Napoleon: Total War

 PC
  • Publisher: Sega
  • Release Date: Feb 23, 2010
User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 623 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 448 out of 623
  2. Mixed: 109 out of 623
  3. Negative: 66 out of 623
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  1. Broyax
    May 28, 2023
    4
    Un jeu très intéressant sur le papier, ne fût-ce que pour sa véracité historique ; c’est fort bien documenté, du beau travail en vérité. Ses batailles sont un vrai point fort, plus « wargame » que stratégie temps réel classique d’autant qu’on peut faire pause durant le combat. Et heureusement parce que sinon… ce serait beaucoup trop vite le bordel.

    Assez spectaculaire en tout cas et    Un jeu très intéressant sur le papier, ne fût-ce que pour sa véracité historique ; c’est fort bien documenté, du beau travail en vérité. Ses batailles sont un vrai point fort, plus « wargame » que stratégie temps réel classique d’autant qu’on peut faire pause durant le combat. Et heureusement parce que sinon… ce serait beaucoup trop vite le bordel.

    Assez spectaculaire en tout cas et correct graphiquement, il n’en est pas moins très exigeant côté matériel. Mais le gros problème se situe dans la partie gestion : on s’enlise rapidement dans la lourdeur de l’ensemble, très loin de l’efficacité et de la convivialité d’un Civilization ! A force de se (dé)battre avec une interface et des menus mal foutus, l’ennui s’installe inéluctablement et on abandonne. Dommage !    … Expand
  2. dr-kenobi
    Sep 6, 2022
    7
    Improved Empire, but with a small map. I missed the global part from Empire. But it's still a decent piece.
  3. VictorHugo1482
    Aug 30, 2022
    8
    There lived a certain man in France long ago
    He was little and strong, in his eyes a flaming glow
    Most people looked at him with terror and with fear
    But to Paris chicks he was such a lovely dear
  4. Dco326
    Jul 30, 2022
    9
    Bila je dobra igrica realno, ima nekih losijih stvari tipa za artilery i ima nekih bagova koji jako smaraju problem jedini koji imam je da posle nekog vremena postane jako repetativna i to samo smara sve ostalo je top :)
  5. Yaav13
    May 9, 2022
    5
    My truthful honorable incorruptible conclusive rating of this considered game: 5.
  6. Rnoviok
    Dec 4, 2021
    8
    So far the only total war I've played
    and so far I'm having a great time already 25h
  7. Bushido95
    Sep 27, 2021
    6
    Конечно это отдельная новая игра, но чувство будто это мод на Empire: Total War не покидает ну и само собой ограниченность практически во всем мешает получить удовольствие от игры.
  8. rezo_21
    Sep 19, 2021
    8
    ====================IIIIIIIIII GAME SCORE : 77 IIIIIIIIII====================
  9. Axilley
    Jul 22, 2021
    7
    good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good napoleon tt w
  10. Gorbunov2004
    May 24, 2021
    5
    Точно такая же игра как и ИМПЕРИЯ: ТОТАЛЬНАЯ ВОЙНА но поменьше!
  11. gamerz4life
    Sep 27, 2020
    9
    Let’s start by saying that Napoleon is the least buggy and most competent AI in a Total War Game that has been seen thus far, and that is saying something with games like Empire and Rome II. Napoleon has as others have said; it has the smallest campaign of which it has 4 of them one grand others minor, but guess what… The AI is balanced and it is actually winnable without the AI pullingLet’s start by saying that Napoleon is the least buggy and most competent AI in a Total War Game that has been seen thus far, and that is saying something with games like Empire and Rome II. Napoleon has as others have said; it has the smallest campaign of which it has 4 of them one grand others minor, but guess what… The AI is balanced and it is actually winnable without the AI pulling money and Troops, that it just should not have or be able to build with you on their door step.

