What with me being the number one Total War fan (on this site) it seems that I shall be doing all the stuff about this, which doesn’t bother me in the slightest, as this game looks like it is going to be just as revolutionary as the last (Medieval II, fool!).
The game is set in the 18th to 19th centuries. Empires were being forged and huge armies were fighting. A lot. This game will probably appeal to even more people than Medieval II, because not only is that period stuck firmly in the public mindset – thanks ABBA -, Empire encompasses not only Europe and America but also India too. There is also a chance to be the American colonies who rebelled in 1776, in a new campaign (called Road To Independence) which will appeal to many Americans, though of course, if, as the British, you manage your empire well then you can change history and stop it happening.
The campaign has been given a revamp, so resource (see money) utilising facilities (farms etc) are placed outside the cities, so a campaigning army can plunder a region without fighting a battle. This means that garrisoned armies will be forced to come out of cities (unless their leaders are rather thick) and take them out, avoiding the drawn out sieges of previous games. Apparently, the campaign engine dealing with the diplomatic side of the game and the one dealing with the military aspects have been redone to stop them conflicting scripts with each other – so countries that you have just made an alliance with will not, for no apparent reason, suddenly attack you. At least, I thought there was no apparent reason, but I know what I’m like.
Of course, the epic battles that the Total War series is famous for are still there, and once again the engine has been revamped, and re-physisised. No more will the classic “Spearmen beat Cavalry, Archers beat Spearmen and Cavalry beat Archers” triangle. This is the 18th Century, and then it was all about formations. A column of soldiers will advance to beat a line, provided they get there. A line provides greatest firepower, but useless against cavalry, but a square will always beat the mounted troops. A new feature is the ability to capture buildings on the battlemap and place men inside them for protection. This means battles will revolve around these strategic points. Sadly, no longer will there be the brilliant Total War music. The music will come straight from the battlefield, from drummer-boys, pipers and the like, and if they die, the music dies.
The best part, though, as is advertised in all the screenshots, is of course the introduction of naval battles to the Total War Series. And not just any old naval battles, oh no no no no no. These will be the most accurate, high-def, intense 18th century warships ever to slog it out on a computer screen. The Creative Assembly didn’t speak to us, they spoke to GameCyte.com and said:
the team had one man who spent an entire year just working on simulating water — how it moves, how it affects the ships, how waves might carry one vessel into another, how a punctured ship would take on water, and more.
This is not an arcade game. This will blow you away, as can be seen from the screenshots and videos.
Actually, that last sentence will certainly be true of the whole game. No matter how much it costs, or how much you dislike the Total War series, this will not disappoint anybody, and least of all, and most importantly, me.
On our podcast, Nometalk, we took a brief look at Empire. Will’s ramblings are below.
