Today is the day that i rule the waves...today is the day that none stand before me or my growing empire.
This is where things start to go in a differant direction. In the past games there was only one main map that you and the AI would fight it out....In Empire: Total War you have three. You have the one that has been around the most which is Europe and where near enough all the factions from this game start off not only that but this maop also has North Africa as well just to add even more regions for you to plunder. Then there are the two areas to join the mix first off its the Americas which the only way to get to is by the sea unless you pick a faction that already has some ground work done and some regions under its control. The last of the new areas is India....There are three ways to get there....you can invade by land from the south east of the Europe map invade by the sea or pick the faction that already have holdings there.
Not only is there now three main maps to fight for control over but there are also four minor trade theatres in the East Indies, the Ivory Coast, the Mozambique Channel and Brazil. Each of them can only be reached by sea and the only way to get the best out of them is to have merchant ships take the roots that you want and have a navy ready to protect them and the trade lanes they provide from pirates and other factions you are at war with.
Empire: Total War is set in the early modern period, spanning from 1700 to the early 1800s and approximately fifty 18th century factions; however, only eleven of the most powerful and influential factions of the era are playable. In western Europe, the main factions are Great Britain, France, the United Provinces, Spain and Sweden, while central and eastern Europe are represented by Prussia, Austria, Russia and Poland–Lithuania. In the Balkans and Middle East, the Ottoman Empire is depicted as a dominating faction for Islam, while the Maratha Confederacy and Mughal Empire are the major powers on the Indian subcontinent. The New World colonies of the major powers are represented as protectorates of their respective home nations. The establishment of key nations during the era, such as Revolutionary France and the United States, and the fall of native states to the larger empires is reflected in the game. Smaller factions, including the less powerful German and Italian states, Native American tribes and North African countries are also represented.
But this is no perfect game...as with many games the AI can be and will be very very stupid at times...no more so than during the real time battles. Be it charging into a a fight when ranged fire will win the day or not being able to set up into a formation without always moving its untils thus letting you pile shots of hot lead in and winng the day with.
On the flip side there is always online play and that always offers a far better and far reaching challange to people who realy enjoy the real time battles. Now as you maybe able to tell there is not just land battles that can be played in real time in this Total war game for the first time sea warfare is up and running. No longer will you build up a fleet of ships and have the AI have all the fun like how it was in the past games.
Empire: Total War System requirements are:
2.4 Ghz processor
256 MB video card
1 GB RAM XP / 2 GB Vista
15 GB hard disk space
It first came out on 3 March 2009.
Yes this is an up and down type of game it can be hard to get use to and the pace at times (the start being one of them) can be slow but as you get the hang of it the fun starts to pour in as you try out differant plans and work out what is the best way to invade another empire. So if your a fan of games like this or just want to try something new first then why not give this a shot?