Napoleon: Total War
Encyclopedia
Napoleon: Total War is a turn-based strategy
and real-time tactics
video game developed by The Creative Assembly (CA) 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 War series. The game is set in Europe, North Africa
, and the Middle East
during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Players assume the role of Napoleon Bonaparte, or one of his major rivals, on a turn-based campaign map and engage in the subsequent battles in real-time. As with its predecessor, Empire: Total War
, which included a special United States storyline, Napoleon features two special campaigns that follow the general's early career.
Napoleon received generally favourable reviews from video game critics. Reviews praised the game's stunning visuals, story driven campaigns, and new gameplay features. Some reviewers were critical of the game's weak AI, high system requirements, and its limited scope - while others considered Napoleon overly similar to Empire, its immediate predecessor in the series.
French actor Stephane Cornicard
provided voice-acting for Napoleon Bonaparte in the original English
, German
, French
, and Spanish
editions.
Napoleon contains four campaigns, two of which follow Napoleon's early military career. The first career event is the Italian campaign of 1796, while the second is the French invasion of Egypt in 1798. Both feature smaller, optional missions that help drive the story forward. The major French campaign, however, is the so called "The Mastery of Europe," which resembles the holistic modes of previous Total War games. Conversely, the "Campaigns of the Coalition" allows players to govern Great Britain, Russia, Prussia or the Austrian Empire and attempt to defeat Napoleonic France in Europe. Each major campaign requires players to obtain a certain number of territories, although the latter also demands that the French are defeated. Many of Napoleon's major battles such as Austerlitz
, Trafalgar
, Battle of the Pyramids
, and Waterloo
are available as historical scenarios, separate from the campaign.
A new physics system had been implemented for the real-time battles, so that when cannon balls hit the ground, for instance, they leave impact craters. Gunpowder smoke lingers and reduces visibility in protracted engagements. Mike Simpson, CA's studio director, reported that there are a number of environmental factors that affect battlefield tactics: gunpowder backfires when it rains, and the elevation of landscape affects the range of munitions. Individuals within a unit now vary to a greater degree, and are no longer as generic as in previous titles in the series. The campaign map is narrower in focus, but more detailed than Empires campaign map. Turns in Napoleon: Total War represent two weeks, while previous titles sported turns that were the equivalent of at least six months. Additionally the game's artificial intelligence
system had been modified. There is also a new uniform system that includes approximately 355 non-editable uniforms.
In addition, Napoleon: Total War contains several new multiplayer features and a voice command utility to speak to other players via Steam. Unlike previous Total War titles, there is now the option for a "drop-in" multiplayer campaign mode: when playing a campaign against the computer, it is possible to allow another user to join via a lobby and take control.
- Campaigns of the Coalition and multiplayer (Europe and Italy) First French Empire
- Story mode and multiplayer (Europe, Egypt and Italy) British Empire
- Campaigns of the Coalition and multiplayer (Europe and Egypt) - Campaigns of the Coalition and multiplayer (Europe only) - Campaigns of the Coalition and multiplayer (Europe only) - Multiplayer (Europe and Egypt)
Some non-playable factions in the campaign include:
.
Napoleon was released in four different retail versions: Standard edition, Limited edition, Imperial edition, and the Emperor's edition. All boxed versions include the "Elite Regiment" pack, a collection of five extra units; any edition bought on Steam does not include this unit pack.
Pre-orders made via the Steam content delivery system included another special unit: the Royal Scots Greys. Orders made via certain retailers likewise included various special units: HMS Elephant
, Towarczys, and the Grand Battery
of the Convention
and an alternate version of the Battle of Waterloo scenario, with the British as the playable faction. CA released the Coalition Battle Pack on May 6, 2010. It contains six new units: Lifeguard Hussars, Coldstream Guards
, Archduke Charles' Legion, Luetzow's Freikorps
, Life Hussars, and the Semenovski Lifeguard
. Additionally, it also includes a scenario featuring the Battle of Friedland
.
