Empire: Total War

Empire: Total War
Empire: Total War logo
Studio	Creative Assembly Feral Interactive
Publisher	Sega
Senior Developer	Michael Simpson James Russell
composer	Richard Beddow Richard Birdsall Walter Nair Simon Ravn
Erstveröffent- lichung	Windows NA March 3, 2009 EU March 4, 2009 AUS March 5, 2009 Mac OS X September 13, 2012 Linux December 9, 2014
platform	Microsoft Windows , macOS , Linux
genre	Combination of real-time strategy game and turn-based strategy game
Game mode	Single player , multiplayer
system advantages preconditions	OS : Windows XP / Vista , macOS , SteamOS , Ubuntu CPU : 2.4 GHz RAM : 1 GB (XP) / 2 GB (Vista) / 4 GB (Mac / Linux) Memory (graphics) : 256 MB (Windows / Mac OS) / 512 MB (Linux) Storage (HDD) : 15 GB (Windows) / 18 GB (Linux) / 20 GB (OS X)
medium	DVD , digital distribution
language	German , English , French , Spanish , Greek , Russian , Dutch , Italian , Polish , Swedish , Turkish
Current version	1.6
Age rating	USK PEGI

Empire: Total War is the fifth part of the computer - strategy game series Total War , which from Creative Assembly developed by the Japanese parent company Sega in March 2009 for Windows was released.

In a combination of turn-based and real-time game elements , the player takes control of a great power of the 18th century. It is important to extend the sphere of influence of the state selected, for example, with Spain , Sweden or Prussia , beyond the actual historical limits and to build up a hegemonic supremacy. For this the player has both military and diplomatic means and the influence of economic dependencies at his disposal. The strategic organization of the processes, such as moving units, takes place without exception in the turn-based part of the game. However, if warring forces meet, the game switches to real-time mode. The decisions to be made under time pressure allow the player to actively intervene in military battles through appropriate tactical measures and thus directly influence the outcome of the battle.

Despite initially serious technical defects, Empire: Total War developed into a box office hit worldwide within a short period of time and clearly surpassed its predecessors. The game press also received the game positively and particularly praised the great complexity and historical accuracy of the presentation.

About a year after the publication of Empire: Total War appeared with Napoleon: Total War an offshoot. In September 2012, Feral Interactive released an implementation of Empire: Total War for macOS . A port for Linux will follow in December 2014 .

Gameplay

General

Empire: Total War is a 18th century at times of global colonialism located somewhere Global strategy game . It includes and simulates influences from various subject areas such as economics , politics and religion . Strategically oriented elements come into play in turn-based game mode, while military conflicts and tactical moves take place in real-time mode.

The main plot of the game is the Grand Campaign , whose individual locations extend to different continents such as Europe , America and India . The aim of the game is to expand the territory of your own nation and defeat rival nations.

The American Revolutionary War is the theme of the introductory campaign

The introductory campaign The Path to Independence serves to introduce the player to the user interface and to get in the mood for the global political situation in the 18th century . In particular, the formation of the United States of America from the former British colonies in the American War of Independence, along with the French and Indian Wars, is discussed. The degree of difficulty and the means available for solving given tasks increase steadily with increasing time. Game characters embedded in the action provide support with advice, for example on basic game principles. As a result, after completing all four consecutive individual episodes, the player is informed about the main mechanisms of the game. The first three tell the story of the British colonization of America. It begins with the establishment and expansion of the Jamestown settlement , deals with the French and Indian wars, and finally ends with the American War of Independence . After successfully achieving independence, the fourth episode will be unlocked. It's basically a normal Grand Campaign where you take control of the United States. However, this campaign is shorter than the others, as it begins in 1783 and ends in 1825.

Outside of the campaign mode, there is also the option of playing historical battles with the respective factions. You can also create your own land or sea battles. A number of factions and units as well as numerous maps are available to the player.

Turn-based game

The turn-based part of the game is controlled from an overview map, the so-called world map or campaign map . For each round, which is unlimited in time, the player can define various actions and have them carried out after the round has ended. Turn-based activities include administering provinces, issuing orders to military units, and using diplomatic means. Then the moves of the computer-controlled factions are carried out, after which the next round begins for the player.

On the three-dimensional map of the world, which depicts various regions such as Europe, the east coast of America, large parts of Southwest Asia and India, the administration of the various provinces is organized by raising troops in order to gain economic and military resources. Each of these provinces has a provincial capital . Taxes to be collected there are used, for example, to finance military expeditions or to build barracks, administrative offices and fortifications. An innovation of Empire: Total War compared to its predecessors is that buildings can also be built outside the provincial capital at resource deposits or in villages in the area. At the beginning of a campaign there are only a few villages on the map, new ones can emerge in the course of the game due to the economic growth of the provincial capitals - although the player cannot directly influence them.