    The AI also seeks treaties and trade deals with you, something that many of the other Total War games just never seem to have as the AI just hates you no matter what you do, it is amazing to see Austria want to sign a peace treaty… to rebuild after I have taken half their cities, won’t see a tribe want a treaty in Rome II (even after patch 25). Also even more amazing is that they got naval battles correct, and they work well, much like in Shogun!!! This game is some strange Total war anomaly that I don’t know where it came from or where it went afterwards, but it is a great thing to behold especially after the Empire debacle.    … Expand
  12. Shimmeywill
    Feb 26, 2020
    4
    Ultimately, the ranking line fire system is just not as satisfying as the other total war titles. Visuals are also muddy and not responsive.
  13. erdogfu96
    Feb 9, 2020
    9
    Well paced gameplay with interesting story and gamedesign. Were much better in multiplayer and singleplayer than empire total were and there were no world map but you can get more fun.
    Graphics:9/10
    Sounds: 9/10
    Gameplay: 8/10
    Story: 9/10
  14. GarethB
    Mar 23, 2019
    8
    overall I enjoyed my time with the game and when you are in the swing of the real time battles its amazing, i just wish the ai was a little better, there were more factions and you could have even LARGER battles. Some of the historical battles are pathetically small.
  15. Tilt1k
    Feb 5, 2019
    7
    The smallest map and total war of them all. Its all round Napoleon and his campaigns which is not much. What this game offers and its unique in is naval combat and combat improvement adter Empire overall. Best naval combat in the series. Worth playing.
  16. abidincavus
    Oct 16, 2018
    8
    Klasik Total War oyunlarının izlerini taşıyan serinin en güzellerinden biri. Geliştirmeler şık durmuş. Strateji tutkunlarının mutlaka oynaması gerekir.
  17. BaroqueGuide98
    Jun 24, 2017
    9
    My first Total War Game, But this it's really a great strategy game: The battles are unbelievable and really realistic. I love the zoom that make this game like a movie
  18. benjamesvdb
    Feb 21, 2015
    10
    This game basically takes empire and adds a ton to the environment with the explosions craters different deaths as horses or people fall over when they get shot running and it looks way cool, adn especially the fog of war smoke stuff is SICK. GREAT game
  19. MeritCoba
    Oct 14, 2014
    5
    Napoleon: Total War is part of a series of war simulations that never quite gets it right. At best it is a passable game that might be interesting for a fortnight, but it never really captures the essence of warfare of the period it pretends to portray. But what is even more.. it tends to become boring pretty fast.
    The game is a watered down version of civilization in which battles are    Napoleon: Total War is part of a series of war simulations that never quite gets it right. At best it is a passable game that might be interesting for a fortnight, but it never really captures the essence of warfare of the period it pretends to portray. But what is even more.. it tends to become boring pretty fast.
    The game is a watered down version of civilization in which battles are conducted using a real time strategy (hah!) engine. There are a few Napoleonic features that should give us an impression of warfare from that period. So we have infantry, cavalry, and artillery. Each neatly divided into heavy, medium and light. Heavy to provide the punch, medium to provide the backbone of the army and light to provide easy maneuverability. Infantry was equipped with muskets and bayonets, cavalry with swords, pistols, lances and short ranged muskets, artillery with guns and howitzers.
    All of this is done with nice looking models so there is no complaint from me there.
    What I do complain about is the implementation.
    The game completely misrepresent warfare of that period because it just generates troops as if they are part of a twentieth century production line. An army, and certainly the Grand Army that was commanded by Napoleon, was a carefully husbanded tool of power. The performance of this army, which out performed most other armies of the time, was a combination of revolutionary spirit, corps the esprit, tactical and strategical genius, and careful planning.
    Instead the game defaults to a: generate troops and throw them against your enemy in batches of twenty, as twenty is the maximum amount of units that you can field in a battle. Eventually you will be able to create crack armies out of thin air by having a few cities produce them from scratch.
    Like really?
    The game doesn't really bother with things like supply lines, which at that time had a crucial impact on the deployment of armies. We are speaking about time that armies started to become so big that they could no longer live from the land. Sometimes they could for a short while: the Grand Army of Napoleon deliberately abandoned their supply lines in 1805 to fool their enemies.
    Napoleon was often facing superior numbers which he dealt with by using speed and maneuverability. He utilized the corps as unit, basically a small self contained army, which would march along a separate route from the other corps and was to meet other corps at a certain point to combine into an army and attack the enemy.
    Nothing of this you can find in this game. You could easily march your armies back and forth through Europe without suffering too much for it.
    In essence on this strategic level the game has nothing Napoleonic. It could be Rome: Total War, Shogun: Total War or Alexander: Total War, Word War 1 : Total War or Korea: Total War..Just change the graphics accordingly.

