Empire Total War

[Total_Juddshanks]

How excited am I about this release?

Excited enough to shell out several thousand for a new laptop which might be able to handle it without actually catching on fire?

YES.

Excited enough to gibber like a pre-pubescent schoolgirl whenever I walk past EB and see the pre-release boxes in the window

YES.

Excited enough to pre-order the promotional copy which includes a highly unnecessary compass and hip flask?

YE-well..no, actually. That's just gay.

But rest assured I am friggin excited. Medieval nearly prevented me from passing TEE, Rome probably cost me a full point off my university GPA, Medieval 2 would have no doubt done something bad if I had a system which could handle it at more than an arthritic stutter, and I am tipping the latest total war title may very well lead to me getting fired.

Other than the fact that it is a total war game and therefore awesome, three things excite me about this- firstly, the setting in the 18th/19th century is perfect for a game of this nature and should have been done a long time ago, secondly, they are finally going to include proper sea battles rather than just simming them- thirdly they are including full strategy multiplayer.

Not to pump this up or anything, but I am expecting Empire Total War to be the single most rewarding gaming experience of my life. Roll on march 4.

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[Lunchlady Doris]

Yeah hanging out for this, I only got into Medieval 2 a few months back, first one I'd played of this series which is weird because it's really my kind of game. I was hooked on that until I finally led the Scots to conquer the British Isles.

Is there going to be proper multiplayer campaigns with battles somehow, that would be top shelf.

And agreed, perfect time period. Guns, but with idiots standing around in formations.

 

[Hellbourne]

The girlfriend bought me Medieval 2: Total War last week, been playing as Spain, just achieved my Reconquista of the Iberian Penninsula

Was a big fan of Medieval 1 and Rome. This looks really good, doubt I'll get it right away though, wanna play Medieval 2 for a bit to get value for money.

On an unrelated note, I wish someone would come out with a game that was a mix of the Total War, Civilization and Sim City series, I wanna be General, Ruler and Town Planner at once (Plus the game has to be complex as hell!)

 

[DivideandMultiply]

Heck yes.

Don't like ign very much but it received an excellent review with an overall score of 9.5.

Closing comments from review:

Empire: Total War is a masterful combination of all the things that I love about strategy games -- a great setting, a first-rate presentation, tactics that reward maneuver, and a strategic layer that requires flexibility in your plans. The 18th century is a perfect setting for the game design, and the new naval battles, while a tad clunky, finally deliver the series' one missing component. The new strategic options are nicely balanced by increased convenience and legibility across the map. True, the end game still drags a bit and there are some small, rough edges in the tactical battles, particularly at sea, but none of those errors compromise the incredible amount of fun you'll have developing your infrastructure, forging alliances and leading your forces into battle. Ultimately, Empire Total War maintains the excellent fusion of thoughtful turn-based empire building and dramatic tactical action that the series is known for, and it layers many new features on those foundations to reach awesome new heights. I've never given a score this high before, but that's only because I've never played a game as thoroughly enjoyable as Empire Total War.
Simply put, if you're a fan of strategy games, this is one game you must have in your collection.

http://au.pc.ign.com/articles/957/957883p1.html

I am really intrigued about the online multiplayer campaign (when the multiplayer section is released) and will enjoy the more scripted "Road to Independance" campaign.

 

[tesseract]

The girlfriend bought me Medieval 2: Total War last week, been playing as Spain, just achieved my Reconquista of the Iberian Penninsula

Was a big fan of Medieval 1 and Rome. This looks really good, doubt I'll get it right away though, wanna play Medieval 2 for a bit to get value for money.

On an unrelated note, I wish someone would come out with a game that was a mix of the Total War, Civilization and Sim City series, I wanna be General, Ruler and Town Planner at once (Plus the game has to be complex as hell!)

Add in the Caesar games too.

 

[melbournemartin]

....and The Sims.

 

[wotdoiput]

So for you guys that have this is it any good? Worth the buy? Thinking of picking it up but just wanna make sure.

 

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

So for you guys that have this is it any good? Worth the buy? Thinking of picking it up but just wanna make sure.

It's a great game... well I should say it will be when they release a comprehensive patch.
At the moment too many Crash to Desktop's and a myriad of other annoying bugs that cripple it's undoubted potential.

 

[Hellbourne]

I don't know if I should go get this, I can easily see myself neglecting my final year project for Engineering if I do :S

 

[DivideandMultiply]

I don't know if I should go get this, I can easily see myself neglecting my final year project for Engineering if I do :S

My advice.... wait. It will steal your life.

 

[Todd_Gack]

Where are you guys positioning your cannons? In between line infantry in the centre, or on the flanks? I learnt not to put them behind my infantry because in one battle I ended up killing more of my guys than the enemy did

 

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Where are you guys positioning your cannons? In between line infantry in the centre, or on the flanks? I learnt not to put them behind my infantry because in one battle I ended up killing more of my guys than the enemy did

Given how crap the manual is, thank goodness there are a number of quality places that give good tips on this and other features of the game. Here's a few.

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=234127

http://shoguntotalwar.yuku.com/topic/48849/t/Spraetter-39-s-Guide-to-Empire-Total-War.html

http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/index.php

 

[melbournemartin]

Cannons can be incredibly stupid at times. In early battles you generally have movable ones on horses but later on they are generally fixed at where you initially position them. I forgot this a couple of times. Okay, that's my stupidity and not the cannon but their stupidity came into it when they pretty much obliterated the building 10 metres in front of them which contained a bunch of my men!

 

[Todd_Gack]

Given how crap the manual is, thank goodness there are a number of quality places that give good tips on this and other features of the game. Here's a few.

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=234127

http://shoguntotalwar.yuku.com/topic/48849/t/Spraetter-39-s-Guide-to-Empire-Total-War.html

http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/index.php

Thanks for that