Empire: Total War

Empire: Total War is a turn-based strategy and real-time tactics computer game developed by the Creative Assembly and published by Sega. The fifth instalment in the Total War series, the game was released in North America on 3 March 2009, and in the rest of world the following day. The game, which focuses on the early modern period of the 18th century, was announced at the Leipzig Games Convention in August 2007.

Following a similar style of play as earlier Total War titles, players choose a contemporary 18th century faction and set out to ensure that faction's domination over the known world through military force, politics, diplomacy, espionage and economics. Although the campaign element of the game is turn-based, players can direct battles in real-time. Empire: Total War is the first game in the series to allow naval battles to be conducted in real-time. In addition to the standard campaign mode, the game includes a special campaign that follows the development of the United States from the settlement of Jamestown to the American War of Independence. Players may also engage in recreations of several historical battles from the early modern era.

Empire: Total War received acclaim from reviewers upon release, and is commended as one the foremost strategy titles of recent times. Praise was bestowed upon the extensive strategy breadth, accurate historical challenges and visual effects. The real-time land battles, with a far greater focus on gunpowder weaponry than earlier Total War titles, were thought to be successfully implemented. Criticisms focused on shortcomings with the game's artificial intelligence and on the real-time naval battles, the latter of which were perceived to be difficult to control and co-ordinate. The game was a commercial success, topping sales charts within the week of release.

Gameplay

Empire: Total War is focused on exploration, economics, politics, religion, the founding of colonies and, ultimately, conquest. The game is set in the early modern period, spanning from 1700 to 1799,<ref name="Gspot GC 07"/> allowing players to lead a variety of contemporary factions to dominate Europe, North Africa, the Americas and the Indies.<ref name="ign">Template:Cite web</ref> The player will use both complex strategies on the campaign map as well as command military forces in battles on both land and sea. As with previous Total War games, Empire: Total War consists of two broad areas of gameplay: a turn-based campaign map that allows the user to move armies across the globe, conduct diplomacy, trade and other tasks needed to run their faction, and a real-time battle mode that enables players to direct the course of any battles that take place.

Empire: Total War features approximately fifty 18th century factions; however, only twelve of the most powerful and influential factions of the era are playable at the beginning. In western Europe, the main factions are Great Britain, France, the United Provinces, Sweden and Spain, while eastern Europe is represented by Prussia, Austria, Russia and Poland–Lithuania. In the Middle-East, the Ottoman Empire is depicted as a major dominating faction for Islam, while the Maratha Confederacy and Mughal Empire are the major powers on the Indian subcontinent but only the Maratha is playable.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The New World colonies of the major powers are represented as protectorates of their respective home nations. The establishment of key nations during the era, such as Revolutionary France and the United States, and the fall of native states to the larger empires is reflected in the game.<ref name="Empire:Total War FAQ 2">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="IGN interview"/> Smaller factions, including the less powerful German and Italian states, Native American tribes and North African countries are also represented. Each faction varies in territory, strengths and specialities.<ref name="Empire:Total War FAQ 2"/>

A story-driven campaign mode entitled "Road to Independence" is also included in Empire: Total War, where the player guides the British colonisation of America in three structured missions.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The first sees the player establish and develop the English colony of Jamestown, the second focuses on the British fighting both the French and their allied Native American nations in the French and Indian War, whilst the final portion has the player directing the American Continental Army against the British in the War of Independence.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Campaign

The main campaign of Empire: Total War involves a player choosing a faction and moving to forge an empire across the 18th century world. Each faction controls various historical provinces, each with a central town and a port if they are coastal settlements. The player can produce armies and navies to take and defend provinces by military means, or adopt diplomacy and politics to make advances in the game. In addition, players can use economics and religion to their advantage, as well as clandestine means such as espionage and assassination.<ref name="IGN interview"/> The campaign mode is turn-based, allowing the player to attend to all needs of their faction before ending their turn and allowing the artificial intelligence to make all other factions' moves.<ref name="PCGpreview"/> Each turn represents six months.