A downloadable campaign, The Peninsular Campaign was released on June 25, 2010. Featuring an enlarged map of the Iberian peninsula
, new units (such as Guerrilla units that can be placed outside a player's deployment zone before a battle), agents, and gameplay mechanics, this new campaign, as its name implies, focuses on the Peninsular War
.
One of the features advertised for Napoleon was a uniform editor. Upon release CA announced that the uniform editor would be delayed; while it was not advertised "on the box", it was advertised as a feature by all online retailers (including Steam) and the official game website. Five months after Napoleon: Total Wars release, mention of the uniform editor was removed from the game's list of features on its official website; it is, however, still being advertised on most online retailers selling the game. Almost eight months after the game's release, Mike Simpson stated that the original uniform editor was never meant for public use, and that CA is making a unit editor capable of both editing and creating new units. This new unit editor is scheduled to be released in the first quarter of 2011. To date no further reference to the uniform editor has been made and it is now seen by the community to be unlikely that it will be released in the future.
IGN
remarked that the "tactical battles are still some of the most amazing we've ever seen in any game." Gameplanet
came to the same conclusion, stating that "graphically, the battles leave Empire in the dust, featuring five times more particles per effect." GameSpot
praised the interface, saying that "[it] never feels cluttered, and the bulk of the screen is always devoted to the action."
Other aspects of the game received a mixed reaction. According to Eurogamer
, despite occasionally poor decision-making "the AI will still hold its own," and provides players "with a challenge that suits the difficulty." Other criticisms focused upon the somewhat linear story-mode campaigns, the duration of naval engagements and the stability of the game's netcode. Actiontrip commented that "while still a good strategy game, Napoleon: Total War seems to offer less freedom to players in terms of how they can resolve various battle situations." Tom Chick
, in his Gamespy
review, gave the game a 2.0 out of 5, citing "Bad AI" and the game "feel[ing] like a re-skinned Empire" for the score. Game Revolution felt the same, noting that "the problem Napoleon has is that it’s not just like Empire, it is and only is Empire...It feels like an expansion at best, yet it’s being sold like it’s a brand new game."
Despite the complaints, most of the reviews were ultimately favourable to Napoleon, with the game earning an aggregated score of 81% at Metacritic
and 81.61% at GameRankings.
The game was awarded Best PC Game at Milthon European Game Awards in Paris on September 22, 2010.
Score composers Richard Beddow, Richard Birdsall and Ian Livingstone won the British Ivor Novello Award for Best Original Video Game Score on 19 May 2011.
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...
video game developed by The Creative Assembly (CA) 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...
for the PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
. 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 War series. The game is set in Europe, 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...
, and the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Players assume the role of Napoleon Bonaparte, or one of his major rivals, on a turn-based campaign map and engage in the subsequent battles in real-time. As with its predecessor, Empire: Total War
Empire: Total War
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...
, which included a special United States storyline, Napoleon features two special campaigns that follow the general's early career.
Napoleon received generally favourable reviews from video game critics. Reviews praised the game's stunning visuals, story driven campaigns, and new gameplay features. Some reviewers were critical of the game's weak AI, high system requirements, and its limited scope - while others considered Napoleon overly similar to Empire, its immediate predecessor in the series.
French actor Stephane Cornicard
Stephane Cornicard
Stéphane Cornicard, born in Normandy, France in 1964, is a multilingual actor and director , who trained in France with François David, French director and writer, at Colby College, U.S...
provided voice-acting for Napoleon Bonaparte in the original English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
editions.
Gameplay
As with all other games in the Total War series, Napoleon consists of two gameplay types: a turn-based geopolitical campaign - which requires players to build structures in a faction's territories to produce units and create a source of income, research new technologies, deal with other in-game factions through diplomacy, trade and war, sending agents on missions, creating and commanding armies, and eventually become the world's dominant faction - and real-time tactical battles where players command huge armies to direct the course of any battles that take place.Napoleon contains four campaigns, two of which follow Napoleon's early military career. The first career event is the Italian campaign of 1796, while the second is the French invasion of Egypt in 1798. Both feature smaller, optional missions that help drive the story forward. The major French campaign, however, is the so called "The Mastery of Europe," which resembles the holistic modes of previous Total War games. Conversely, the "Campaigns of the Coalition" allows players to govern Great Britain, Russia, Prussia or the Austrian Empire and attempt to defeat Napoleonic France in Europe. Each major campaign requires players to obtain a certain number of territories, although the latter also demands that the French are defeated. Many of Napoleon's major battles such as Austerlitz
Battle of Austerlitz
The Battle of Austerlitz, also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of Napoleon's greatest victories, where the French Empire effectively crushed the Third Coalition...