In the provincial capitals, depending on the mood of the indigenous population, uprisings and defections are possible. In certain provinces, revolts can create new factions and thus new game influences. An example of this is Greece , which can break away from the Ottoman Empire. In the home province , i.e. in the province in which the capital of a faction is located, revolutions are also possible if the player is too dissatisfied. The player is given the choice whether he wants to support or fight the revolutionaries. In the event of a victory for the revolutionaries, the form of government changes. There are three forms of government in the game, the absolute monarchy (e.g. in Sweden ), the constitutional monarchy (e.g. in Great Britain ) or the republic (e.g. in Venice ). Every form of government has advantages and disadvantages, which affect the satisfaction of its own population but also the economic performance. According to historical circumstances, most states start as absolute monarchies, which allows great freedom in the administration of their own nation, but increases the risk of rebellions due to general dissatisfaction with the prevailing monarchist - feudalist structures.

In addition to the domestic political situation, religious aspects also influence the satisfaction of the population. Seven religions are represented in the game: In addition to Protestantism, there is Orthodoxy , Catholicism , Islam , Hinduism , Buddhism and Sikhism . Every state in the gaming world is permanently shaped by one of these religions. For each city there is an overview of the strengths of the representatives of different religions. If the religious affiliation of the majority of the population differs from the state religion, this has a negative impact on the satisfaction of the population and the risk of uprisings increases.

In addition to the factors already mentioned, military activities play a role in the turn-based part. On the campaign map, the player can control the units available to him. Units can be grouped into larger formations or armies in order to increase the combat strength. After the associations have been selected, the player assigns them target coordinates, which they then automatically navigate to using the shortest possible path. How far an army can move per round is determined by the movement points assigned to them within the framework of the game mechanics . Each military unit has a number of movement points that can be used per round, which is proportional to the movement speed of the slowest type of troops it carries. For example, fast and agile cavalry troops have more movement points than slow infantry or artillery.

When enemy armies clash, be it in open terrain or when attacking enemy provincial cities, it is up to the player to decide whether to fight the enemy or to retreat. If the player opts for the fight, it can be simulated by the computer without any action on the part of the player or it can be fought out by the player on a three-dimensional map in real-time mode.

Real time game

Sea battles are new to Empire: Total War

In real-time play, battles between two or more factions are fought in a three-dimensional environment. In a battle, each faction involved leads up to 20 units into the field, each consisting of 12 to 200 soldiers. The number of men per unit depends on the type of unit, for example a unit of cavalry consists of significantly fewer soldiers than a unit of line infantry .

The factions have numerous unit types available for the battles, which are based on the historical framework. Common types of troops are line infantry, grenadiers and cavalry, but also artillery in the form of cannons , howitzers and mortars . Many factions also have individual units. The various Indian tribes have ax fighters and the Indian cultures have war elephants .

A battle is divided into three phases. First the armies are formed and can build up fortified positions in the event of a defense. After the line-up has ended, which the player can decide at the push of a button, the combat phase begins. Since the battlefields are usually very extensive, a variety of tactics and strategies are possible. There are numerous commands available to the player that he can issue to his troops. This includes movement and attack commands as well as formation and behavioral instructions. The latter can affect both the direct combat power and the morale of the units. Morale is an important factor in combat because it measures the steadfastness of soldiers. Soldiers with low morale are more likely to flee the battlefield. Factors that negatively affect morale are e.g. B. Long-range fire, surprising cavalry attacks or significant numerical inferiority. The weather can also have an impact on the battle. For example, rain increases the likelihood of musketeers misfiring, while fog reduces the visibility of all units.

The third phase begins after an army has been defeated. The player then has the option to pursue and fight all fleeing opponents. An army is defeated either when all its units have been wiped out or when all units are on the run. Defenders can also win a battle by playing for time. Because there is a clock that can be set to either 20, 40 or 60 minutes. If the attacker fails to defeat the defender within this time, the defender has won the battle.

For the first time, this principle also applies to sea battles. Because for the first time in the Total War series it is possible as a player to lead sea battles. In the previous series parts, there was only the option of having this decided automatically, whereby the program took factors such as manpower and ship types into account. In sea battles, the individual fleets lead up to 20 ships into battle, some of which differ considerably in terms of manpower, number of cannons and size. The fleets fight against each other until one fleet is either destroyed or flees. Another way to win is to capture the enemy ships by boarding maneuvers.

The ships have a detailed damage model. It is possible to remove individual parts of enemy ships, e.g. B. masts or individual cannon decks, targeted to destroy. Heavy shelling at individual points can also cause ships to catch fire or break the hull, which leads to the ship's sinking. In the event of a fire, there is a risk of explosion as soon as the fire spreads to ammunition stores. It is possible for ship crews to put out fires. However, this is only possible effectively if the ship is safe from further enemy fire.

Multiplayer mode

Empire: Total War was the first part of the Total War series, for which an extensive multiplayer mode was announced. Before, it was only possible to play individual battles against each other. For Empire it was planned that the players would also be able to play the Grand Campaign against each other. The mode was originally supposed to be made available via the online platform Steam shortly after the title was released . However, due to delays in development, it was only subsequently released by a patch on December 7, 2009. To use the multiplayer mode , you need to register with the Sega Pass platform , which is operated by the publisher Sega.

In the multiplayer mode, two players can play the Grand Campaign against each other. The players take control of one of the available nations and try to turn it into a world power. The other nations are controlled by artificial intelligence - the computer. A special feature of the multiplayer campaign is that as soon as there is real-time combat between a human player and a computer-controlled player, the game partner can take on the role of artificial intelligence in the battle. However, the players also have the opportunity to fight the battle against the computer together. After the battle, both players regain command of their nation.

