Empire: Total War
Encyclopedia
Empire: Total War is a turn-based strategy
and real-time tactics
computer game
developed by The Creative Assembly and published by Sega
. The fifth instalment in the Total War series, the game was released in North America on 3 March 2009, and in the rest of the world the following day. The game, which focuses on the early modern period
of the 18th century, was announced at the Leipzig Games Convention in August 2007.
Following a similar style of interface and play to earlier Total War titles, players choose a contemporary 18th century faction and set out to ensure that faction's domination over the known world through military force, politics, diplomacy, espionage and economics. Although the campaign element of the game is turn-based, players can direct battles in real-time. Empire: Total War is the first game in the series to allow naval battles to be conducted in real-time. In addition to the standard campaign mode, the game includes a special campaign that follows the development of the United States
from the settlement of Jamestown
to the American War of Independence
. Players may also engage in recreations of several historical battles from the early modern era.
Reviewers gave Empire: Total War a positive response upon release; several critics commended it as one of the foremost strategy titles of recent times. Praise was bestowed upon the extensive strategy breadth, accurate historical challenges and visual effects. The real-time land battles, with a far greater focus on gunpowder weaponry than earlier Total War titles, were thought to be successfully implemented. Criticisms focused on shortcomings with the game's artificial intelligence and on the real-time naval battles, the latter of which were perceived to be difficult to control and co-ordinate. The game was a commercial success, topping sales charts within the week of release; nevertheless, several Creative Assembly employees later commented on issues caused by a perceived early release.
, spanning from 1701 to the early 19th century (though play can continue indefinitely) allowing players to lead a variety of contemporary factions to dominate Europe
, North Africa
, the Americas
and the Indies
. The player will use both complex strategies on the campaign map as well as command military forces in battles on both land and sea. As with previous Total War games, Empire: Total War consists of two broad areas of gameplay: a turn-based
geopolitical campaign that allows the user to move armies and navies across the globe, conduct diplomacy, trade, espionage, and the internal politics of their nation, and other tasks needed to run their nation, as well as a real-time
battle mode that enables players to direct the course of any battles that take place.
Empire: Total War features 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 protectorate
s 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, though given player involvement any of these major events may be averted. Smaller factions, including the less powerful German and Italian states, Native American
tribes and North African countries are also represented. Each faction varies in territory, strengths and specialities.
A story-driven campaign mode entitled "Road to Independence" is also included in Empire: Total War, where the player guides the British colonisation of America in three structured Chapters. The first Chapter sees the player establish and develop the English colony of Jamestown
, the second focuses on the British fighting both the French and their allied Native American nations in the French and Indian War
, whilst the third portion has the player directing the American Continental Army
against the British in the War of Independence
. This campaign is goal-orientated and strictly historical in nature, and additionally functions as an active learning experience, where players may learn, in each Chapter: firstly, to manage and defend regional economies, secondly, to form alliances and to capture and hold territories and exploit their resources on increasingly large scales, and finally, to use all of the player's acquired skills to survive and achieve victory in a total war against a superior opponent. Completion of "Road to Independence" unlocks the newly formed United States for use in a shorter, later version of the full campaign.
and politics
to make advances in the game. In addition, players can use economics
and religion
to their advantage, as well as clandestine means such as espionage
and assassination
. The campaign mode is turn-based, with each turn representing six months starting in summer or winter, allowing the player to attend to all needs of their faction before ending their turn and allowing the artificial intelligence
to make all other factions' moves.
The campaign mode features a similar approach to those in Rome: Total War
and Medieval II: Total War, but includes several enhancements. The game features three main theatres of play: Europe
(which also includes North Africa and the Middle East), the Americas
and Indian subcontinent
, and four minor trade
theatres in the East Indies
, the Ivory Coast
, the Mozambique Channel
and Brazil
. The way provinces work has been decentralised; although a central settlement is still used, other locations within a province can deal with trade and technology, allowing factions to disrupt a province's productivity without assaulting the main settlement. Diplomacy, taxation, and trade have been streamlined with the aim of reducing the need for micromanagement. Part of this streamlining involves allowing the player to appoint ministers to form a cabinet or court to govern the nation. Previous Total War games required the player to promote governors for each major city, whose qualifications would affect only the government of that city, whereas in Empire ministers' qualifications affect the government of all the player's cities, modified in each individual case by the size of the metropolitan administration, reflecting the shift to modern nation-statehood from premodern city-statehood. The wandering scholars, spies, emissaries and assassins used in previous titles to deal with the diplomatic, trade and espionage aspects of the game have been replaced with just three units: gentlemen
, rakes
, and missionaries
. The former handle research and can challenge other characters to a duel
to dispose of them honourably (thus eliminating the diplomatic risk of being implicated in an assassination plot), while rakes perform clandestine tasks such as spying, assassination, and sabotage. Missionaries serve to convert the populace of regions to the state religion of the nation deploying them, which reduces religious unrest and softens cultural unrest. Isomorphic units also exist for certain nations - namely, Ottomans, Persians, and other near eastern nations replace rakes with Hashashin, while Indian nations use Thugees for the same purposes, and all nations south and east of the Ottoman Empire use Eastern Scholars instead of gentlemen (these are not completely isomorphic, however, because they cannot duel), and a variety of isomorphic religious leaders exist, such as Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant missionaries, Imam
s, and Brahmin
. The way armies are produced also differs: in addition to being produced by settlements and then moved to generals by the player, generals can now also build their armies directly by recruiting from nearby settlements. Players can now research technologies along a technology tree, leading to advances and new discoveries in areas such as infrastructure, politics, agriculture or the military.
Changes in government may occur during the campaign as the rise of republicanism
over the traditional rule by monarchy
becomes an issue in the early modern time period. For instance, the United States may only come into existence if the ruling British Empire
is unable to maintain social order. Another example is that the French Revolution
may occur if the people of France are no longer satisfied with their sovereign. Factions will also have a varying number of objectives such as establishing successful colonies, trade routes and dominance in certain regions as victory conditions. Rebellions and revolutions may occur, and are influenced by the form of government in place. When a revolution occurs, the player can opt to side with the rebellious forces or the loyalist troops. The type of government installed by the player in their faction will determine how other factions view the player and will influence their diplomatic relations. While religion no longer plays a central role as in Medieval II: Total War, it is still important in helping bring under control newly captured regions and in defining to some degree diplomatic relations between nations.
, battles in Empire: Total War can take place on both land and water. However, Empire is the first Total War title to allow naval battles as well as land-based engagements to be fought in real-time; previously, when a naval battle was fought it would be automatically resolved by the game's artificial intelligence, taking into account factors such as number of ships and crew, and armament types to decide the victor. Automatic resolution of battles during a campaign is an option for both land and sea battles. Outside the main campaign mode, players can participate in recreations of historical battles in the 18th century and early 19th century.