    So is there anything Napoleonic on the tactical level?
    What there is, is not much and it is half implemented. For instance.. your infantry can assume a square formation. This was a tactic used against cavalry. In this game you have to order them.. the AI never assumes square formation, not even when directly threatened by cavalry. In fact... ai led infantry just assumes a line formation and fires at your cavalry even when attacked from the rear.
    Column to line and vice verse tactics do not exist. For those who are not in the know: column was used to move faster and to deliver close assault. Line tactics were used to maximize fire power. Oh you could click on the button to change decrease and increase your ranks.. but really.. that is not how it should be.
    Skirmish infantry doesn't work properly. Skirmish infantry was used to screen units from attack and to harass the enemy or provoke him into an unwise attack. The essential element is that the skirmish unit would fall back when attacked.. which in this game can only be achieved by having them turn their backs towards their attackers and march them away.. Skirmish units were trained in backing up.
    Line units lack skirmish units. In reality french units had an integral skirmish unit. Nothing like that exists in this game.
    Artillery units when attacked, usually took shelter inside squares.. nothing like that happens in the game.
    And I could add more.

    Napoleon: Total War has nothing to do with Napoleonic warfare, it is the same old game Total War game fitted in a new outfit. If you liked Rome :Total War.. you might like this.. it is just the same game. If you want something that represents the time better.. look elsewhere.. or read a book.    … Expand
  20. spikeybuddy
    Oct 13, 2014
    10
    Copy and pasted from my steam review

    Vive l'Empereur! Napoleon: Total war is an excellent strategy game the redeems the series for the sins of Empire. The ai is much better in Napoleon then Empire and bugs are much less frequent in Napoleon. Napoleon also has fantastic historical battles, which have never been my favorites to complete in the past. The campaigns, all 4 ( I'm not    Copy and pasted from my steam review

    Vive l'Empereur!