In addition to the multiplayer campaign, multiplayer games with land and sea battles, sieges and scenarios via network and internet are still possible. Since August 2012, this has been the only multiplayer option for most players, as Sega announced that it would not give out any further registration keys, which means that new players will no longer be able to access the multiplayer campaign. However, players who are already registered can still play the campaign in multiplayer mode.

units

Line infantry is one of the most common types of troops

The game mechanics simulate tactical and strategic units. These are largely based on historical models. In addition to military use, units can also be used for police tasks in cities. For example, a heavily manned garrison significantly reduces the risk of revolt. Tactical special units were often included as bonus material with certain retail versions of the game and are not part of the base version of Empire: Total War .

Strategic units

Unlike in previous parts, the three strategic units nobles , bon vivants and clergy cannot be recruited by the player, but appear on the overview map depending on the level of development of the player cities. Nobles accelerate research in the player's cities and thus unlock new achievements. In an enemy research building, they can be used to steal technology. In addition, nobles are able to challenge those from other nations to a duel and thus render them harmless. The bon vivants fulfill espionage functions and can infiltrate foreign cities and armies, carry out attacks and sabotage buildings. The clergy convert parts of the population to their faith as soon as they are positioned in their own province or in a foreign province. In doing so, they reduce the risk of religious unrest in newly acquired provinces or stir it up in hostile cities.

Tactical units

Tactical units are used in real-time mode and can be directly influenced by the player. These units include all of the contemporary armies such as line infantry , grenadiers , cavalry, howitzers and mortar artillery, as well as merchant ships and warships. Many of these units are available to almost all factions. Some such as the guard cavalry, lancers or melee infantry, on the other hand, are reserved for only a few factions.

Factions

There are more than 50 factions in Empire: Total War , which are set on the continents of America, Europe, North Africa and Asia. However, only a handful of the factions are playable. The game is divided into large and small nations, with only the large nations being playable. The USA occupies a special role . These must first be unlocked in the Path to Independence campaign before they can be selected like the other nations.

The fractions have different starting conditions at the beginning, which differ more than in earlier parts. Most of the major European powers have colonial protectorates, which voluntarily join their territory to the protector, provided that the protector supports them in building up their settlements. Other nations start as vassal states and are therefore limited in their options for action.

The nations start with different relationships to one another. The initial relationships are based predominantly on the relationships that the nations have historically maintained with one another. For example, there is initially enmity between Sweden and Russia, while France and Spain have good relations with one another. In the course of the game, other factors come into play that have an impact on diplomatic relations, such as wars, loyalty to alliances or good trade relations. In the case of European parliamentary groups, territorial expansion is also a factor. Rapid expansion of their own territory causes resentment among other nations, including allies. The quality of diplomatic relations between nations influences trade and the willingness to enter into and comply with alliance agreements.

There are five factions that do not appear in the retail version of the game because they were cut out shortly before it was released. However, they can be made playable by modifying the game files.

Overview of the political groups
Flag of monarchy	Republic flag	fraction	religion	Remarks	playable
		Prussia	Protestant		✔
		Sweden	Protestant		✔
		Great Britain	Protestant	initial protectorate: thirteen colonies	✔
		United provinces	Protestant		✔
		United States	Protestant	can gain independence in the course of the game	✔
		Russian Empire	orthodox		✔
		Poland-Lithuania	Catholic	initial protectorates: Saxony, Courland	✔
		France	Catholic	initial protectorate: Louisiana	✔
		Austria	Catholic		✔
		Spain	Catholic	initial protectorate: New Spain	✔
		Marathas Empire	Hindu		✔
		Ottoman Empire	Muslim	initial protectorates: Crimean khanate, barbarian states	✔
		Denmark	Protestant		×
		Hanover	Protestant		×
		Pirates	Protestant	is enemies with every faction	×
		Saxony	Protestant	at the beginning Protectorate of Poland-Lithuania	×
		Courland	Protestant	at the beginning Protectorate of Poland-Lithuania	×
		Thirteen colonies	Protestant	at the beginning protectorate of Great Britain	×
		Georgia	orthodox		×
		Bavaria	Catholic		×
		Portugal	Catholic		×
		Savoy	Catholic		×
		Genoa	Catholic		×
		Italian states	Catholic		×
		Johanniter	Catholic		×
		Venice	Catholic		×
		Württemberg	Catholic		×
		Westphalia	Catholic		×
		Louisiana	Catholic	at the beginning protectorate of France	×
		New Spain	Catholic	at the beginning Protectorate of Spain	×
		Mughal Empire	Muslim		×
		Dagestan	Muslim		×
		Persia	Muslim		×
		Morocco	Muslim		×
		Corn curd	Muslim		×
		Crimean Khanate	Muslim	at the beginning protectorate of the Ottoman Empire	×
		Barbarian states	Muslim	at the beginning Protectorate of the Ottoman Empire, at the beginning is at war with most of the nations	×
		Huron Confederation	animistic		×
		Prairie peoples	animistic		×
		Pueblo	animistic		×
		Inuit	animistic		×
		Cherokee	animistic		×
		Iroquois Confederation	animistic		×
		Hesse	Protestant	can gain independence in the course of the game	×
		Norway	Protestant	can gain independence in the course of the game	×
		Scotland	Protestant	can gain independence in the course of the game	×
		Greece	orthodox	can gain independence in the course of the game	×
		Quebec	Catholic	can gain independence in the course of the game	×
		Hungary	Catholic	can gain independence in the course of the game	×
		Mexico	Catholic	can gain independence in the course of the game	×
		Greater Colombia	Catholic	can gain independence in the course of the game	×
		Ireland	Catholic	can gain independence in the course of the game	×
		Naples & Sicily	Catholic	can gain independence in the course of the game	×
		Afghanistan	Muslim	can gain independence in the course of the game	×
		Mamelukes	Muslim	can gain independence in the course of the game	×
		Punjab	Sikh	can gain independence in the course of the game	×
		Schleswig-Holstein	Protestant	cut from the retail version of the game	×
		Mecklenburg	Protestant	cut from the retail version of the game	×
		Old Confederation	Protestant	cut from the retail version of the game	×
		Tuscany	Catholic	cut from the retail version of the game	×
		Khiva khanate	Muslim	cut from the retail version of the game	×