In land engagements, players are given access to an 18th-century army consisting of a variety of units, such as cavalry
, musketeer
s, riflemen
and artillery
. Each unit has its own intrinsic advantages, disadvantages, cost, and overall level of effectiveness. Players must use 18th-century tactics and formations with the units they have available to defeat their enemies. The terrain of the battlefield and the weather also impact on how a battle is fought. Factions can lay siege
to settlements, replacing open land battles with street fighting and close-quarters combat. Each unit has morale
, which can increase if the battle goes well for their faction, or decrease in cases such as heavy casualties, loss of regimental colours or the death of the general. Tactical situations such as attacking from a flank or a rear, or depriving a unit of allied reinforcements would also cause the morale of the unit to drop dramatically. When a unit's morale is sufficiently depleted, it will be routed
and attempt to flee the battlefield. Depending on whether the unit's morale is merely broken or entirely shattered, the player may be able to rally the men in the unit and regroup. Victory in battle is achieved by causing every enemy unit to rout, or by killing or capturing the opposing army. In addition, siege battles can be won if the attacker manages to take control of the settlement's central square for a set amount of time. Empire: Total War also introduces several new battlefield elements to the Total War series. Units can take cover
behind walls or in buildings, allowing increased interactivity with the terrain and making some buildings points of strategic interest. Field defences may be set up in real-time on the battlefield, to adjust for given situations. Infantry units can also scale small obstacles in the field, such as walls and fences. Weapons based on gunpowder
are prone to accidents, and can even malfunction and kill their users.
In naval battles, players can control a fleet of up to twenty ships, varying in class, size, armament and crew. As in land-based conflicts, players must make use of 18th century tactics to overcome enemy fleets. As with army units, each ship's crew has a set amount of morale that changes as a battle progresses; a crew may attempt to withdraw their vessel from the battle if their morale is broken, or in extreme cases may surrender without further enemy action. A battle is won when all of the hostile ships have been sunk or captured or have left the map. Individual ships can be adjusted to allow for a maximum field of fire while attempting to maintain a minimalised target, all whilst remaining within an overall formation with the rest of the fleet. Players can designate which parts of a hostile ship they want a crew to target, making ships prone to sustaining authentic damage during a battle: masts can be toppled, sails and gun ports can be destroyed and various other damage can entirely disable a ship's ability to manoeuvre or eventually sink it. Various types of ammunition can be used during a battle, such as grapeshot
, chain-shot
and round shot
, which have different uses, from killing enemy crew to disabling enemy movement. As battles progress, crews can attempt to board enemy vessels and fight hand-to-hand in an attempt to capture the ship. Lastly, the weather in a naval battle can impact how it is fought; bad weather can result in effects from poor visibility to endangering a ship's safety.
at the Leipzig Games Convention
on 22 August 2007. In their press release, The Creative Assembly outlined various features in the game, such as the new game engine
and the addition of real-time naval combat. However, while the game had been in the planning stages since the release of Rome: Total War
, it was still in early development; no gameplay footage was demonstrated at the convention. The game was announced alongside The Creative Assembly's console
title Viking: Battle for Asgard
. Media releases over the subsequent months showed screenshot
s of the game and elaborated more on Empire: Total Wars game mechanics. The game's trailer
, consisting of computer-generated cut scene footage, was released 10 July 2008. A playable demonstration of the game's naval combat was showcased at the E3 convention later in July 2008, where it was estimated that the game would ship in 2009. The land combat was demonstrated at the later 2008 Leipzig Game Convention in August 2008. At the convention, The Creative Assembly announced that the game was out of the alpha development phase, and that they were aiming for a release date of 6 February 2009.
On 28 October 2008, it was announced that the game would be released on Valve Corporation's
content delivery system Steam on the official release date of 6 February; the game requires Steam to install and run for both retail and electronic versions and is integrated into Valve's Steamworks programme to allow updates and multiplayer to function more efficiently. The game's release was delayed in December 2008 to allow for the development of extended multiplayer features, with a new release date for March 2009. A demonstration
of the game, featuring the Battle of Brandywine
and the Battle of Lagos
, was released over Steam on 20 February 2009. The game was released on 3 March 2009. Since release, Empire: Total War has been subject to updates delivered through the Steam system, aimed at optimising performance and removing any bugs remaining in the game.
James Russell, the lead designer on the project, stated in an interview that the 18th century was chosen as the setting as "it's a fabulously colourful period... the 18th century is the great age of fighting sail, and it's the obvious arena in which to set our spectacular new sea battles." Russell also stated that the dynamic and far-reaching changes of the era, from political revolutions such as the French Revolution
, economic revolutions such as the Industrial Revolution
to military revolutions such as the widespread use of gunpowder
, gave the "opportunity to develop some really interesting new features and gameplay dynamics that make for a lot of variation". Motion capture
animation was used extensively to make characters seem more lifelike. For increased authenticity, research was conducted into 18th century aspects such as duel
s, although designers also observed the choreography
of actors in related films and TV series, such as Sharpe
.
Empire: Total War ships with nine different versions of box art, eight of which represent the major faction for the market the game is sold in, and one general international version. For instance, German customers are presented artwork displaying colours with the Prussian eagle
and Prussian army uniforms, whilst the American artwork shows the American revolutionaries and the Betsy Ross flag
. A special edition
version of Empire: Total War entitled Special Forces incorporates six elite faction-specific units: HMS Victory
, the French Irish Brigade
, Spanish guerillas, Gurkha infantry
, Rogers' Rangers
and the Ottoman Ribauldequin
. Additionally, three retailers were provided with a special unit for customers to receive; Amazon.com
customers were given the Dahomey Amazons
, buyers from Best Buy
were able to receive the USS Constitution
and customers buying from Game
received the Death's Head Hussars. A further 14 units were added with the objective of increasing graphical and unit variety among the factions. These 14 units were released as part of the game's 1.3 patch in June 2009; accompanying the update was a second set of 14 units, released as downloadable content
for purchase.
and Medieval II: Total War. In the United States, Empire: Total War and its Special Forces edition were ranked as first and second respectively in the PC sales charts for the week of release. The game's Australian version debuted as the top PC game; across all platforms Empire: Total War was ranked fourth, behind Halo Wars
, Wii Fit
and Killzone 2. Sega reported the game sold 810 thousand units worldwide during their last fiscal year period of 2008. However, consumer response was hampered by technical problems arising from incompatibility with certain Nvidia
drivers
released after the game's development was completed and reports of installation problems with the Steam content delivery system. In an interview with IGN, Studio Communications Manager Kieran Brigden discussed the problems inherent in developing such a huge and ambitious game, saying: "Are there some issues with Empire? Yes there are." As part of its post-release support, he said that The Creative Assembly is planning on addressing issues with stability and performance, as well as adding improvements for gameplay and artificial intelligence.
Mike Simpson, The Creative Assembly's studio director, started a blog in October 2009, in a deliberate attempt to engage with the game's user community and counter some of the negative reaction which the game had received. He explained The Creative Assembly "were not entirely happy with the state of Empire: Total War when it went out", but felt the Metacritic user rating of 67 percent was unfair, stating that his reason for blogging was a concern that the negative ratings could even damage the amount of money available for developing future games. In later posts he described the February 2009 release date as "commercial reality", and explained why they had hit significant problems with the game's AI close to release. Simpson describes the campaign AI as "by far the most complex code edifice I’ve ever seen in a game", and said that they had reached a tipping point where consideration of too many factors led to an AI
which "disagrees with itself chronically and often ends up paralysed by indecision". It was only after patch 1.5—six months after the original release—that Simpson felt comfortable sending it to friends of his, having previously been too embarrassed about the flaws. With regard to the battle AI, Simpson said that the lead battle AI programmer had left to return to his family just before the end of the project. The battle AI at that stage struggled to beat good players even with an obvious level of handicapping, and it had taken some time for other programmers to understand three years' worth of code; progress had been "frustratingly slow" as they strived for a game where real world tactics would work.
