Empire: Total War

By Sam Waldron

Total War is entering a new age. And it's about bloody time, if you ask me.

Good as it was, Medieval II: Total War was still retreading old ground. Now, in an industry populated mostly with WWII FPS titles, returning to the tried and true can just be considered a solid strategy. But if news had come out about Rome II: Total War, or Shogun II: Total War, I would have been less than impressed. Empire: Total War, though, shows a little spirit and some innovation.

The time period for this latest endeavour will be the 18th and 19th centuries. And, unsurprisingly, the game's core campaign will be concerned with building, maintaining and expanding the colonial empires of key European powers. The main playable factions, it seems, will be Britain, France, Prussia, Spain, the Dutch Republic, the Ottoman Empire, Sweden, Russia, Poland-Lithuania, and the 'Thirteen Colonies'. The inclusion of revolutionary America is an interesting one, and it points to an important thematic aspect of Empire: change of government.

Though religion is unlikely to be as powerful a force as in M:TW, there are other non-military factors to consider. Trading and diplomacy will be more important than ever. And the different forms of government will each supply a different challenge for the aspiring statesman.

Obviously, the new military technologies - especially the ascendancy of the musket - will have a profound effect on tactics. But the creators stress that guns don't spell the end of hand-to-hand fighting. Obviously, battle dynamics will change; the word is that on-field strategy will be a bigger challenge than ever. But Total War is still a visceral thing; a far cry from the polite and ceremonious march-aim-shoot some naysayers may be imagining.

Empire will also make one absolutely key addition in terms of warfare: real-time naval battles. Previously, ship-to-ship combat has been an abstract and somewhat mystifying affair; now players will be able to take control, feeling the cannonballs fly and really getting to grips with the 'Age of Sail'. Naval battles will be sure to cause quite some excitement amongst Total War fans, and the success of the game as a whole may be greatly affected by how enjoyable this aspect is.

There is some question as to what the world map will look like. If it is in fact a single map of the Earth then it stands to be rather difficult to manage, bearing in mind that the whole world is a lot bigger than Europe, which was basically all the last few Total War titles covered.

All up, we can expect quite a different game here. Even leaving aside the new setting, Empire: Total War is being built from the ground up (as opposed to Medieval II, which used the same engine as Rome), and by more or less the same people responsible for Rome.

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Posted by BlackRetina on 11 August 2008, 01:39AM

Yummah