Development history

The development of Empire: Total War began after the publication of Rome: Total War in 2004. While the immediate successor of this title, Medieval II: Total War , was mainly produced in a department of the developer Creative Assembly in Australia, the British studio designed a new technical base for Empire . The development was led by Michael Simpson and James Beddow, who were already involved in previous Total War titles.

On August 22, 2007 the game was announced by the developer and publisher Sega at the Leipzig Games Convention . The developers presented various planned innovations there such as the development of sea battles and the new game engine called Warscape. The Warscape engine was optimized for firefights with muskets and cannons, this was necessary because in earlier Total War titles, close combat with swords, sabers and other melee weapons dominated. Demos or other images were not shown, however, as the game was still in a very early stage of development.

In the months that followed, the developer released several screenshots showing various new elements. At the same time, Creative Assembly worked on the title Viking: Battle for Asgard , an action-adventure . On July 10, 2008, a first trailer was shown, which was cut together from various game sequences. This was followed by a playable preview of the naval battles that should be included in the game at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles. The developers also stated that the game will probably be released in spring 2009.

Land battles were demonstrated for the first time at the Games Convention in Leipzig in August 2008. The developers also announced that the game is out of the alpha development stage , so development is progressing and that February 6th is the targeted release date. They also gave an insight into the episodic campaign that deals with the rise of the 13 colonies .

On October 28, 2008, the developers announced that the game was the first series part to be tied to the Internet distribution platform Steam and that players would therefore have to set up a Steam account to play. In an interview, the designer Jan van der Crabben gave several reasons for using Steam after criticism from some players, for example the fast availability of updates. In December it was announced that the game's development was delayed and that the release was expected to be postponed by a month. On February 20, 2009, a demo version was finally released on Steam, which contained a brief introduction and two historical skirmishes, the Battle of Brandywine and the Battle of Lagos .

The game music was composed by Richard Beddow, Richard Birdsall, Walter Nair and Simon Ravn. It was played by the Slovak Symphony Orchestra.

publication

On March 3, 2009, the game was finally released in North America. The game came out one day in Europe and two days later in Australia. The cover design varied between the individual regions. Several soldiers are depicted on the cover of Empire , one of whom is carrying a flag. The individual versions differ in terms of these motifs. For example, on the American version, the soldiers wear US uniforms, while the German cover shows Prussian uniforms.

In addition, a special edition called Special Forces Edition was published, which includes six additional units for individual factions, such as the ship of the line HMS Victory or the Bulkeleys Regiment for Great Britain. A printed map of the campaign map and a DVD with bonus material are also included. Additional units were also given to those who had pre-ordered the game. The game versions of the retail chain GameStop contained the American warship USS Constitution . When ordering through the mail order company Amazon , Dahomey Amazons , powerful African infantrymen, were added to the game. The Prussian elite cavalrymen Totenkopfhusaren were available to Karstadt buyers . Additional content followed in the months after the game was released in the form of purchasable, downloadable packages ( DLCs ).

After the game was released, the developers released numerous patches as many users complained about technical difficulties, such as crashes or serious deficiencies in the artificial intelligence. There were frequent complaints in the Sega and Creative Assembly forums as well as negative user reviews on portals like Metacritic, where the rating dropped to 67%. In addition to the numerous bugs, the poor performance, even on high-performance systems, caused criticism because Empire was not able to support systems with more than two processor cores . Also, the game was incompatible with the latest generation of NVIDIA - video card drivers , which appeared shortly before the game's release. The link between the game and the Steam platform caused further errors.

At the end of June 2009, Sumthing Else Music Works released the game music under license from Sega. In October 2009, seven months after its publication, the designer Mike Simpson , who was involved in the development of Empire: Total War , wrote a blog about the problems the game had and cited time pressure as the main cause of the errors.

On October 1, 2010, the two Total War titles were released together as Game of The Year Edition together with all DLCs from both games. In September 2012, Feral Interactive released a port of the game for Mac OS. In December 2014, Feral also released a port for Linux systems with 64-bit architecture .