In September 2009, an expansion titled The Warpath Campaign was announced for release the following month, as was the next game in the series, Napoleon: Total War
. The campaign, released as downloadable content
, focuses on the battles of the Europeans and Native Americans throughout most of North and Central America. The new campaign expands the North American territories and features 5 new playable factions: Iroquois
, Cherokee
, Huron, Pueblo
and Plains Nations. New researchable technologies were also added, along with the new scout and shaman agents and new faction specific objectives. Napoleon: Total War, released February 2010, focuses on the life of Napoleon Bonaparte, building upon the technology used for Empire: Total War. Napoleon was released as a standalone game rather than an expansion for a number of reasons, mostly to do with technical limitations; according to Mike Simpson "the level of detail required to successfully depict the Napoleonic Wars is an order of magnitude greater than we were working to with Empire: Total War".
Empire and Napoleon Total War Collection - Game of the Year was then released on the 1st of October 2010 joining both games together, including all of the available downloadable content.
respectively. Reviewers praised the large scope of the game's strategy map, PC Gamer UK noted that the game "takes a great deal of its design philosophy from the events and trends of its era", which enabled the game to reasonably reflect the challenges faced by the factions' historical counterparts. Praise was also given to the extensive number of factions, down to very small factions such as the Knights of St. John and a renegade pirate
settlement. Kieron Gillen
, reviewing for Eurogamer
, described the campaign map as "endless" and due to the large amount of content, observed that he had managed to complete the entire campaign without even visiting the Indian theatre of play (approximately a full one fourth of the playable game world); a factor that enhanced the game's replayability. Other reviews echoed this sentiment; GameSpot
stated that "even a short, 50-year campaign can take a good amount of time to complete, given that each turn requires strategic thinking on multiple fronts". Praise was further bestowed on the refined interface, introduction of a technology tree and level of strategic thinking required for the campaign map. However, some reviewers noted inconsistent behaviour with the campaign artificial intelligence; 1UP.com
noted that it could perform illogical choices, such as "the occasional suicidal war between Dagestan
and Russia
", while GamePro
was critical of the artificial intelligence in a number of areas, including the inability to mount a naval invasion or utilise effective strategies on the campaign map.
The real-time land battles in Empire were considered well constructed. Expressing that The Creative Assembly had effectively implemented what it had learned since Shogun: Total War, GameSpy
described the addition of personal firearms and friendly fire as something that "changes the tactical nature of the game much as it did in real life", and noting that the player controls and enemy AI were "competent". IGN
felt that the real-time aspects captured "the cinematic brilliance of it all without ever falling back on obvious exaggerations or pretenses" and that the controls, specifically in relation to unit formation, were much improved. GameSpot put the real-time land battles as "enjoyable to command and enjoyable to watch", particularly commending the amount of detail in each model and animation for every soldier, points carried in several other reviews. However, GameSpot thought that the artificial intelligence could appear "confused" in some circumstances, and the Game Informer
"second opinion" review said that "the enemy AI falls apart from time to time". In addition, Eurogamer felt that units' pathfinding abilities in fort sieges were insufficient, and Game Informer also criticised pathfinding around obstacles.
Naval combat was subject to more criticism than land battles. PC Format
described the visuals in a naval battle as "incredible", but stated that the controls were "frustrating; genuine naval tactics fast disappear out of the window as [the player] struggles to bring [their] navy’s cannons to bear on the enemy". PC Gamer UK reciprocated this view, but noted that naval strategy was a "deeply difficult task" for a developer, and that "The Creative Assembly have done the best that their game template would allow". IGN praised the graphical quality of the naval battles and stated that "trying to line ships up correctly, making the most of the wind and choosing targets appropriately is very rewarding", but that "the formations and pathfinding leave a lot to be desired". GameSpot commented that "the AI seems incapable of managing [a naval battle] with much success".
Despite criticisms, most reviews were ultimately favourable to Empire: Total War. While IGN felt that the game "drags a bit and there are some small, rough edges in the tactical battles", the game still "deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the greatest names in gaming history". 1UP.com finished by saying "For all its problems, it's undoubtedly progress", while Eurogamer felt that issues "limit [the game] to being merely one of the games of the year," but implied that a post-release patch could deal with these flaws. GameSpot summarised that the game was "complex and rewarding" and GameSpy praised the game for "the simplified interface elements, great campaign, and much-improved map and information screens [that] make this the most accessible Total War yet, and a great place for those unfamiliar with the series to get started". Crispy Gamer
, while acclaiming the game "spectacular" and "lovingly historical", criticised the documentation and concluded that the game falls apart due to its bad AI. The Game Informer reviewers criticised the AI, but still described the overall game experience as "fantastic" and "outstanding". GamePro provided a dissenting opinion; although describing Empire: Total War as a game with a potential that "with some extra tweaking, could have proven itself an excellent title", noted that it "has a heap of problems that need resolving" with bugs and crashes
. PC Gamer UK enthusiastically proclaimed the game as "one of the most playable, important and accomplished games ever created".
The downloadable content The Warpath Campaign was criticised by Strategy Informer for not integrating into the original campaign and for only adding a few new units. Concerns were also voiced about the difficulty curve, though the reviewer felt the DLC provided players a challenge by playing as the technologically backward Native Americans against the European interlopers. Games Radar praised the focus on stealth and new tactics, and was complimentary about the low price of the DLC, but was critical of the campaign's historical accuracy.
Turn-based strategy
A turn-based strategy game is a strategy game where players take turns when playing...
and real-time tactics
Real-time tactics
Real-time tactics or RTT is a subgenre of tactical wargames played in real-time simulating the considerations and circumstances of operational warfare and military tactics...
computer game
Personal computer game
A PC game, also known as a computer game, is a video game played on a personal computer, rather than on a video game console or arcade machine...
developed by The Creative Assembly and published by Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
. The fifth instalment in the Total War series, the game was released in North America on 3 March 2009, and in the rest of the world the following day. The game, which focuses on the early modern period
Early modern period
In history, the early modern period of modern history follows the late Middle Ages. Although the chronological limits of the period are open to debate, the timeframe spans the period after the late portion of the Middle Ages through the beginning of the Age of Revolutions...
of the 18th century, was announced at the Leipzig Games Convention in August 2007.
Following a similar style of interface and play to earlier Total War titles, players choose a contemporary 18th century faction and set out to ensure that faction's domination over the known world through military force, politics, diplomacy, espionage and economics. Although the campaign element of the game is turn-based, players can direct battles in real-time. Empire: Total War is the first game in the series to allow naval battles to be conducted in real-time. In addition to the standard campaign mode, the game includes a special campaign that follows the development of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
from the settlement of Jamestown
Jamestown, Virginia
Jamestown was a settlement in the Colony of Virginia. Established by the Virginia Company of London as "James Fort" on May 14, 1607 , it was the first permanent English settlement in what is now the United States, following several earlier failed attempts, including the Lost Colony of Roanoke...
to the American War of Independence
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. Players may also engage in recreations of several historical battles from the early modern era.
