elite unit stacks and their army was made up of 7 garbage militia army that were untrained. I lost all but 4 units but I won and with it I wiped out Russia!… Expand
  95. Benfoster
    Nov 27, 2012
    10
    |It's taken a while and after many patches the game is now the best in the series overall. most of the negative votes are from earlier versions of the game so don't be put of by them not updating their review. perhaps only 2 points of problem. You have to be online and have the patches to get the good experience, it's setting may not rock people boats. otherwise this is the best the series|It's taken a while and after many patches the game is now the best in the series overall. most of the negative votes are from earlier versions of the game so don't be put of by them not updating their review. perhaps only 2 points of problem. You have to be online and have the patches to get the good experience, it's setting may not rock people boats. otherwise this is the best the series has to offer at least until rome 2!… Expand
  96. Kearon
    Dec 18, 2012
    4
    While the game offers a level of complexity that I normally find entertaining, I find the world screen the most interesting. Battles turn into the two sides lining up and shooting at each other which while perhaps historically accurate leads to boring repetitive battles with strategy breaking down to putting guys with the longest range in back and shortest in front. This was my firstWhile the game offers a level of complexity that I normally find entertaining, I find the world screen the most interesting. Battles turn into the two sides lining up and shooting at each other which while perhaps historically accurate leads to boring repetitive battles with strategy breaking down to putting guys with the longest range in back and shortest in front. This was my first introduction to the Total War series but this particular game felt like a waste of $, I had high expectations and was very disappointed.… Expand
  97. 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
  98. vangomaextreme
    Aug 18, 2013
    8
    This is a great game. A fabulous blend of grand strategy relating to empire building and tactical strategy on active battlefields. I gather there were many bugs when it first came out but 95% of these have been fixed. A great one more turn game that also serves to illuminate a fascinating period of history. I know some people bash this game give me this any day over a Paradox titleThis is a great game. A fabulous blend of grand strategy relating to empire building and tactical strategy on active battlefields. I gather there were many bugs when it first came out but 95% of these have been fixed. A great one more turn game that also serves to illuminate a fascinating period of history. I know some people bash this game give me this any day over a Paradox title at least it engages you with the history and challenges you to change it and if you are clever enough gives you a fighting change without requiring you to have a Doctorate in tactics and strategy.… Expand
  99. reviewobsession
    Jan 28, 2015
    6
    Welcome to the second era of CA and the first game of this era which was developed with their strange engine; Warscape! In this era, you'll encounter many strange bugs, frustrating crushes, unfinished mechanics and weak technical support. Additionally you'll play the last hardcore and innovative Total War game in the series. Empire Total War is a broken game with beautiful features. It'sWelcome to the second era of CA and the first game of this era which was developed with their strange engine; Warscape! In this era, you'll encounter many strange bugs, frustrating crushes, unfinished mechanics and weak technical support. Additionally you'll play the last hardcore and innovative Total War game in the series. Empire Total War is a broken game with beautiful features. It's story is similiar to Rome 2 Total War.(another warscape game) It was released unfinished and broken. After one year, they fixed some serious bugs and let the mod community complete it. At the end of the day customers had a game with game-breaking bugs and poor AI even efforts of great mod community. Getting back to the game, early modern warfare concept works well and using gunpowder units is entertaining. But my advice is stay away from naval and siege battle features. These parts of the game are still buggy and frustrating after many updates. Campaing map is huge and there are many empires to pick. Unit diversity is satisfaying, especially if you play with non-european empires. European nations fight each other with the similiar line infantry and its upgraded versions. Maratha Confederacy and Ottoman Empire have interesting units to play like war elephants and janissaries. You can combine their melee units with their weak rifleman and try different strategies against modern european armies. Battle AI is terrible but thanks to the early modern warfare concept and line battle tactics which hide AI's meaningless decisions, you can play as if there is no huge problem.(Units are generally static except cavalary) Other features like trade system, goverment management and technology development are well designed. If you really want to play this buggy game you should get DarthMod to enhance your gameplay. Good luck and have fun...… Expand
  100. Alchemik
    Apr 25, 2013
    8
    The game was a good try to bring in the Total War franchise into imperial age and firearms-based warfare, but the game suffered from rushed release (bugs and instability) and some annoying gameplay mechanics, that made expanding your empire slow and painful, especially when it comes to conquering smaller countries (which former capitals like to revolt all the time, making occupation costlyThe game was a good try to bring in the Total War franchise into imperial age and firearms-based warfare, but the game suffered from rushed release (bugs and instability) and some annoying gameplay mechanics, that made expanding your empire slow and painful, especially when it comes to conquering smaller countries (which former capitals like to revolt all the time, making occupation costly and often frustrating). The unrest coming from modernization is also a major pain in the a** that doesn't add much to the game itself other then being another source of frustration, also significantly slowing down your growth.

    From my point of view, most issues with this game were addressed with Napoleon: Total War and that is the game really worth recommending when looking for this time of gameplay.    … 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

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.
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