Extensions

Swiss Guard troops

For Empire: Total War , several paid additional content was available for download after its release.

On June 22, 2009, the first DLC was released titled Elite Units of the West . The package contains a total of 14 units based on historical models for the major European powers as well as for the USA, which are available in both single-player and multiplayer modes. They include, for example, the Swiss Guard , the Ziethen Leibhusar Regiment , Bosniaks , Freikorps and US Marines .

In September 2009, an expansion called The Warpath Campaign was announced. It was to appear the following month and deal with the fighting in North America between Indians and colonialists. About a month before the successor Napoleon: Total War was announced, which should be based on Empire . The Warpath Campaign deals with the North American Indians. It expands the main game with a new, detailed map of North America and an Indian campaign in which you have to defend your country against the invading Europeans and hostile tribes. With the Iroquois, Hurons, Plains Indians , Cherokee and Pueblo Indians , the five Indian factions of the basic game were taken up, which were expanded to include new units, new technologies and individual goals. In addition, two new types of strategic units are available to the new factions with shamans and scouts. The new factions can be played both in single player mode and in multiplayer mode.

Together with The Warpath Campaign , another unit package was released with Special Forces Units & Bonus Content . It contains the units of the Special Forces version of Empire: Total War as well as the special units that were added as bonuses in the pre-sales.

With Elite Units of America , another unit package appeared on December 7, 2009, which contains 15 units for the USA, Great Britain and France. The models for the units come from the American Revolutionary War. As usual, the units are available in both single player and multiplayer mode, but they can only be recruited under certain conditions.

In spring 2010 the DLC Elite Units of the East was released . It adds new units to Empire: Total War once again. This time the emphasis was placed on the Asian factions. The Ottoman Empire and the Marathon Empire received a total of twelve new units, which, under certain conditions, can be recruited in individual provinces.

In April 2010, after the successor Napoleon: Total War was released, an expansion pack was released that contains all DLCs that have already been released.

In addition to these official DLCs, players themselves developed numerous unofficial expansions, known as modifications, for Empire: Total War . These add new units to the game or make changes to the combat and economic systems of the game. Extensive modifications, such as the Darth Mod , even surpass some of the official extensions of Creative Assembly in terms of content.

reception

Preview reports

In a test of an early version of Empire , Roland Austinat of GameStar magazine wrote that the game was both graphically and playfully convincing. The sea battles in particular seem like a well-staged innovation. After the presentation at the Games Convention in Leipzig, Jason Ocampo from the online magazine GameSpot praised the fact that the developers had improved the gameplay of previous Total War titles in many areas.

Following the exhibition at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2008, the online magazine IGN nominated the game as the best strategy game at the fair. GameSpot presented the title with an Editor's Choice Award after the fair.

Reviews

reviews publication Rating Mac OS Windows 1UP k. A. A- 4players k. A. 92% Computer and video games k. A. 9.4 / 10 Computer picture games k. A. 3.03 Eurogamer k. A. 9/10 Gamereactor k. A. 9/10 Games current k. A. 92% GameSpot k. A. 8.5 / 10 GameSpy k. A. 5/5 GameStar k. A. 90% Games world k. A. 92% IGN k. A. 9.5 / 10 Macworld 4/5 k. A. PC format k. A. 92% PC Games k. A. 90% Meta-ratings GameRankings k. A. 88.87% Metacritic k. A. 90%

Empire: Total War was largely positively received by the gaming press. Magazines that only marginally deal with video games, such as Spiegel and c't , also commented on and praised the game.

IGN's Steve Butts gave Empire: Total War a high rating. He praised the playful innovations, such as the sea battles or the revised provincial system. The visual presentation, which makes firefights and artillery shots look very realistic and impressive, is positively highlighted. The content design of the game offers great variety, solely due to the 13 different playable fractions, which differ from each other in their starting conditions.

The author Kevin van Ord from the games website GameSpot also praised the extraordinarily large and historically fairly accurate scope. The diverse types of troops and the design of the campaign map offer players numerous diverse game options. He also rated the portrayal of the land and sea battles as entertaining and well staged. In return, he mainly complained about technical problems, such as the weak artificial intelligence, long loading times and stability problems.

Like the other two authors, tester Stephan Fassmer from the German online magazine Gameswelt positively emphasized the abundance of game content. The expansion of the old gameplay with many new elements such as provincial administration, ministry and research give the game great depth. He also praised the graphics, the quality of which is particularly evident in naval battles. Likewise the tone, which is realistic and appropriate. As the only point of criticism, the author named the tie of the game to the controversial Steam.

Jörg Luibl from the German game magazine 4Players praised the playful depth, which is particularly evident in the strategic part through elements such as secret diplomacy, rebellious populations and provincial development. In the tactical part, on the other hand, he criticized the lack of depth, since the battlefields are generally quite similar and there are no real city battles. However, the large number of troops compensated for this. The author rated the tone as coherent. The author saw the lack of a real multiplayer mode as a defect. He also criticized isolated animation and physics errors as well as long loading times.