Reviewers gave Empire: Total War a positive response upon release; several critics commended it as one of the foremost strategy titles of recent times. Praise was bestowed upon the extensive strategy breadth, accurate historical challenges and visual effects. The real-time land battles, with a far greater focus on gunpowder weaponry than earlier Total War titles, were thought to be successfully implemented. Criticisms focused on shortcomings with the game's artificial intelligence and on the real-time naval battles, the latter of which were perceived to be difficult to control and co-ordinate. The game was a commercial success, topping sales charts within the week of release; nevertheless, several Creative Assembly employees later commented on issues caused by a perceived early release.
Gameplay
Empire: Total War is focused on exploration, economics, politics, religion, the founding of colonies and, ultimately, conquest. The game is set in the early modern periodEarly modern period
In history, the early modern period of modern history follows the late Middle Ages. Although the chronological limits of the period are open to debate, the timeframe spans the period after the late portion of the Middle Ages through the beginning of the Age of Revolutions...
, spanning from 1701 to the early 19th century (though play can continue indefinitely) allowing players to lead a variety of contemporary factions to dominate Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
, the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
and the Indies
Indies
The Indies is a term that has been used to describe the lands of South and Southeast Asia, occupying all of the present India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and also Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Brunei, Singapore, the Philippines, East Timor, Malaysia and...
. The player will use both complex strategies on the campaign map as well as command military forces in battles on both land and sea. As with previous Total War games, Empire: Total War consists of two broad areas of gameplay: a turn-based
Turn-based strategy
A turn-based strategy game is a strategy game where players take turns when playing...
geopolitical campaign that allows the user to move armies and navies across the globe, conduct diplomacy, trade, espionage, and the internal politics of their nation, and other tasks needed to run their nation, as well as a real-time
Real-time tactics
Real-time tactics or RTT is a subgenre of tactical wargames played in real-time simulating the considerations and circumstances of operational warfare and military tactics...
battle mode that enables players to direct the course of any battles that take place.
Empire: Total War features 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
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
, France
Early Modern France
Kingdom of France is the early modern period of French history from the end of the 15th century to the end of the 18th century...
, the United Provinces
Dutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...
, Spain
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
and Sweden
Swedish Empire
The Swedish Empire refers to the Kingdom of Sweden between 1561 and 1721 . During this time, Sweden was one of the great European powers. In Swedish, the period is called Stormaktstiden, literally meaning "the Great Power Era"...
, while central and eastern Europe are represented by Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
, Austria
Habsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...
, Russia
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
and Poland–Lithuania. In the Balkans and Middle East, the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
is depicted as a dominating faction for Islam, while the Maratha Confederacy
Maratha Empire
The Maratha Empire or the Maratha Confederacy was an Indian imperial power that existed from 1674 to 1818. At its peak, the empire covered much of South Asia, encompassing a territory of over 2.8 million km²....
and Mughal Empire
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
are the major powers on the Indian subcontinent. The New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
colonies of the major powers are represented as protectorate
Protectorate
In history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...
s of their respective home nations. The establishment of key nations during the era, such as Revolutionary France
French First Republic
The French First Republic was founded on 22 September 1792, by the newly established National Convention. The First Republic lasted until the declaration of the First French Empire in 1804 under Napoleon I...
and the United States
History of the United States (1776–1789)
Between 1776 and 1789, the United States emerged as an independent country, creating and ratifying its new constitution, and establishing its national government. In order to assert their traditional rights, American Patriots seized control of the colonies and launched a war for independence...
, and the fall of native states to the larger empires is reflected in the game, though given player involvement any of these major events may be averted. Smaller factions, including the less powerful German and Italian states, Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
tribes and North African countries are also represented. Each faction varies in territory, strengths and specialities.
A story-driven campaign mode entitled "Road to Independence" is also included in Empire: Total War, where the player guides the British colonisation of America in three structured Chapters. The first Chapter sees the player establish and develop the English colony of Jamestown
Jamestown, Virginia
Jamestown was a settlement in the Colony of Virginia. Established by the Virginia Company of London as "James Fort" on May 14, 1607 , it was the first permanent English settlement in what is now the United States, following several earlier failed attempts, including the Lost Colony of Roanoke...
, the second focuses on the British fighting both the French and their allied Native American nations in the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
, whilst the third portion has the player directing the American Continental Army
Continental Army
The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...
against the British in the War of Independence
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. This campaign is goal-orientated and strictly historical in nature, and additionally functions as an active learning experience, where players may learn, in each Chapter: firstly, to manage and defend regional economies, secondly, to form alliances and to capture and hold territories and exploit their resources on increasingly large scales, and finally, to use all of the player's acquired skills to survive and achieve victory in a total war against a superior opponent. Completion of "Road to Independence" unlocks the newly formed United States for use in a shorter, later version of the full campaign.
Campaign
The main campaign of Empire: Total War involves a player choosing a faction and moving to forge a global empire during the 18th century. Each faction controls various historical provinces, each with a regional capital, and a number of other settlements ranging from minor villages to prosperous sea ports if they are coastal territories. The player can produce armies and navies to take and defend provinces by military means, or adopt diplomacyDiplomacy
Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states...
and politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
to make advances in the game. In addition, players can use economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
and religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
to their advantage, as well as clandestine means such as espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
and assassination
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
. The campaign mode is turn-based, with each turn representing six months starting in summer or winter, allowing the player to attend to all needs of their faction before ending their turn and allowing the artificial intelligence
Game artificial intelligence
Game artificial intelligence refers to techniques used in computer and video games to produce the illusion of intelligence in the behavior of non-player characters . The techniques used typically draw upon existing methods from the field of artificial intelligence...
to make all other factions' moves.
The campaign mode features a similar approach to those in Rome: Total War
Rome: Total War
Rome: Total War is a PC strategy game developed by The Creative Assembly and released on by Activision...
and Medieval II: Total War, but includes several enhancements. The game features three main theatres of play: Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
(which also includes North Africa and the Middle East), the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
and Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
, and four minor trade
Trade
Trade is the transfer of ownership of goods and services from one person or entity to another. Trade is sometimes loosely called commerce or financial transaction or barter. A network that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and...
theatres in the East Indies
Indies
The Indies is a term that has been used to describe the lands of South and Southeast Asia, occupying all of the present India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and also Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Brunei, Singapore, the Philippines, East Timor, Malaysia and...
, the Ivory Coast
Côte d'Ivoire
The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...
, the Mozambique Channel
Mozambique Channel
The Mozambique Channel is a portion of the Indian Ocean located between the island nation of Madagascar and southeast Africa, primarily the country of Mozambique. It was a World War II clashpoint during the Battle of Madagascar...
and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. The way provinces work has been decentralised; although a central settlement is still used, other locations within a province can deal with trade and technology, allowing factions to disrupt a province's productivity without assaulting the main settlement. Diplomacy, taxation, and trade have been streamlined with the aim of reducing the need for micromanagement. Part of this streamlining involves allowing the player to appoint ministers to form a cabinet or court to govern the nation. Previous Total War games required the player to promote governors for each major city, whose qualifications would affect only the government of that city, whereas in Empire ministers' qualifications affect the government of all the player's cities, modified in each individual case by the size of the metropolitan administration, reflecting the shift to modern nation-statehood from premodern city-statehood. The wandering scholars, spies, emissaries and assassins used in previous titles to deal with the diplomatic, trade and espionage aspects of the game have been replaced with just three units: gentlemen
Gentleman
The term gentleman , in its original and strict signification, denoted a well-educated man of good family and distinction, analogous to the Latin generosus...
