Empire: Total War Review - A history lesson in bloodshed

Mike Bantick
Wednesday, 08 April 2009 03:57

Entertainment

If there is one thing a Total War game can get across to its audience, it is that the cultural history of man is built on the blood of many.  In Empire: Total War digital blood is shed all over the world, including, for the first time ever, on the high seas.  Forget Halo Wars, this is real real time strategy.

A few weeks ago, I asked the question as to whether a Real Time Strategy (RTS) game could be done on today’s console platforms .  In general, with games such as Halo Wars, there is proof that developers are getting a handle on how to present an interface to console players that enables an enjoyable genre title.

Empire: Total War
	Developer	The Creative Assembly
	Publisher	SEGA
	Rating	M
PC

But then along comes The Creative Assembly with Empire: Total War to show what a true RTS game is, and that, the deep commanding experience can only truly be realised when the god-like commander is armed with keyboard and mouse.

And though the system requirements for this latest Total War iteration are reasonably unrestrictive in comparison to its forebears, to be fully appreciated, the commander will need to wield a powerful rig alongside his/her keyboard and mouse.  The game is another step up in the visual department we are used to.

But I am getting ahead of myself – I forget sometimes that some people may not have experienced the earlier Total War incarnations.  And with Empire, that is almost an advantage.

The earlier games all manifested themselves in relatively small incremental steps , from the Sun Tzu, Art of War approach to samurai warfare in Shogun, through Medieval battles and the politics of Rome to the reliance on family heirs and occasional armoured knights when The Creative Assembly returned to Medieval Total War 2.

In all of the above, it was the common soldier, backed by well timed cavalry that usually won the day on the field of battle, whilst in the great strategic game, good management was vital.

But Empire: Total War takes place in the 18th century, and both warfare and politics have moved much further than what veterans of the series will possibly expect.  So in many ways even experience players will need to approach this new release in a similar way to those taking their first Total War baby steps.

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