, Trafalgar
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
, Battle of the Pyramids
Battle of the Pyramids
The Battle of the Pyramids, also known as the Battle of Embabeh, was fought on July 21, 1798 between the French army in Egypt under Napoleon Bonaparte, and local Mamluk forces. It occurred during France's Egyptian Campaign and was the battle where Napoleon put into use one of his significant...
, and Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
are available as historical scenarios, separate from the campaign.
A new physics system had been implemented for the real-time battles, so that when cannon balls hit the ground, for instance, they leave impact craters. Gunpowder smoke lingers and reduces visibility in protracted engagements. Mike Simpson, CA's studio director, reported that there are a number of environmental factors that affect battlefield tactics: gunpowder backfires when it rains, and the elevation of landscape affects the range of munitions. Individuals within a unit now vary to a greater degree, and are no longer as generic as in previous titles in the series. The campaign map is narrower in focus, but more detailed than Empires campaign map. Turns in Napoleon: Total War represent two weeks, while previous titles sported turns that were the equivalent of at least six months. Additionally the game's artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
system had been modified. There is also a new uniform system that includes approximately 355 non-editable uniforms.
In addition, Napoleon: Total War contains several new multiplayer features and a voice command utility to speak to other players via Steam. Unlike previous Total War titles, there is now the option for a "drop-in" multiplayer campaign mode: when playing a campaign against the computer, it is possible to allow another user to join via a lobby and take control.
Factions
Napoleon: Total War includes approximately thirty factions throughout the game, though only the following are playable in campaigns:- Campaigns of the Coalition and multiplayer (Europe and Italy) First French Empire
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
- Story mode and multiplayer (Europe, Egypt and Italy) 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...
- Campaigns of the Coalition and multiplayer (Europe and Egypt) - Campaigns of the Coalition and multiplayer (Europe only) - Campaigns of the Coalition and multiplayer (Europe only) - Multiplayer (Europe and Egypt)
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SpainKingdom of Spain (Napoleonic)The Kingdom of Spain was a short-lived client state of the First French Empire that briefly existed during the Peninsular War, a contest between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars...
- Expansion Pack and Multiplayer (Europe and The Peninsula Campaign).
Some non-playable factions in the campaign include:
- BedouinBedouinThe Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
- Crimean KhanateCrimean KhanateCrimean Khanate, or Khanate of Crimea , was a state ruled by Crimean Tatars from 1441 to 1783. Its native name was . Its khans were the patrilineal descendants of Toqa Temür, the thirteenth son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan...
Denmark–NorwayDenmark–NorwayDenmark–Norway is the historiographical name for a former political entity consisting of the kingdoms of Denmark and Norway, including the originally Norwegian dependencies of Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands... - Duchy of Oldenburg
- Hesse-KasselHesse-KasselThe Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel or Hesse-Cassel was a state in the Holy Roman Empire under Imperial immediacy that came into existence when the Landgraviate of Hesse was divided in 1567 upon the death of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse. His eldest son William IV inherited the northern half and the...
- Kingdom of NaplesKingdom of NaplesThe Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...
- Mecklenburg-StrelitzMecklenburg-StrelitzMecklenburg-Strelitz was a duchy and later grand duchy in northern Germany, consisting of the eastern fifth of the historic Mecklenburg region, roughly corresponding with the present-day Mecklenburg-Strelitz district , and the western exclave of the former Bishopric of Ratzeburg in modern...
