Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

20 to 40 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Ambitious"

Empire Total War is one of the best ever RTS to date. I've played many and I'm a "hardcore" RTS fan and I have to say this is one of the best ever. However the ambitiousness of the game has caused problems. Various bugs and problems are stopping this game from it's full potential.

Single Player modes: As usual the Grand Campaign is included, try to conquer the world in the 18th century. For the first time this game sees the introduction of real-time naval battles. And great it is, superb graphics and gameplay in the single player however the AI needs improving as well as other aspects of the game.

The Road to Independance campaign I've found is a bit "stuck". Only 4 episodes which inside have 3 chapters which doing them I feel a bit forced. But nevertheless the idea is great and stilll the gameplay is outstanding.

I can't say anything about Multiplayer because not ALL of it is released. However the battles are still good and the new features haven't done a thing wrong. It gets the AI problem out of the way which is good.

I'm still wondering why STEAM but it's not done too bad however it's caused me a few annoyances and minor problems but not too big a worry.

Overall the Gameplay level is 10, there's nothing bad about the gameplay, it truly is one of the best games of the RTS genre.

Innovation: 8/10 quite unique is this game in commanding massive armies in sieges and in battles. The Road to Independance campaign is one innovative campaign which has made me adjust that to 8/10 from 7/10.

Finishing polish: 5/10 m rating my change after the release of patches but so far it really lags, the AI is corrupt and bugs are everywhere. It's just as hard trying to load this game due to loading times and occasional crashes.

Still you should buy this game. It's fun and will leave you glued to the monitor for very long time.