Imperial Glory Hands-On

With the development of Rome: Total War looking to wrap up soon, the next big hybrid of turn-based and real-time strategy on the horizon may very well be Imperial Glory, an intriguing and beautiful strategy game being developed by Pyro. We recently had a chance to get an up-close demonstration of the game, and even some hands-on time with it.

Imperial Glory is set during the Napoleonic Wars--specifically, the period between 1789 and 1830--and it places you in control of Austria, Prussia, France, Russia, or Great Britain as you attempt to conquer the civilized world. As you might expect, your game experience will differ depending on which of these five great European powers you choose to play as. For instance, choosing Mother Russia will start you out with a larger population and therefore the ability to produce larger armies, while choosing the seafaring nation of Great Britain will mean that you'll focus your attention more on naval sorties.

Much like the Total War games from Creative Assembly, Imperial Glory has two main components. There's a turn-based, strategic mode in which you move armies across a map, and a real-time battle mode in which you can resolve battles by taking direct control of the forces on the battlefield. The battles in Imperial Glory aren't just limited to land, either, as you can also command fleets on a beautifully rendered 3D ocean and attempt to maneuver your warships so they deliver devastating broadsides of cannon fire to the enemy.

The turn-based portion of the game takes place on a 55-territory map of Europe and North Africa, but it's designed to look like a paper map spread out over a desk, with all the armies and fleets represented by brass counters. However, the entire map is rendered in 3D, and it looks quite sharp. Imperial Glory will feature a fairly deep turn-based strategy layer, as your job requires a lot more than just pushing counters around the map. In order to make your nation into an empire, you'll need to focus your attention on commercial research, resource gathering, military advancements, and scientific discovery.

At home, you'll gather resources in every turn, and you'll have the option to build one of about 70 different structures, like naval ports and military bases, that can contribute to various aspects of your nation's development. Naturally, as you progress, you'll unlock more-advanced structures. The game will also feature more than 70 different technological advances, including vaccination, espionage, enhanced artillery, and even peaceful annexation--the art of convincing a nearby territory to join your cause peacefully. You'll also be able to engage in the fine art of diplomacy by bartering for such things as additional cash, food, extra troops, and safe passage through foreign territory.

When two armies or fleets meet, Imperial Glory will allow you to choose whether you wish to automatically resolve the battle or take command of it yourself. If you choose the latter, you'll drop down into one of the game's real-time skirmishes, which take place on fully 3D battlefields. Your army or navy can be composed of many different historically realistic units and may actually be led by famous military officers like General Wellington or an up-and-coming Napoleon Bonaparte. It'll be up to you to deploy your forces in an optimal way, and then order your troops around the field using a simple point-and-click system. You can select different formations and employ a variety of tactics, including hiding infantry in woods to ambush passing forces, and having your infantry form into squares to defeat cavalry charges. It's still unclear at this point whether you will be able to pause a battle to issue orders.

The Age of Sail

Naval battles, which will take place in one of 29 different maritime areas, also look good, but the mechanics are obviously quite different from those employed in the land battles. Ships come in different sizes and classes, so there's a trade-off between speed and firepower. Smaller, faster vessels can sail circles around large ships of the line, but all you need is a broadside or two from the larger vessel to rip the smaller one to shreds. Your job will be to maneuver your ships so the enemy is within your firing arcs and then unleash broadsides to destroy them.

At this stage in the game's development, each ship will be displayed with three different "meters" that gauge the strengths of its sails, crew, and hull. So, as you might expect, there are different varieties of cannon shot, including grapeshot, fire shot, and bomb shot. You'll also have the option to try to board enemy ships--a tactic that will favor the ship with the larger crew. The game will place handy color-coded overlays on your ships' firing range, so you can see about how close in you'll need to be to score a hit. You'll even be able to focus your fire, which narrows the range but increases your chance of dealing damage.

In addition to politicking and fighting, you'll also be able to undertake quests--secondary tasks that will grant you various rewards if your nation is the first to complete them. Though the final number of quests has yet to be determined, Pyro has stated that there will be at least a dozen, including anything from discovering the Rosetta Stone or building the first stock market to joining Simon Bolivar in his fight to liberate South America from the clutches of Spain. The quests will have varied objectives that will require different conditions to complete them, like winning key battles or stockpiling resources. You'll uncover quests by meeting certain requirements throughout the single-player campaign--though Pyro remains secretive about exactly what these requirements are and how early or late in the game you'll likely meet them.

From what we've seen, the 3D graphics engine is beautiful, and, like Rome: Total War's engine, it renders everything in full 3D, including each individual soldier and cavalryman. We got to fight a battle on the carefully manicured grounds of the Brandenburg Palace in Prussia, with the French forces starting on the opposite side of the palace from our British forces. That meant the French had to march around the palace first, and our cannons had been placed in the assumption that the French were going to come at us directly. Thus, our cannons and infantry were caught out of position while the French rolled up our right flank.

Imperial Glory is looking very sharp, though it still needs a bit more development time. The good news is that Pyro has at least a few more months to finish the game, as the release is scheduled for the first quarter of next year.