- MamelukeMamelukeMameluke was an American Thoroughbred race horse. Bred and raced by Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, he was out of the mare, Schwester, and was sired by the 1936 Epsom Derby winner, Mahmoud who became the Leading sire in North America in 1946 and the Leading broodmare sire in North America in...
IrelandIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth... - ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
- LuccaLuccaLucca is a city and comune in Tuscany, central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plainnear the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Lucca...
- Kingdom of WestphaliaKingdom of WestphaliaThe Kingdom of Westphalia was a new country of 2.6 million Germans that existed from 1807-1813. It included of territory in Hesse and other parts of present-day Germany. While formally independent, it was a vassal state of the First French Empire, ruled by Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte...
NorwayNorway in 18141814 was a pivotal year in the history of Norway. It started with Norway in a union with the Kingdom of Denmark subject to a naval blockade being ceded to the king of Sweden. In May a constitutional convention declared Norway an independent kingdom. By the end of the year the Norwegian parliament... - TuscanyTuscanyTuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
- VeniceVeniceVenice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
Multiplayer
The game also included the following features:- Multiplayer Campaign Mode
- Multiplayer drop-in battles, where you can face human opponents in your single player campaign battles
- Steam achievements, game play bonuses and voice communications.
Marketing and release
On March 10, 2010, a demo was released via Steam featuring a playable version of the Battle of LignyBattle of Ligny
The Battle of Ligny was the last victory of the military career of Napoleon I. In this battle, French troops of the Armée du Nord under Napoleon's command, defeated a Prussian army under Field Marshal Blücher, near Ligny in present-day Belgium. The bulk of the Prussian army survived, however, and...
.
Retail versions
Napoleon was released in four different retail versions: Standard edition, Limited edition, Imperial edition, and the Emperor's edition. All boxed versions include the "Elite Regiment" pack, a collection of five extra units; any edition bought on Steam does not include this unit pack.
- Standard - comes with only the game disc and manual in a standard plastic case like most other retail game editions.
- Limited - offers the full game and manual, as well as ten exclusive units in the "Heroes of the Napoleonic Wars" pack.
- Imperial - includes all the contents of the Limited Edition, but has special premium packaging and an illustrated wallchart timeline of the important events in Napoleon's life.
- Emperor's - includes all contents of the Imperial Edition, and is the only edition to include a 200mm statuette of Napoleon and a field journal. This edition was released only in AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. - Empire and Napoleon Total War Collection - Game of the Year (PC DVD) - This version contains the full two games, "Empire: Total War" and "Napoleon: Total War" including all of the available downloadable content for both titles. Empire and Napoleon Total War Collection - Game of the Year
Pre-orders made via the Steam content delivery system included another special unit: the Royal Scots Greys. Orders made via certain retailers likewise included various special units: HMS Elephant
HMS Elephant (1786)
HMS Elephant was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She was built by George Parsons in Bursledon, Hampshire, and launched on 24 August 1786....
, Towarczys, and the Grand Battery
Grand Battery
Grand Battery was a French artillery tactic of the Napoleonic wars. It involved massing all available batteries into a single large, temporary one, and concentrating the firepower of their guns at a single point in the enemy's lines.Substituting volume of fire for accuracy, rate of fire and rapid...
of the Convention
National Convention
During the French Revolution, the National Convention or Convention, in France, comprised the constitutional and legislative assembly which sat from 20 September 1792 to 26 October 1795 . It held executive power in France during the first years of the French First Republic...
Downloadable Content
The first downloadable content for Napoleon, the Imperial Guard Pack, was released on March 26, 2010 for free. It added to the game several new units such as Napoleon's Polish Guard LancersPolish 1st Light Cavalry Regiment of the Imperial Guard
The [Polish] 1st Light Cavalry Lancer Regiment of the Imperial Guard was a formation of Polish light cavalry that served Emperor Napoleon during the Napoleonic Wars.The Regiment, as part of Napoleon's Imperial Guard, fought in many battles,...
and an alternate version of the Battle of Waterloo scenario, with the British as the playable faction. CA released the Coalition Battle Pack on May 6, 2010. It contains six new units: Lifeguard Hussars, Coldstream Guards
Coldstream Guards
Her Majesty's Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards, also known officially as the Coldstream Guards , is a regiment of the British Army, part of the Guards Division or Household Division....