, rakes
Rake (character)
A rake, short for rakehell, is a historic term applied to a man who is habituated to immoral conduct, frequently a heartless womanizer. Often a rake was a man who wasted his fortune on gambling, wine, women and song, incurring lavish debts in the process...
, and missionaries
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
. The former handle research and can challenge other characters to a duel
Duel
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with agreed-upon rules.Duels in this form were chiefly practised in Early Modern Europe, with precedents in the medieval code of chivalry, and continued into the modern period especially among...
to dispose of them honourably (thus eliminating the diplomatic risk of being implicated in an assassination plot), while rakes perform clandestine tasks such as spying, assassination, and sabotage. Missionaries serve to convert the populace of regions to the state religion of the nation deploying them, which reduces religious unrest and softens cultural unrest. Isomorphic units also exist for certain nations - namely, Ottomans, Persians, and other near eastern nations replace rakes with Hashashin, while Indian nations use Thugees for the same purposes, and all nations south and east of the Ottoman Empire use Eastern Scholars instead of gentlemen (these are not completely isomorphic, however, because they cannot duel), and a variety of isomorphic religious leaders exist, such as Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant missionaries, Imam
Imam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
s, and Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
. The way armies are produced also differs: in addition to being produced by settlements and then moved to generals by the player, generals can now also build their armies directly by recruiting from nearby settlements. Players can now research technologies along a technology tree, leading to advances and new discoveries in areas such as infrastructure, politics, agriculture or the military.
Changes in government may occur during the campaign as the rise of republicanism
Republicanism
Republicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic, where the head of state is appointed by means other than heredity, often elections. The exact meaning of republicanism varies depending on the cultural and historical context...
over the traditional rule by monarchy
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
becomes an issue in the early modern time period. For instance, the United States may only come into existence if the ruling British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
is unable to maintain social order. Another example is that the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
may occur if the people of France are no longer satisfied with their sovereign. Factions will also have a varying number of objectives such as establishing successful colonies, trade routes and dominance in certain regions as victory conditions. Rebellions and revolutions may occur, and are influenced by the form of government in place. When a revolution occurs, the player can opt to side with the rebellious forces or the loyalist troops. The type of government installed by the player in their faction will determine how other factions view the player and will influence their diplomatic relations. While religion no longer plays a central role as in Medieval II: Total War, it is still important in helping bring under control newly captured regions and in defining to some degree diplomatic relations between nations.
Warfare
The second major area of gameplay is the battle system. Unlike the campaign part of the game, players control battles in real-time. As with all titles in the series after Shogun: Total WarShogun: Total War
Shogun: Total War is a turn-based strategy and real-time tactics computer game developed by The Creative Assembly and published by Electronic Arts. Released in June 2000, the game is the debut title in The Creative Assembly's Total War series...
, battles in Empire: Total War can take place on both land and water. However, Empire is the first Total War title to allow naval battles as well as land-based engagements to be fought in real-time; previously, when a naval battle was fought it would be automatically resolved by the game's artificial intelligence, taking into account factors such as number of ships and crew, and armament types to decide the victor. Automatic resolution of battles during a campaign is an option for both land and sea battles. Outside the main campaign mode, players can participate in recreations of historical battles in the 18th century and early 19th century.
In land engagements, players are given access to an 18th-century army consisting of a variety of units, such as cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
, musketeer
Musketeer
A musketeer was an early modern type of infantry soldier equipped with a musket. Musketeers were an important part of early modern armies, particularly in Europe. They sometimes could fight on horseback, like a dragoon or a cavalryman...
s, riflemen
Rifleman
Although ultimately originating with the 16th century handgunners and the 17th century musketeers and streltsy, the term rifleman originated from the 18th century. It would later become the term for the archetypal common soldier.-History:...
and artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
. Each unit has its own intrinsic advantages, disadvantages, cost, and overall level of effectiveness. Players must use 18th-century tactics and formations with the units they have available to defeat their enemies. The terrain of the battlefield and the weather also impact on how a battle is fought. Factions can lay siege
Siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition or assault. The term derives from sedere, Latin for "to sit". Generally speaking, siege warfare is a form of constant, low intensity conflict characterized by one party holding a strong, static...
to settlements, replacing open land battles with street fighting and close-quarters combat. Each unit has morale
Morale
Morale, also known as esprit de corps when discussing the morale of a group, is an intangible term used to describe the capacity of people to maintain belief in an institution or a goal, or even in oneself and others...
, which can increase if the battle goes well for their faction, or decrease in cases such as heavy casualties, loss of regimental colours or the death of the general. Tactical situations such as attacking from a flank or a rear, or depriving a unit of allied reinforcements would also cause the morale of the unit to drop dramatically. When a unit's morale is sufficiently depleted, it will be routed
Rout
A rout is commonly defined as a chaotic and disorderly retreat or withdrawal of troops from a battlefield, resulting in the victory of the opposing party, or following defeat, a collapse of discipline, or poor morale. A routed army often degenerates into a sense of "every man for himself" as the...
and attempt to flee the battlefield. Depending on whether the unit's morale is merely broken or entirely shattered, the player may be able to rally the men in the unit and regroup. Victory in battle is achieved by causing every enemy unit to rout, or by killing or capturing the opposing army. In addition, siege battles can be won if the attacker manages to take control of the settlement's central square for a set amount of time. Empire: Total War also introduces several new battlefield elements to the Total War series. Units can take cover
Cover (military)
In military combat, the concept of cover refers to anything which is capable of physically protecting an individual from enemy fire. This differentiates it from the similar concept of concealment, in that an object or area of concealment only affords the benefit of stealth, not actual protection...
behind walls or in buildings, allowing increased interactivity with the terrain and making some buildings points of strategic interest. Field defences may be set up in real-time on the battlefield, to adjust for given situations. Infantry units can also scale small obstacles in the field, such as walls and fences. Weapons based on gunpowder
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
are prone to accidents, and can even malfunction and kill their users.
In naval battles, players can control a fleet of up to twenty ships, varying in class, size, armament and crew. As in land-based conflicts, players must make use of 18th century tactics to overcome enemy fleets. As with army units, each ship's crew has a set amount of morale that changes as a battle progresses; a crew may attempt to withdraw their vessel from the battle if their morale is broken, or in extreme cases may surrender without further enemy action. A battle is won when all of the hostile ships have been sunk or captured or have left the map. Individual ships can be adjusted to allow for a maximum field of fire while attempting to maintain a minimalised target, all whilst remaining within an overall formation with the rest of the fleet. Players can designate which parts of a hostile ship they want a crew to target, making ships prone to sustaining authentic damage during a battle: masts can be toppled, sails and gun ports can be destroyed and various other damage can entirely disable a ship's ability to manoeuvre or eventually sink it. Various types of ammunition can be used during a battle, such as grapeshot
Grapeshot
In artillery, a grapeshot is a type of shot that is not a one solid element, but a mass of small metal balls or slugs packed tightly into a canvas bag. It was used both in land and naval warfare. When assembled, the balls resembled a cluster of grapes, hence the name...