File:Campaign map in Empire Total War.jpg

The campaign mode has been redesigned from earlier games to reflect early modern politics and economics

The campaign mode features a similar approach to those in Rome: Total War and Medieval II: Total War, but includes several enhancements. The game features three main theatres of play: Europe, the Americas and India, and four minor trade theatres. The way provinces work has been decentralised; although a central settlement is still used, other locations within a province can deal with trade and military recruitment, allowing factions to disrupt a province's productivity without assaulting the main settlement.<ref name="PCGpreview"/> Diplomacy, taxation, and trade have been streamlined with the aim of making micromanagement simpler. Part of this streamlining will allow players to appoint ministers to allow them to better govern aspects of their kingdom.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The wandering scholars, emissaries and assassins used in previous titles to deal with the diplomatic, trade and espionage aspects of the game have been replaced with just two units: gentlemen and rakes. The former handles diplomatic pursuits and can challenge other characters to a duel to dispose of them honourably, while the latter performs clandestine tasks such as spying, assassination and burglary.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The way armies are produced also differs: rather than being produced by settlements and then moved to generals by the player, generals build their armies directly by recruiting from nearby settlements.<ref name="PCGpreview"/> Players can now research technologies along a technology tree leading to advances and new discoveries in areas such as infrastructure, politics, agriculture or the military.<ref name="Empire:Total War FAQ 2"/>

Changes in government may occur during the campaign as the rise of republicanism over the traditional rule by monarchy becomes an issue in the early modern time period.<ref name="IGN interview"/> For instance, the United States may only come into existence if the ruling British Empire is unable to maintain social order. Another example is that the French Revolution may occur if the people of France are no longer satisfied with their sovereign.<ref name="Empire:Total War FAQ 2"/> Factions will also have a varying number of objectives such as establishing successful colonies, trade routes and dominance in certain regions as victory conditions.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Rebellions and revolutions will occur, and are influenced by the form of government in place. When a revolution occurs, the player can opt to side with the rebellious forces or the loyalist troops. The type of government installed by the player in their faction will determine how other factions view the player and will influence their diplomatic relations. While religion no longer plays a central role as in Medieval II: Total War, it is still important in helping bring under control newly captured regions and in defining to some degree diplomatic relations between nations.<ref name="Empire:Total War FAQ 2"/>

Warfare

The second major area of gameplay is the battle system. Unlike the campaign part of the game, players control battles in real-time. As with all previous titles in the series—excluding Shogun: Total War—battles in Empire: Total War can take place on both land and water. However, Empire: Total War differs from preceding titles by allowing naval battles to be fought in real-time as well as the land-based engagements; previously, when a naval battle was fought it would be automatically resolved by the game's artificial intelligence, taking into account factors such as number of ships and crew, and armament types to decide the victor. Automatic resolution of battles during a campaign is still an option for both land and sea battles. Outside of the main campaign mode, players can participate in recreations of historical battles in the 18th century and early 19th century.

File:Land warfare in Empire Total War.jpg

Land based combat features a greater focus on gunpowder weaponry than in previous games

In land engagements, players are given access to an 18th century army consisting of a variety of units, such as cavalry, musketeers, riflemen and artillery. Each unit has its own intrinsic advantages, disadvantages, cost and overall level of effectiveness. Players must use 18th century tactics and formations with the units they have available to defeat their enemies. The terrain of the battlefield and the weather also impact on how a battle is fought.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Factions can lay siege to settlements, replacing open land battles with street fighting and close-quarters combat. Each unit has morale, which can increase if the battle goes well for their faction, or decrease in cases such as heavy casualties, loss of regimental colours or the death of the general. When a unit's morale is sufficiently depleted, they will rout and attempt to flee the battlefield. Depending on whether the unit's morale is merely broken or entirely shattered, the player may be able to rally the men in the unit and regroup. <ref name="PCGpreview">Template:Cite web</ref> Victory in battle is achieved by causing every enemy unit to rout, or by killing or capturing the opposing army. In addition, siege battles can be won if the attacker manages to take control of the settlement's central square for a set amount of time. Empire: Total War also introduces several new battlefield elements to the Total War series. Units can take cover behind walls or in buildings, allowing increased interactivity with the terrain and making some buildings points of strategic interest.<ref name="PCGpreview"/> Field defences may be set up in real-time on the battlefield, to adjust for given situations. Infantry units can also scale small obstacles in the field, such as walls and fences. Weapons based on gunpowder are prone to accidents, and can even malfunction and kill their users.