, Archduke Charles' Legion, Luetzow's Freikorps
Lützow Free Corps
Lützow Free Corps was a voluntary force of the Prussian army during the Napoleonic Wars. It was named after its commander, Ludwig Adolf Wilhelm von Lützow. They were also widely known as "Lützower Jäger" or "Schwarze Jäger" .-Origins:...
, Life Hussars, and the Semenovski Lifeguard
Semenovsky Regiment
Semenovsky Life-Guards Regiment was one of the two oldest guards regiments of the Imperial Russian Army.- History :...
. Additionally, it also includes a scenario featuring the Battle of Friedland
Battle of Friedland
The Battle of Friedland saw Napoleon I's French army decisively defeat Count von Bennigsen's Russian army about twenty-seven miles southeast of Königsberg...
.
A downloadable campaign, The Peninsular Campaign was released on June 25, 2010. Featuring an enlarged map of the Iberian peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
, new units (such as Guerrilla units that can be placed outside a player's deployment zone before a battle), agents, and gameplay mechanics, this new campaign, as its name implies, focuses on the Peninsular War
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
.
One of the features advertised for Napoleon was a uniform editor. Upon release CA announced that the uniform editor would be delayed; while it was not advertised "on the box", it was advertised as a feature by all online retailers (including Steam) and the official game website. Five months after Napoleon: Total Wars release, mention of the uniform editor was removed from the game's list of features on its official website; it is, however, still being advertised on most online retailers selling the game. Almost eight months after the game's release, Mike Simpson stated that the original uniform editor was never meant for public use, and that CA is making a unit editor capable of both editing and creating new units. This new unit editor is scheduled to be released in the first quarter of 2011. To date no further reference to the uniform editor has been made and it is now seen by the community to be unlikely that it will be released in the future.
Reception
Upon release, Napoleon: Total War received positive reviews. The game and its developers alike were praised for a number of graphical and AI improvements, along with the new campaign features and multiplayer modes.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...
remarked that the "tactical battles are still some of the most amazing we've ever seen in any game." Gameplanet
Gameplanet
Gameplanet is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. It is the largest video gaming website in New Zealand...
came to the same conclusion, stating that "graphically, the battles leave Empire in the dust, featuring five times more particles per effect." 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...
praised the interface, saying that "[it] never feels cluttered, and the bulk of the screen is always devoted to the action."
Other aspects of the game received a mixed reaction. According to 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...
, despite occasionally poor decision-making "the AI will still hold its own," and provides players "with a challenge that suits the difficulty." Other criticisms focused upon the somewhat linear story-mode campaigns, the duration of naval engagements and the stability of the game's netcode. Actiontrip commented that "while still a good strategy game, Napoleon: Total War seems to offer less freedom to players in terms of how they can resolve various battle situations." Tom Chick
Tom Chick
Tom W. Chick is an American television and movie actor, and independent journalist. His most prominent TV roles were as Oscar's lover Gil in the US version of The Office, and the hard-hitting reporter Gordon in The West Wing. As a writer, Tom has contributed to many current and past video game...
, in his 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...
review, gave the game a 2.0 out of 5, citing "Bad AI" and the game "feel[ing] like a re-skinned Empire" for the score. Game Revolution felt the same, noting that "the problem Napoleon has is that it’s not just like Empire, it is and only is Empire...It feels like an expansion at best, yet it’s being sold like it’s a brand new game."
Despite the complaints, most of the reviews were ultimately favourable to Napoleon, with the game earning an aggregated score of 81% at Metacritic
Metacritic
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,...
and 81.61% at GameRankings.
The game was awarded Best PC Game at Milthon European Game Awards in Paris on September 22, 2010.
Score composers Richard Beddow, Richard Birdsall and Ian Livingstone won the British Ivor Novello Award for Best Original Video Game Score on 19 May 2011.