, chain-shot
Chain-shot
In artillery, a chain-shot is an obsolete type of naval ammunition formed of two sub-calibre balls, or half-balls, chained together. Bar shot is similar, but joined by a solid bar...
and round shot
Round shot
Round shot is a solid projectile without explosive charge, fired from a cannon. As the name implies, round shot is spherical; its diameter is slightly less than the bore of the gun it is fired from.Round shot was made in early times from dressed stone, but by the 17th century, from iron...
, which have different uses, from killing enemy crew to disabling enemy movement. As battles progress, crews can attempt to board enemy vessels and fight hand-to-hand in an attempt to capture the ship. Lastly, the weather in a naval battle can impact how it is fought; bad weather can result in effects from poor visibility to endangering a ship's safety.
Multiplayer
Multiplayer comes in two forms in Empire: Total War. As with previous Total War titles, players can engage in real-time battles against each other either by creating the composition of their armies themselves, or reenacting historical battles. However, following a one-month delay of Empire: Total War in January 2009, the addition of a full campaign multiplayer mode was unveiled. The technology to create a multiplayer campaign game was not available in previous Total War games, and the extended development time allowed The Creative Assembly to implement the underlying technology for such a mode in Empire: Total War. The campaign multiplayer mode was first tested in a two-player beta build which was released on December 7, 2009.Development
Empire: Total War was announced by The Creative Assembly and publisher SegaSega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
at the Leipzig Games Convention
Games Convention
The Games Convention, sometimes called the Leipzig Games Convention and abbreviated as GC, was an annual video game event held in Leipzig, Germany, first held in 2002. Besides video games, the event also covers Infotainment, Hardware, and Edutainment...
on 22 August 2007. In their press release, The Creative Assembly outlined various features in the game, such as the new game engine
Game engine
A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...
and the addition of real-time naval combat. However, while the game had been in the planning stages since the release of Rome: Total War
Rome: Total War
Rome: Total War is a PC strategy game developed by The Creative Assembly and released on by Activision...
, it was still in early development; no gameplay footage was demonstrated at the convention. The game was announced alongside The Creative Assembly's console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
title Viking: Battle for Asgard
Viking: Battle for Asgard
Viking: Battle for Asgard is an action adventure/hack and slash video game developed by The Creative Assembly and published by Sega. It was announced on August 21, 2007 by SEGA Europe and released in North America on March 25 and Europe on March 28, 2008...
. Media releases over the subsequent months showed screenshot
Screenshot
A screenshot , screen capture , screen dump, screengrab , or print screen is an image taken by a computer to record the visible items displayed on the monitor, television, or another visual output device...
s of the game and elaborated more on Empire: Total Wars game mechanics. The game's trailer
Teaser trailer
A teaser campaign is an advertising campaign which typically consists of a series of small, cryptic, challenging advertisements that anticipate a larger, full-blown campaign for a product launch or otherwise important event. These advertisements are called "teasers" or "teaser ads"...
, consisting of computer-generated cut scene footage, was released 10 July 2008. A playable demonstration of the game's naval combat was showcased at the E3 convention later in July 2008, where it was estimated that the game would ship in 2009. The land combat was demonstrated at the later 2008 Leipzig Game Convention in August 2008. At the convention, The Creative Assembly announced that the game was out of the alpha development phase, and that they were aiming for a release date of 6 February 2009.
On 28 October 2008, it was announced that the game would be released on Valve Corporation's
Valve Corporation
Valve Corporation is an American video game development and digital distribution company based in Bellevue, Washington, United States...
content delivery system Steam on the official release date of 6 February; the game requires Steam to install and run for both retail and electronic versions and is integrated into Valve's Steamworks programme to allow updates and multiplayer to function more efficiently. The game's release was delayed in December 2008 to allow for the development of extended multiplayer features, with a new release date for March 2009. A demonstration
Game demo
A game demo is a freely distributed demonstration or preview of an upcoming or recently released video game. Demos are typically released by the game's publisher to help consumers get a feel of the game before deciding whether to buy the full version....
of the game, featuring the Battle of Brandywine
Battle of Brandywine
The Battle of Brandywine, also known as the Battle of the Brandywine or the Battle of Brandywine Creek, was fought between the American army of Major General George Washington and the British-Hessian army of General Sir William Howe on September 11, 1777. The British defeated the Americans and...
and the Battle of Lagos
Battle of Lagos
The naval Battle of Lagos between Britain and France took place on August 19, 1759 during the Seven Years' War off the coasts of Spain and Portugal, and is named after Lagos, Portugal. For the British, it was part of the Annus Mirabilis of 1759.-Origins:...
, was released over Steam on 20 February 2009. The game was released on 3 March 2009. Since release, Empire: Total War has been subject to updates delivered through the Steam system, aimed at optimising performance and removing any bugs remaining in the game.
James Russell, the lead designer on the project, stated in an interview that the 18th century was chosen as the setting as "it's a fabulously colourful period... the 18th century is the great age of fighting sail, and it's the obvious arena in which to set our spectacular new sea battles." Russell also stated that the dynamic and far-reaching changes of the era, from political revolutions such as the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, economic revolutions such as the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
to military revolutions such as the widespread use of gunpowder
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
, gave the "opportunity to develop some really interesting new features and gameplay dynamics that make for a lot of variation". Motion capture
Motion capture
Motion capture, motion tracking, or mocap are terms used to describe the process of recording movement and translating that movement on to a digital model. It is used in military, entertainment, sports, and medical applications, and for validation of computer vision and robotics...
animation was used extensively to make characters seem more lifelike. For increased authenticity, research was conducted into 18th century aspects such as duel
Duel
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with agreed-upon rules.Duels in this form were chiefly practised in Early Modern Europe, with precedents in the medieval code of chivalry, and continued into the modern period especially among...
s, although designers also observed the choreography
Choreography
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" ...
of actors in related films and TV series, such as Sharpe
Sharpe (TV series)
Sharpe is a British series of television dramas starring Sean Bean about Richard Sharpe, a fictional British soldier in the Napoleonic Wars. Sharpe is the hero of a number of novels by Bernard Cornwell; most, though not all, of the episodes are based on the books...
.
Empire: Total War ships with nine different versions of box art, eight of which represent the major faction for the market the game is sold in, and one general international version. For instance, German customers are presented artwork displaying colours with the Prussian eagle
Flag of Prussia
The state of Prussia had its origins in the separate lands of the Margraviate of Brandenburg and the Duchy of Prussia. The Margraviate of Brandenburg developed from the medieval Northern March of the Holy Roman Empire, passing to the House of Hohenzollern in 1415...
and Prussian army uniforms, whilst the American artwork shows the American revolutionaries and the Betsy Ross flag
Betsy Ross flag
The Betsy Ross flag is an early design of the flag of the United States, popularly attributed to Betsy Ross, using the common motifs of alternating red-and-white striped field with five-pointed stars in a blue canton. The flag was designed during the American Revolution and features 13 stars to...
