Empire: Total War is a decent strategy game which explores a new time period, but it does what it says on the tin.
GAMEPLAY: Well, its like all strategy games really, with the highlighting and the clicking, dull. That's all you do really, and watch some guys fighting on screen while you sit there with minimal control. But in this case this normally boring setup is actually quite good. Battles are huge an epic and the graphics are so amazing that you cant take your eyes of the detail. Oh, and those muskets, its like there's a bloody fighter jet in your living room when a volley of shooting starts. And the single player campaign is very long, 30+ hours at least, for ,me this was a bad thing, but I will have to take it as a good aspect of play as that is what RTS fans are looking for, long epic story lines. Not for me though. The multiplayer is good too, but is not much different to single player apart from the fact that the other army is controlled by a real human. But the AI in this game is so great, you cant really tell the difference.
GOOD: Stunning graphics, mind-blowing sound effects, long campaign ( I suppose), amazing cut scenes, very clever AI, good multiplayer (I think), lots of replay value and nice music.
BAD: I a hater of RTS games think its boring, nothing really spectacular ever happens, and I don't know it just doesn't feel all that great.
OVERVIEW: If you are an RTS fan I'm sure you will love it and have a great time with it, but if your like me and find the whole, pointy clicky gameplay dull or just find RTS boring you will still get some fun out of it, just wait for the prices to fall.