    Napoleon: Total war is an excellent strategy game the redeems the series for the sins of Empire. The ai is much better in Napoleon then Empire and bugs are much less frequent in Napoleon. Napoleon also has fantastic historical battles, which have never been my favorites to complete in the past. The campaigns, all 4 ( I'm not including Waterloo because it's one battle with cutscenes) while being more restrictive then in the past, are great fun, and present a challenge when set to very hard. The graphics are fantastic if your pc can handle them, but the game is a system hog and if you have a lower end pc you should rethink purchasing until you've read up if you can run it decently or not. Multiplayer is great, with very little connection issues and the introduction to the series of a multiplayer campaign.
    Overall Napoleon:Total war is a superb strategy game that deserves a place in every strategy players liabrary.
    10/10    … Expand
  21. VictorShuktomov
    Sep 29, 2014
    0
    Does not launch and the support refuse to do anything or bring money back. Typical fraund.
    Does not launch and the support refuse to do anything or bring money back. Typical fraund.
  22. Mr_Bismark
    Sep 13, 2014
    7
    A good game for strategy. This game requires a good computer like Empire. The graphics are good if your computer can handle ultra. The gameplay is somewhat dull only having 5 nations to play as and less fractions than before. Although the map of Europe has more provinces than in Empire. The campaigns are good as usual and are backed with historical deadlines. The end turn system hasA good game for strategy. This game requires a good computer like Empire. The graphics are good if your computer can handle ultra. The gameplay is somewhat dull only having 5 nations to play as and less fractions than before. Although the map of Europe has more provinces than in Empire. The campaigns are good as usual and are backed with historical deadlines. The end turn system has changed for something a little more realistic from 2 weeks instead of 6 months. Overall this game has not changed a lot from the previous in terms of graphics and gameplay in fact I don't think it has really changed at all except research of some new technologies for your nation.… Expand
  23. Lacuentadejoako
    Aug 1, 2014
    9
    This is a very good game worth of your money, I havent encountered a single bug,the battles are tactical and very fun,the graphics are good,the campaign is good and the technology tree is a polished interesting feature not seen in medieval total war,altough people who played shogun migth see it as something granted. An overall good game with very minor defects that you can look passThis is a very good game worth of your money, I havent encountered a single bug,the battles are tactical and very fun,the graphics are good,the campaign is good and the technology tree is a polished interesting feature not seen in medieval total war,altough people who played shogun migth see it as something granted. An overall good game with very minor defects that you can look pass because the game is so good.The only problem I see is that when you raise the dificuty AI doesnt become smarter in battle,they are just more powerful so you cant beat them even with good tactics because they are just to overpowered.… Expand
  24. Jomanponer
    Jun 9, 2014
    3
    Dissapointed small maps, worse animations then empire total war, poor and short campaign, and just very poor to be a CA game and the units r way too similar

    just a bad remake of empire total war
  25. HeirOfIsildur
    May 25, 2014
    9
    For those that enjoy strategy, then prepare to be amazed. Games from the Total War franchise are not like other strategy games, they are fresher and aim to be, particularly in battles, as realistic as they can - and Napoleon: Total War is no different. On a good computer, the game can look truly astonishing - if you are running it on a lower-end PC then you may be a little dissapointed (IFor those that enjoy strategy, then prepare to be amazed. Games from the Total War franchise are not like other strategy games, they are fresher and aim to be, particularly in battles, as realistic as they can - and Napoleon: Total War is no different. On a good computer, the game can look truly astonishing - if you are running it on a lower-end PC then you may be a little dissapointed (I have played on both). From the campaign map you see the whole of Europe spread out in front of you, your armies represented by a soldier or general with your country's flag displaying pips on the side, which are proportional to the number of units in that army. My favourite part of the game is when your armies clash with others, then the game really shines. In a campaign land battle, the map will be entirely random, not preset or from a list. Also, it will match where you are - for example if you are fighting near a town then you are likely to see this town somewhere on the battlefield. In the battles effects are excellent, from the individual melee fights between each soldier to the firing of the cannon and the smoke drifting across the battlefield.

    To cut a long story shorter, Napoleon: Total War is an extremely enjoyable strategy game. I highly recommend it to any fan of the strategy genre, and certainly this is a must-have for anyone interest in the Napoleonic Era.

    (I apologise for the length of the review!)    … Expand
  26. JimCorbett
    Mar 25, 2014
    7
    Napoleon comes as basically an apology for the disaster of a launch that Empire experienced. They are both extremely similar games, but your preference will come down to what part of the game you covet more. Multiplayer fans will prefer Napoleon since it has better combat and unit diversity. Singleplayer fans will want to stick with Empire since it has a vastly superior campaign map and aNapoleon comes as basically an apology for the disaster of a launch that Empire experienced. They are both extremely similar games, but your preference will come down to what part of the game you covet more. Multiplayer fans will prefer Napoleon since it has better combat and unit diversity. Singleplayer fans will want to stick with Empire since it has a vastly superior campaign map and a large diversity of factions. I still encounter several annoying bugs throughout the game, and sometimes I'll crash for unknown reasons, But it's nothing that completely detracts from the experience. Napoleon is a worth addition to the Total War franchise and is definitely worth the money if you liked Empire or even just the period it was set in.… Expand
  27. Smelliestelm
    Feb 9, 2014
    10
    This game is Empire total war on cocaine. They pretty much took that game and made it a lot better