The author Michael Graf from GameStar magazine also gave it a high rating. He praised the very good graphics, which are particularly evident in the detailed soldiers and ships. He assessed the scope of the game as extraordinarily large, but criticized the fact that a few nations, such as Switzerland and China, were missing, although they were important at this time. The game's artificial intelligence, which is often illogical, especially in the military sector, received negative criticism. In diplomacy, on the other hand, the AI ​​has noticeably improved compared to previous Total War games.

Kieron Gillen , tester of the online magazine Eurogamer , described the campaign map as endless. The abundance of content offers players countless different ways to get to victory, which makes the replay value very high. He also criticized the artificial intelligence, which was overwhelmed with its task and often started suicidal wars or offered pointless barter deals. The author, however, described the tactical AI that is used in the battles positively. Overall, he rated the game as very good and only had minor weaknesses.

Award

Empire: Total War was nominated for an award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts for Best Strategy Game of 2010, which it won.

Sales figures

Empire: Total War was the best selling of all Total War games released to date . In the first week of sales, the title sold twice as many copies as its two predecessors Rome and Medieval II . For the full year of 2009, Sega reported that 810,000 units of the game were sold.

In the US market, it led the sales charts of PC titles for the first three weeks of sales in the first few weeks after its publication, according to statistics from the NPD Group . In the last week of March, the title fell back to second place. Still, Empire led the PC game sales statistics for the entire month of March. In April and May, the game held third place among PC games. In an annual report by the NPD Group, the game was ranked tenth among the best-selling titles for PC.

In Great Britain, the Empire: Total War was already the most sold game in Great Britain in the first week of sales, according to a survey by the Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung (GfK). For the German market, electronics retailer Saturn stated that the game was the best-selling PC title in the first week of March. It held this position at the end of March and mid-April.

For the Australian market, GfK stated that Empire was also the best-selling PC game in the same period. In a cross-platform comparison, it came fourth behind the titles Halo Wars , Wii Fit and Killzone 2 .

Offshoot

→ Main article : Napoleon: Total War

A year after the publication of Empire appeared with Napoleon: Total War an offshoot. Chronologically, it takes place against the background of the rise of France to European hegemonic power under Napoleon Bonaparte . In terms of game mechanics and technology, it is largely based on Empire: Total War. Revisions were primarily made in terms of technology and appearance. According to the developers, the artificial intelligence has been improved and the user interface has been changed slightly.

The game was positively received by the gaming press, but received slightly weaker ratings than Empire . Two frequently mentioned criticisms were minor innovations compared to the predecessor and stability problems that it inherited from Empire .

