Empire: Total War 1.0

Total War Across Land And Sea, Fast And Slow.

Empire: Total War is a game that goes back a few hundred years to have you take the role of a Founding Father, fighting a wide variety of battles. It includes both RTS and turn-based strategy across multiple game modes, and uses muted, earthy colours to emphasize its setting, founded in real history. It is part of the acclaimed Total War series.

A War Waged On Multiple Fronts

Compared to other Total War titles, Empire provides the player with a lot of units to learn about but few to use at any given time. A player of Empire must be flexible, as the style of gameplay can change multiple times in one session. Series vets will mostly be familiar with the campaign map, which is similar to Shotgun et al.

A Totally Difficult Choice

Overall, Empire: Total War is a game of contrasts. Despite excellent design in both halves of gameplay and in graphics, the player has little ability to choose how they play: they cannot favour real-time or turn-based gameplay, as the game requires both. Combine that with sometimes simplistic and blocky graphics compared to contemporary titles, and you have a game that's great for strategy and RTS buffs, but may not appeal to less hardcore players.