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  28. total
    Jan 27, 2014
    8
    This a vary fun game but if you are looking for a good single play don't get this one in the Total War Series. Empire Total War beats it on single player. Napoleon's smaller map, less factions and having less freedom then Empire Total War. Empire kills it on the single player. How dose it have less freedom? Lets say you play Prussia. when I play a campagin, I want to do change history.This a vary fun game but if you are looking for a good single play don't get this one in the Total War Series. Empire Total War beats it on single player. Napoleon's smaller map, less factions and having less freedom then Empire Total War. Empire kills it on the single player. How dose it have less freedom? Lets say you play Prussia. when I play a campagin, I want to do change history. When I first started to play this game I jumped in as Prussia and started off with wanting side with France and get an alliance with them. Nope. The game won't let you do that as Prussia to side with France. it might as well commends you to get an alliance with Russia. you have to do what they did in history. that what kills it most for me.

    On the outer hand online battle in this one are way better then in Empire Total War. The graphics are way better, there are more maps to play on and there a lot more units to use in battle.
    So you want a vary good online get this one but if you want a good single player Empire Total War is the one to go with    … Expand
  29. maor4774
    Jan 22, 2014
    8
    as a big total war fan i have to say, this is not like the rest of the total war games, because not like other total war games this game dont have big campaign, but insted it focused on the personal story of [what a suprise] napoleon, so if you looking mostly for a good campaign, you may not find it here. however when it come to the actuall battles then NTW is one of the best, even so alotas a big total war fan i have to say, this is not like the rest of the total war games, because not like other total war games this game dont have big campaign, but insted it focused on the personal story of [what a suprise] napoleon, so if you looking mostly for a good campaign, you may not find it here. however when it come to the actuall battles then NTW is one of the best, even so alot of people say it just like empire they are wrong cuse when it come to battles napoleon is a much biger improvment, if you are total war fans you may not like it so thinck before you buy it.… Expand
  30. AdityaMookerjee
    Nov 10, 2013
    10
    I played the campaign as Prussia, and actually caused the death of Napoleon. But, I didn't have any real battles on map.
    The best kept secret about trade is, that one can have the best ports, and the trade will come to you. You don't have to have a navy, and the onus is on the nation with the ships. One can have a trading company, in this manner, without having a navy, and on domestic    I played the campaign as Prussia, and actually caused the death of Napoleon. But, I didn't have any real battles on map.
    The best kept secret about trade is, that one can have the best ports, and the trade will come to you. You don't have to have a navy, and the onus is on the nation with the ships. One can have a trading company, in this manner, without having a navy, and on domestic shores. It seems, that one should upgrade the courts, before one upgrades the other military and economic structures. This is always the best policy.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

36
#36 Best PC Game of 2010
35
#35 Most Discussed PC Game of 2010
30
#30 Most Shared PC Game of 2010

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 56 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 49 out of 56
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 56
  3. Negative: 1 out of 56
  1. Meristation
    85
    Napoleon Total War is a great RTS game, an incredible homage to the real french emperor. With great gameplay, and several game modes for single player and multiplayer, it's a great addition to the series. But it relies heavily on the basics of Empire Total War, so it feels a bit held back due to the lack of real improvements.
    Read full review
  2. PC Gamer UK
    82
    Not brave or bright enough to wow Total War veterans, but the battles and improved multiplayer save the day. [Mar 2010, p.80]
    Read full review
  3. IGN
    89
    Napoleon is an enjoyable addition to the Total War franchise but it's not as a big a game changer as previous sequels. While Napoleon and his armies were probably every bit as terrifying as Mongols, Vikings or Barbarians, the scope of this sequel is a bit more limited.
    Read full review
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