In naval battles, players can control a fleet of up to twenty ships, varying in class, size, armament and crew. As in land-based conflicts, players must make use of 18th century tactics to overcome enemy fleets. As with army units, each ship's crew has a set amount of morale that changes as a battle progresses; a crew may attempt to withdraw their vessel from the battle if their morale is broken, or in extreme cases may surrender without further enemy action. A battle is won when all of the hostile ships have been sunk or captured, or have left the map.<ref name="GSpot naval"/> Individual ships can be adjusted to allow for a maximum field of fire while attempting to maintain a minimalised target, all whilst remaining within an overall formation with the rest of the fleet. Players can designate which parts of a hostile ship they want a crew to target, making ships prone to sustaining authentic damage during a battle: masts can be toppled, sails and gun ports can be destroyed and various other damage can entirely disable a ship's ability to maneuver or eventually sink it.<ref name="PCGpreview"/> Various types of ammunition can be used during a battle, such as grapeshot, chain-shot and round shot. As battles progress, crews can attempt to board enemy vessels and fight hand-to-hand in an attempt to capture the ship.<ref name="GSpot naval"/> Lastly, the weather in a naval battle can impact how it is fought; bad weather can result in effects from poor visibility to endangering a ship's safety.<ref name="GSpot naval"/>

Multiplayer

Multiplayer comes in two forms in Empire: Total War. As with previous Total War titles, players can engage in real-time battles against each other either by creating the composition of their armies themselves, or reenacting historical battles. However, following a one-month delay of Empire: Total War in January 2009, the addition of a full campaign multiplayer mode was unveiled. The technology to create a multiplayer campaign game was not available in previous Total War games, and the extended development time allowed the Creative Assembly to implement the underlying technology for such a mode in Empire: Total War. The campaign multiplayer mode will first be tested in a two-player beta build, before eventually being made available in a post-release patch.<ref name="campaignmultiplayer">Template:Cite web</ref>

Development

File:Naval warfare in Empire Total War.jpg

Real-time naval battles are a major new addition to the Total War series. One designer spent a year working on the water's physics system.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Empire: Total War was announced by the Creative Assembly and publisher Sega at the Leipzig Games Convention on 22 August 2007.<ref name="announced">Template:Cite web</ref> In their press release, the Creative Assembly outlined various features in the game, such as the new game engine and the addition of real-time naval combat. However, as the game was still in early development, no gameplay footage was demonstrated at the convention.<ref name="Gspot GC 07">Template:Cite web</ref> The game was announced alongside the Creative Assembly's console title Viking: Battle for Asgard.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Media releases over the subsequent months showed screenshots of the game and elaborated more on Empire: Total WarTemplate:'s game mechanics. The game's trailer, consisting of computer-generated cut scene footage, was released 10 July 2008.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A playable demonstration of the game's naval combat was showcased at the E3 convention later in July 2008, where it was estimated that the game would ship in 2009.<ref name="GSpot naval">Template:Cite web</ref> The land combat was showcased at the later 2008 Leipzig Game Convention in August 2008.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> At the convention, the Creative Assembly announced that the game was out of the alpha development phase, and that they were aiming for a release date of 6 February 2009.<ref name="IGNGC2008release">Template:Cite web</ref> On 28 October 2008, it was announced that the game would be released on Valve Corporation's content delivery system Steam on the official release date of 6 February. The game will fully incorporate Valve's Steamworks programme for both retail and electronic versions, allowing for updates and multiplayer to function more efficiently.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The game's release was delayed in December 2008 to allow for the development of extended multiplayer features,<ref name="campaignmultiplayer"/> with a new release date for March 2009.<ref name="delay">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="delay-SNews">Template:Cite web</ref> A demonstration of the game, featuring the Battle of Brandywine and the Battle of Lagos, was released over Steam on 20 February 2009.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The game was released on 3 March 2009.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

James Russell, the lead designer on the project, stated in an interview that the 18th century was chosen as the setting as "it's a fabulously colourful period... the 18th century is the great age of fighting sail, and it's the obvious arena in which to set our spectacular new sea battles." Russell also stated that the dynamic and far-reaching changes of the era, from political revolutions such as the French Revolution, economic revolutions such as the Industrial Revolution to military revolutions such as the widespread use of gunpowder, gave the "opportunity to develop some really interesting new features and gameplay dynamics that make for a lot of variation".<ref name="IGN interview">Template:Cite web</ref> The game is notable for incorporating motion capture animation for the first time in the series to make characters seem more lifelike. The Creative Assembly researched how events such as duels were conducted in the 18th century for authenticity, and also observed the choreography of actors in related films and TV series, such as Sharpe.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Empire: Total War ships with nine different versions of box art, eight of which represent the major faction for the market the game is sold in, and one general international version. For instance, German customers are presented artwork displaying colours with the Prussian eagle and Prussian army uniforms, whilst the American artwork shows the American revolutionaries and the Betsy Ross flag.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A special edition version of Empire: Total War entitled Special Forces incorporates six elite faction-specific units: HMS Victory, the French Irish Brigade, Spanish guerillas, Gurkha infantry, Rogers' Rangers and the Ottoman Ribauldequin.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Reception