. A special edition
Special edition
The terms special edition, limited edition and variants such as deluxe edition, collector's edition and others, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints or recorded music and films, but now including...
version of Empire: Total War entitled Special Forces incorporates six elite faction-specific units: HMS Victory
HMS Victory
HMS Victory is a 104-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, laid down in 1759 and launched in 1765. She is most famous as Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805....
, the French Irish Brigade
Irish Brigade (French)
The Irish Brigade was a brigade in the French army composed of Irish exiles, led by Robert Reid. It was formed in May 1690 when five Jacobite regiments were sent from Ireland to France in return for a larger force of French infantry who were sent to fight in the Williamite war in Ireland...
, Spanish guerillas, Gurkha infantry
Gurkha
Gurkha are people from Nepal who take their name from the Gorkha District. Gurkhas are best known for their history in the Indian Army's Gorkha regiments, the British Army's Brigade of Gurkhas and the Nepalese Army. Gurkha units are closely associated with the kukri, a forward-curving Nepalese knife...
, Rogers' Rangers
Rogers' Rangers
Rogers' Rangers was an independent company of colonial militia, attached to the British Army during the Seven Years War . The unit was informally trained by Major Robert Rogers as a rapidly deployable light infantry force tasked with reconnaissance and conducting special operations against distant...
and the Ottoman Ribauldequin
Ribauldequin
A Ribauldequin, also known as a rabauld, ribault, ribaudkin, infernal machine or organ gun, was a late medieval volley gun with many small-caliber iron barrels set up parallel on a platform, in use during the 14th and 15th centuries. When the gun was fired in a volley, it created a shower of iron...
. Additionally, three retailers were provided with a special unit for customers to receive; Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
customers were given the Dahomey Amazons
Dahomey Amazons
The Dahomey Amazons or Mino were a Fon all-female military regiment of the Kingdom of Dahomey which lasted until the end of the 19th century...
, buyers from Best Buy
Best Buy
Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the United States, accounting for 19% of the market. It also operates in Mexico, Canada & China. The company's subsidiaries include Geek Squad, CinemaNow, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and, in Canada operates...
were able to receive the USS Constitution
USS Constitution
USS Constitution is a wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy. Named by President George Washington after the Constitution of the United States of America, she is the world's oldest floating commissioned naval vessel...
and customers buying from Game
GAME (retailer)
The Game Group plc is a British video games retail company. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE SmallCap Index....
received the Death's Head Hussars. A further 14 units were added with the objective of increasing graphical and unit variety among the factions. These 14 units were released as part of the game's 1.3 patch in June 2009; accompanying the update was a second set of 14 units, released as downloadable content
Downloadable content
Downloadable content is official additional content for a video game distributed through the Internet. Downloadable content can be of several types, ranging from a single in-game outfit to an entirely new, extensive storyline, similarly to an expansion pack. As such, DLC may add new game modes,...
for purchase.
Release
Empire: Total War was released on 3 March 2009 to the North American market, and three days later in Europe. The game has become the fastest selling Total War title to date; Empire topped British video game sales charts for all platforms in the week of release, the first PC exclusive title to do so in a year and a half. The game was reported to have sold nearly double the number of Rome: Total WarRome: Total War
Rome: Total War is a PC strategy game developed by The Creative Assembly and released on by Activision...
and Medieval II: Total War. In the United States, Empire: Total War and its Special Forces edition were ranked as first and second respectively in the PC sales charts for the week of release. The game's Australian version debuted as the top PC game; across all platforms Empire: Total War was ranked fourth, behind Halo Wars
Halo Wars
Halo Wars is a real-time strategy video game developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360 video game console. It was released in Japan and Australia on February 26, 2009, in PAL territories on February 27, and in North America on March 3...
, Wii Fit
Wii Fit
is a video game developed by Nintendo for the company's home video game console, Wii, designed by Hiroshi Matsunaga. It is an exercise game consisting of activities using the Wii Balance Board peripheral...
and Killzone 2. Sega reported the game sold 810 thousand units worldwide during their last fiscal year period of 2008. However, consumer response was hampered by technical problems arising from incompatibility with certain Nvidia
NVIDIA
Nvidia is an American global technology company based in Santa Clara, California. Nvidia is best known for its graphics processors . Nvidia and chief rival AMD Graphics Techonologies have dominated the high performance GPU market, pushing other manufacturers to smaller, niche roles...
drivers
Device driver
In computing, a device driver or software driver is a computer program allowing higher-level computer programs to interact with a hardware device....
released after the game's development was completed and reports of installation problems with the Steam content delivery system. In an interview with IGN, Studio Communications Manager Kieran Brigden discussed the problems inherent in developing such a huge and ambitious game, saying: "Are there some issues with Empire? Yes there are." As part of its post-release support, he said that The Creative Assembly is planning on addressing issues with stability and performance, as well as adding improvements for gameplay and artificial intelligence.
Mike Simpson, The Creative Assembly's studio director, started a blog in October 2009, in a deliberate attempt to engage with the game's user community and counter some of the negative reaction which the game had received. He explained The Creative Assembly "were not entirely happy with the state of Empire: Total War when it went out", but felt the Metacritic user rating of 67 percent was unfair, stating that his reason for blogging was a concern that the negative ratings could even damage the amount of money available for developing future games. In later posts he described the February 2009 release date as "commercial reality", and explained why they had hit significant problems with the game's AI close to release. Simpson describes the campaign AI as "by far the most complex code edifice I’ve ever seen in a game", and said that they had reached a tipping point where consideration of too many factors led to an AI
Game artificial intelligence
Game artificial intelligence refers to techniques used in computer and video games to produce the illusion of intelligence in the behavior of non-player characters . The techniques used typically draw upon existing methods from the field of artificial intelligence...
which "disagrees with itself chronically and often ends up paralysed by indecision". It was only after patch 1.5—six months after the original release—that Simpson felt comfortable sending it to friends of his, having previously been too embarrassed about the flaws. With regard to the battle AI, Simpson said that the lead battle AI programmer had left to return to his family just before the end of the project. The battle AI at that stage struggled to beat good players even with an obvious level of handicapping, and it had taken some time for other programmers to understand three years' worth of code; progress had been "frustratingly slow" as they strived for a game where real world tactics would work.
In September 2009, an expansion titled The Warpath Campaign was announced for release the following month, as was the next game in the series, Napoleon: Total War
Napoleon: Total War
Napoleon: Total War is a turn-based strategy and real-time tactics video game developed by The Creative Assembly and published by Sega for the PC. Napoleon was released in North America on 23 February 2010, and in Europe on February 26. The game is the sixth stand-alone instalment in the Total...
. The campaign, released as downloadable content
Downloadable content
Downloadable content is official additional content for a video game distributed through the Internet. Downloadable content can be of several types, ranging from a single in-game outfit to an entirely new, extensive storyline, similarly to an expansion pack. As such, DLC may add new game modes,...