Web links

• Official website for the Total War series (multilingual)
• Empire: Total War at MobyGames (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Charles Onyett: Command Prompt Podcast, Episode 38. In: IGN Entertainment . Ziff Davis , March 3, 2009, accessed October 14, 2015 . 
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Michael Graf: The best total war episode so far. In: GameStar . International Data Group , February 27, 2009, accessed October 15, 2015 . 
3. ↑ ^{a b} James Kozanecki: James Kozanecki. In: GameSpot . CBS Corporation , March 1, 2009, accessed October 19, 2015 . 
4. ↑ ^{a b} Thomas Hartmann: Empire: Total War for Mac. Macwelt , August 27, 2012, accessed October 19, 2015 . 
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7. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} Steve Butts: Empire: Total War Review. In: IGN Entertainment . Ziff Davis , March 6, 2009, accessed October 14, 2015 . 
8. ↑ ^{a b c} Dave James: Empire: Total War. (No longer available online.) In: PC format . Future plc March 2, 2009, archived from the original on August 24, 2011 ; accessed on October 14, 2015 (English). 
9. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Kieron Gillen: Empire: Total War. In: Eurogamer . Gamer Network , February 27, 2009, accessed October 14, 2015 . 
10. ↑ ^{a b c} Allen Rausch: Empire: Total War. In: GameSpy . Ziff Davis , March 3, 2009, accessed October 14, 2015 . 
11. ↑ ^{a b c} Kevin VanOrd: Empire: Total War Review. In: GameSpot . CBS Corporation , March 6, 2009, accessed October 14, 2015 . 
12. ↑ ^{a b} Daniel Raumer: News about the multiplayer mode. In: GameStar . International Data Group , December 10, 2009, accessed October 19, 2015 . 
13. ↑ Jack Lusted: Default Closing of Empire multiplayer campaign beta key distribution. (No longer available online.) The Creative Assembly, August 2, 2012, archived from the original on October 18, 2015 ; accessed on October 19, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
14. ↑ Steve Butts: Empire: Total War - The Post-Mortem. In: IGN Entertainment . Ziff Davis , March 13, 2009, accessed October 18, 2015 . 
15. ↑ Jason Ocampo: GC '07: Empire: Total War First Look. In: GameSpot . CBS Corporation , August 22, 2007, accessed October 14, 2015 . 
16. ^ Richard Gardner: Empire Total War - Graphics Work Shop. Sega, March 5, 2009, accessed October 14, 2015 . 
17. ↑ Jonathan Miller: Empire: Total War Updated Impressions - Diplomacy, Strategy, and Massive Land Battles. In: GameSpot . CBS Corporation , October 27, 2008, accessed October 19, 2015 . 
18. ↑ Dan Chiappini: E3 2008: Empire: Total War Impressions. In: GameSpot . CBS Corporation , July 16, 2008, accessed October 19, 2015 . 
19. ↑ Render trailer for the battles. (No longer available online.) In: GameStar . International Data Group , July 11, 2008, archived from the original on March 4, 2016 ; accessed on October 14, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
20. ↑ ^{a b} Dan Chiappini: E3 2008: Empire: Total War Impressions. In: GameSpot . CBS Corporation , July 16, 2008, accessed October 14, 2015 . 
21. ^ Justin Calvert: GC 2008: Empire: Total War Impressions - Land Combat. In: GameSpot . CBS Corporation , August 22, 2008, accessed October 14, 2015 . 
22. ↑ Charles Onyett: GC 2008: Empire: Total War Progress Report. In: IGN Entertainment . Ziff Davis , August 21, 2008, accessed October 14, 2015 . 
23. ↑ Rene Heuser: Part 2: Why Creative Assembly uses Steam. In: GameStar . International Data Group , February 25, 2009, accessed October 14, 2015 . 
24. ^ Luke Plunkett: Empire: Total War Delayed. In: Kotaku . Gawker Media , December 11, 2008, accessed October 14, 2015 . 
25. ↑ Christian Klaß: Empire: Total War - strategy game demo available. In: Golem.de . Klaß & Ihlenfeld Verlag , February 20, 2009, accessed on October 14, 2015 . 
26. ↑ ^{a b} Sumthing Else Music Works Announces Release of Empire: Total War - The Soundtrack. In: IGN Entertainment . Ziff Davis , June 26, 2009, accessed October 20, 2015 . 
27. ↑ Alec Meer: A Tale of Two Empires. In: Rock, Paper, Shotgun . March 10, 2009, accessed October 14, 2015 . 
28. ↑ Daniel Boll: Empire - Total War: Special Edition. In: GBase . eNamic , October 29, 2008, accessed October 14, 2015 . 
29. ↑ ^{a b} Benjamin Jakobs: Empire Total War: Update, two DLC and 50 percent discount on Steam. In: Eurogamer . Gamer Network , October 6, 2009; accessed October 14, 2015 . 
30. ↑ Steve Butts: Empire: Total War - The Post-Mortem. In: IGN Entertainment . Ziff Davis , March 13, 2009, accessed October 14, 2015 . 
31. ^ ^{A b} Mike Simpson: Blogging for Quality - by Mike Simpson. The Creative Assembly , October 1, 2009, accessed October 18, 2015 . 
32. ↑ Marc Sauter: ETW uses a maximum of two CPU cores. In: PC Games . Computec Media Group , March 6, 2009, accessed October 14, 2015 . 
33. ^ Matt Martin: Latest Total War game hampered by Steam, Nvidia issues. In: Gamesindustry . March 9, 2009, accessed October 18, 2015 . 
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35. ^ Empire & Napoleon - Total War: Game of the Year Edition. In: Computer Picture Games . Axel Springer SE , October 22, 2010, accessed on October 19, 2015 . 
36. ↑ Luke Plunkett: Empire: Total War Gets First Paid DLC. In: Kotaku . Gawker Media , June 23, 2009; accessed October 19, 2015 . 
37. ↑ Antonio Balcazar: Napoleon: Total War - Official announcement including trailer. In: GamesAktuell . Computec Media Group , August 28, 2009, accessed October 19, 2015 . 
38. ↑ Michael Graf: Nobody needs thin Indians. In: GameStar . International Data Group , October 20, 2009, accessed October 15, 2015 . 
39. ↑ ^{a b} Sebastian Thöing: Empire: Total War. In: PC Games . Computec Media Group , February 11, 2010, accessed October 15, 2015 . 