Empire: Total War was received well by critics within the video game industry, holding an aggregate review score of 91% on both GameRankings and Metacritic.<ref name="GR"/><ref name="MC"/> The game has become the fastest selling Total War title to date; Empire topped British video game sales charts for all platforms in the week of release, the first PC exclusive title to do so since in a year and a half.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, consumer response was hampered by technical problems arising from incompatibility with certain Nvidia drivers released after the game's development was completed and reports of installation problems with the Steam content delivery system.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Reviewers praised the large scope of the game's strategy map. PC Gamer UK noted that the game "takes a great deal of its design philosophy from the events and trends of its era", which enabled the game to reasonably reflect the challenges faced by the factions' historical counterparts.<ref name="PCGUK"/> Praise was also given to the extensive amount of factions, down to very small factions such as the Knights of Malta and a renegade pirate settlement.<ref name="PCGUK"/> Kieron Gillen, reviewing for Eurogamer, described the campaign map as "endless" and due to the large amount of content, observed that he had managed to complete the game without entering the Indian theatre of play; a factor that enhanced the game's replayability.<ref name="EuroG"/> Other reviews echoed this sentiment; GameSpot stated that "even a short, 50-year campaign can take a good amount of time to complete, given that each turn requires strategic thinking on multiple fronts".<ref name="GSpot"/> Praise was further bestowed on the refined interface, introduction of a technology tree and level of strategic thinking required for the campaign map.<ref name="1UP"/><ref name="GSpy"/><ref name="PCGUK"/> While the game's artificial intelligence was praised by several reviewers, 1UP.com noted that it could perform illogical choices, such as "the occasional suicidal war between Dagestan and Russia".<ref name="1UP"/>

The real-time land battles in Empire were thought of to be well constructed. Expressing that the Creative Assembly had effectively implemented what it had learned since Shogun: Total War, GameSpy described the addition of personal firearms and friendly fire as something that "changes the tactical nature of the game much as it did in real life", and noting that the player controls and enemy AI were "competent".<ref name="GSpy"/> IGN felt that the real-time aspects captured "the cinematic brilliance of it all without ever falling back on obvious exaggerations or pretenses" and that the controls, specificially in relation to unit formation, were much improved.<ref name="IGN"/> GameSpot put the real-time land battles as "enjoyable to command and enjoyable to watch", particularly commending the amount of detail in each model and animation for every soldier, points carried in several other reviews.<ref name="PCF"/><ref name="PCGUK"/><ref name="IGN"/> However, GameSpot thought that the artificial intelligence could appear "confused" in some circumstances.<ref name="GSpot"/> In addition, Eurogamer felt that units' pathfinding abilities in fort sieges were insufficient.<ref name="EuroG"/>

Naval combat was subject to more criticism than land battles. PC Format described the visuals in a naval battle as "incredible", but stated that the controls were "frustrating; genuine naval tactics fast disappear out of the window as [the player] struggles to bring [their] navy’s cannons to bear on the enemy".<ref name="PCF"/> PC Gamer UK reciprocated this view, but noted that naval strategy was a "deeply difficult task" for a developer, and that "the Creative Assembly have done the best that their game template would allow".<ref name="PCGUK"/> IGN praised the graphical quality of the naval battles and stated that "trying to line ships up correctly, making the most of the wind and choosing targets appropriately is very rewarding", but that "the formations and pathfinding leave a lot be desired".<ref name="IGN"/> GameSpot commented that "the AI seems incapable of managing [a naval battle] with much success".<ref name="GSpot"/>

Despite criticisms, most reviews were ultimately favourable to Empire: Total War. While IGN felt that the game "drags a bit and there are some small, rough edges in the tactical battles", the game still "deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the greatest names in gaming history".<ref name="IGN"/> 1UP.com finished by saying "For all its problems, it's undoubtedly progress",<ref name="1UP"/> while Eurogamer felt that issues "limit [the game] to being merely one of the games of the year," but implied that a post-release patch could deal with these flaws.<ref name="EuroG"/> GameSpot summarised that the game was "complex and rewarding" and GameSpy praised the game for "the simplified interface elements, great campaign, and much-improved map and information screens [that] make this the most accessible Total War yet, and a great place for those unfamiliar with the series to get started".<ref name="GSpy"/> For their part, PC Gamer UK enthusiastically proclaimed the game as "one of the most playable, important and accomplished games ever created".<ref name="PCGUK"/>

External links

• Empire: Total War official website
• Empire: Total War Special Forces Edition official webpage
• The Total War Blog official website
• The Creative Assembly official website