, focuses on the battles of the Europeans and Native Americans throughout most of North and Central America. The new campaign expands the North American territories and features 5 new playable factions: Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
, Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
, Huron, Pueblo
Pueblo
Pueblo is a term used to describe modern communities of Native Americans in the Southwestern United States of America. The first Spanish explorers of the Southwest used this term to describe the communities housed in apartment-like structures built of stone, adobe mud, and other local material...
and Plains Nations. New researchable technologies were also added, along with the new scout and shaman agents and new faction specific objectives. Napoleon: Total War, released February 2010, focuses on the life of Napoleon Bonaparte, building upon the technology used for Empire: Total War. Napoleon was released as a standalone game rather than an expansion for a number of reasons, mostly to do with technical limitations; according to Mike Simpson "the level of detail required to successfully depict the Napoleonic Wars is an order of magnitude greater than we were working to with Empire: Total War".
Empire and Napoleon Total War Collection - Game of the Year was then released on the 1st of October 2010 joining both games together, including all of the available downloadable content.
Reception
Empire: Total War was recipient to a strong critical response within the video game industry, holding aggregate review scores of 88 percent and 90 percent on GameRankings and MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
respectively. Reviewers praised the large scope of the game's strategy map, PC Gamer UK noted that the game "takes a great deal of its design philosophy from the events and trends of its era", which enabled the game to reasonably reflect the challenges faced by the factions' historical counterparts. Praise was also given to the extensive number of factions, down to very small factions such as the Knights of St. John and a renegade pirate
Golden Age of Piracy
The Golden Age of Piracy is a common designation given to one or more outbursts of piracy in maritime history of the early modern period. In its broadest accepted definition, the Golden Age of Piracy spans from the 1650s to the 1730s and covers three separate outbursts of piracy:the buccaneering...
settlement. Kieron Gillen
Kieron Gillen
Kieron Gillen is a British computer games and music journalist, as well as a comic book author. Gillen has worked for many years as a video game journalist and has, more recently, worked on various comics. He is perhaps best known for his creator-owned comic Phonogram, created with artist Jamie...
, reviewing for Eurogamer
Eurogamer
Eurogamer is a Brighton-based website focused on video games news, reviews, previews and interviews. It is operated by Eurogamer Network Ltd., which was formed in 1999 by brothers Rupert and Nick Loman. Eurogamer has grown to become one of the most important European-based websites focused on...
, described the campaign map as "endless" and due to the large amount of content, observed that he had managed to complete the entire campaign without even visiting the Indian theatre of play (approximately a full one fourth of the playable game world); a factor that enhanced the game's replayability. Other reviews echoed this sentiment; GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
stated that "even a short, 50-year campaign can take a good amount of time to complete, given that each turn requires strategic thinking on multiple fronts". Praise was further bestowed on the refined interface, introduction of a technology tree and level of strategic thinking required for the campaign map. However, some reviewers noted inconsistent behaviour with the campaign artificial intelligence; 1UP.com
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
noted that it could perform illogical choices, such as "the occasional suicidal war between Dagestan
Dagestan
The Republic of Dagestan is a federal subject of Russia, located in the North Caucasus region. Its capital and the largest city is Makhachkala, located at the center of Dagestan on the Caspian Sea...
and Russia
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
", while GamePro
GamePro
GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
was critical of the artificial intelligence in a number of areas, including the inability to mount a naval invasion or utilise effective strategies on the campaign map.
The real-time land battles in Empire were considered well constructed. Expressing that The Creative Assembly had effectively implemented what it had learned since Shogun: Total War, GameSpy
GameSpy
GameSpy Industries, Inc., known simply as GameSpy, is a division of IGN Entertainment, which operates a network of game websites and provides online video game-related services and software. GameSpy dates back to the 1996 release of an internet Quake server search program named QSpy. The current...
described the addition of personal firearms and friendly fire as something that "changes the tactical nature of the game much as it did in real life", and noting that the player controls and enemy AI were "competent". IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
felt that the real-time aspects captured "the cinematic brilliance of it all without ever falling back on obvious exaggerations or pretenses" and that the controls, specifically in relation to unit formation, were much improved. GameSpot put the real-time land battles as "enjoyable to command and enjoyable to watch", particularly commending the amount of detail in each model and animation for every soldier, points carried in several other reviews. However, GameSpot thought that the artificial intelligence could appear "confused" in some circumstances, and the Game Informer
Game Informer
Game Informer is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles. It was formed in August 1991, when FuncoLand started publishing a six-page magazine, free in all its retail locations...
"second opinion" review said that "the enemy AI falls apart from time to time". In addition, Eurogamer felt that units' pathfinding abilities in fort sieges were insufficient, and Game Informer also criticised pathfinding around obstacles.
Naval combat was subject to more criticism than land battles. PC Format
PC Format
PC Format is a computer magazine published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing, and licensed to other publishers in countries around the world. In publication since 1991, it is part of Future Publishing's Format series of magazines that include articles about games, entertainment and how to...
described the visuals in a naval battle as "incredible", but stated that the controls were "frustrating; genuine naval tactics fast disappear out of the window as [the player] struggles to bring [their] navy’s cannons to bear on the enemy". PC Gamer UK reciprocated this view, but noted that naval strategy was a "deeply difficult task" for a developer, and that "The Creative Assembly have done the best that their game template would allow". IGN praised the graphical quality of the naval battles and stated that "trying to line ships up correctly, making the most of the wind and choosing targets appropriately is very rewarding", but that "the formations and pathfinding leave a lot to be desired". GameSpot commented that "the AI seems incapable of managing [a naval battle] with much success".
Despite criticisms, most reviews were ultimately favourable to Empire: Total War. While IGN felt that the game "drags a bit and there are some small, rough edges in the tactical battles", the game still "deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the greatest names in gaming history". 1UP.com finished by saying "For all its problems, it's undoubtedly progress", while Eurogamer felt that issues "limit [the game] to being merely one of the games of the year," but implied that a post-release patch could deal with these flaws. GameSpot summarised that the game was "complex and rewarding" and GameSpy praised the game for "the simplified interface elements, great campaign, and much-improved map and information screens [that] make this the most accessible Total War yet, and a great place for those unfamiliar with the series to get started". Crispy Gamer
Crispy Gamer
Crispy Gamer is an independent video game focused site that features general coverage, commentary, reviews, comics, and videos about video games and video game culture.- History and Foundation :...
, while acclaiming the game "spectacular" and "lovingly historical", criticised the documentation and concluded that the game falls apart due to its bad AI. The Game Informer reviewers criticised the AI, but still described the overall game experience as "fantastic" and "outstanding". GamePro provided a dissenting opinion; although describing Empire: Total War as a game with a potential that "with some extra tweaking, could have proven itself an excellent title", noted that it "has a heap of problems that need resolving" with bugs and crashes
Crash (computing)
A crash in computing is a condition where a computer or a program, either an application or part of the operating system, ceases to function properly, often exiting after encountering errors. Often the offending program may appear to freeze or hang until a crash reporting service documents...
. PC Gamer UK enthusiastically proclaimed the game as "one of the most playable, important and accomplished games ever created".
The downloadable content The Warpath Campaign was criticised by Strategy Informer for not integrating into the original campaign and for only adding a few new units. Concerns were also voiced about the difficulty curve, though the reviewer felt the DLC provided players a challenge by playing as the technologically backward Native Americans against the European interlopers. Games Radar praised the focus on stealth and new tactics, and was complimentary about the low price of the DLC, but was critical of the campaign's historical accuracy.
External links
- Empire: Total War official website
- Empire: Total War Special Forces Edition official webpage
- The Total War Blog official website
- The Creative Assembly official website