40. ↑ Nedzad Hurabasic: On the warpath! Supplies for the empire. In: Gamona . April 30, 2010, accessed October 15, 2015 . 
41. ↑ Andreas Bertits: Mods for Empire: Total War . In: PC Games . Computec Media Group , July 25, 2009, accessed October 14, 2015 . 
42. ↑ Roland Austinat: Real-time battles on the high seas. In: GameStar . International Data Group , August 4, 2008, accessed October 19, 2015 . 
43. ↑ Jason Ocampo: GC '07: Empire: Total War First Look. In: GameSpot . CBS Corporation , August 22, 2007, accessed October 19, 2015 . 
44. ↑ IGN's Overall Best of E3 2008 Awards. In: IGN Entertainment . Ziff Davis , July 25, 2008, accessed October 19, 2015 . 
45. ↑ E3 2008 Editors' Choice Awards. In: GameSpot . CBS Corporation , August 7, 2008, accessed October 19, 2015 . 
46. ^ Troy Goodfellow: Empire: Total War Review. (No longer available online.) In: 1UP . Ziff Davis , May 3, 2009; archived from the original on June 4, 2011 ; accessed on October 19, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
47. ↑ Jim Rossignol: Empire: Total War. (No longer available online.) In: Computer and Video Games . Future Publishing , February 28, 2009, archived from the original on March 16, 2011 ; accessed on October 19, 2015 . 
48. ↑ ^{a b} Jörg Luibl: Test: Empire: Total War. In: 4Players . 4Players , March 3, 2009, accessed October 19, 2015 . 
49. ↑ Sebastian Thöing: Empire: Total War Test. In: PC Games . Computec Media Group , March 6, 2009, accessed October 19, 2015 . 
50. ^ Empire - Total War. In: Computer Picture Games . Axel Springer SE , February 28, 2009, accessed on October 19, 2015 . 
51. ^ ^{A b} Stephan Fassmer: Empire: Total War - The strategy monster clears away. In: Gameswelt . Web Media Publishing , March 6, 2009, accessed October 19, 2015 . 
52. ↑ Cliff Joseph: Empire: Total War - Gold Edition review. In: Macwelt . November 1, 2012, accessed October 19, 2015 . 
53. ^ Meta evaluation "Empire: Total War". In: Metacritic . CBS Corporation , accessed October 19, 2015 . 
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55. ^ Petter Mårtensson: Empire Total War. In: Gamereactor . March 3, 2009, Retrieved October 19, 2015 (Swedish). 
56. ^ Carsten Görig: Empire: Total War alluded. In: Der Spiegel . April 21, 2009. Retrieved October 19, 2015 . 
57. ↑ Orlando Parfitt: Uncharted 2 Leads Way at BAFTA Nominations. In: IGN Entertainment . Ziff Davis , February 16, 2010, accessed October 20, 2015 . 
58. ^ Empire: Total War wins BAFTA for Best Strategy Game. (No longer available online.) Creative Assembly , March 19, 2010, archived from the original on March 5, 2016 ; accessed on October 20, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
59. ↑ Andrew Burnes: Empire: Total War Breaks UK Sales Records. (No longer available online.) In: IGN Entertainment . Ziff Davis , March 10, 2009; archived from the original on April 8, 2009 ; accessed on October 18, 2015 . 
60. ↑ Sega Sales Report 2009. (PDF) (No longer available online.) Sega Sammy Holdings , p. 7 , archived from the original on May 13, 2011 ; Retrieved October 15, 2015 (Japanese). 
61. ^ Danny Cowan: Saling The World: Killzone 2 and Empire: Total War Head Worldwide Charts. In: Gamasutra . UBM Tech , March 13, 2009, accessed October 15, 2015 . 
62. ↑ Charles Onyett: PC Sales of the Week: March 8 - 14. In: IGN Entertainment . Ziff Davis , March 24, 2009, accessed October 20, 2015 . 
63. ↑ US PC Charts Mar. 15-21: Empire: Total War fortifies top slot. In: GameSpot . CBS Corporation , April 2, 2009, accessed October 18, 2015 . 
64. ↑ Charles Onyett: PC Sales of the Week: March 22 - 28 In: IGN Entertainment . Ziff Davis , April 7, 2009, accessed October 20, 2015 . 
65. ↑ Charles Onyett: PC Sales of the Month: March 2009. In: IGN Entertainment . Ziff Davis , April 16, 2009, accessed October 20, 2015 . 
66. ↑ Charles Onyett: PC Sales of the Week: March 29 - April 4 In: IGN Entertainment . Ziff Davis , April 13, 2009, accessed October 20, 2015 . 
67. ↑ Jeff Haynes: May PC NPD Report. In: IGN Entertainment . Ziff Davis , June 12, 2009, accessed October 20, 2015 . 
68. ↑ US 2009 game retail sales total $ 19.66 billion - NPD. In: GameSpot . CBS Corporation , January 14, 2010, accessed October 18, 2015 . 
69. ↑ Andrew Burnes: Empire: Total War Breaks UK Sales Records. (No longer available online.) In: IGN Entertainment . Ziff Davis , March 10, 2009; archived from the original on April 8, 2009 ; accessed on October 19, 2015 . 
70. ↑ Bengt Lemne: Charts: UK Weekly - Empire rules. In: Gamereactor . March 10, 2009, accessed October 18, 2015 . 
71. ↑ Stephan Wilke: Empire: Total War at number 1 in Germany. In: PC Games . Computec Media Group , March 9, 2009, accessed October 18, 2015 . 
72. ^ Frank Maier: German sales charts - Empire: Total War new front runner. In: GameStar . International Data Group , March 9, 2009, accessed October 18, 2015 . 
73. ↑ Sebastian Thöing: The current Saturn charts: Tom Clancy's HAWX is gaining height. In: PC Games . Computec Media Group , March 30, 2009, accessed October 18, 2015 . 
74. ↑ Stephan Wilke: The current Saturn charts: The godfather 2 gets in, the Book of Unwritten Tales loses. In: PC Games . Computec Media Group , April 20, 2009, accessed October 18, 2015 . 
75. ↑ James Kozanecki: Australian Charts. (No longer available online.) In: GameSpot . CBS Corporation as of March 10, 2009, archived from the original on October 13, 2012 ; accessed on October 15, 2015 . 
76. ↑ Michael Graf: Very good, but stripped-down Empire offshoot. In: GameStar . International Data Group , February 23, 2010, accessed October 15, 2015 . 
77. ↑ Tom Chick: Napoleon: Total War Review. In: GameSpy . Ziff Davis , March 16, 2010, accessed October 15, 2015 . 

This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on February 19, 2014 .