Total War: Empire

[kendo]

anyone?

Saw the words "new 3D engine" in the release notes, and am fearing the worst.
Has the chesslike diplomacy & gameplay been sacrificed for graphical eyecandy?

[Tommy The Great]

saw that it had a really high review on PC Gamer (94%) so im guessing the quality gameplay is still there just now with even better graphics. never played the total war games much tho so cant really comment on how good ill think itll be lol

[kendo]

cheers Tommy... I've hunted down a few more reviews, and had a skeg at some screenshots. Overall, it looks and sounds like a big improvement. Dunno about the new naval battles (C&VG review said they "pointless"), but thankfully, the 'autoresolve' button is still there.

never played the total war games

really? I find that surprising, Tommy. maybe it's not your "thing",
but MTWII is 'almost cinematic'. The franchise has come a long way since it's first game "shogun".

[Tommy The Great]

i dunno why i havent played them.. havent really thought of actually buying any of the games. i do really like strategy games so i guess i could give it a go sometime (download via torrent cos im too cheap to buy games i want to test ).

my m8 used to play Rome: Total War, and ill admit it looked interesting. not too sure if itll be for me cos i generally prefer the classic RTS games of building a base/city building up your troops etc, but i guess these large scale battles couldnt hurt to try

[kendo]

i generally prefer the classic RTS games of building a base/city building up your troops etc

yeah, that side of things is a little dissapointing. You can make a castle or city from a village, but you can't plonk a new village anywhere. I would liked to have played the Ancient Greeks, and set sail to found a few new colonies. but you are limited to existing settlements already on the campaign map. Every game region is already owned by somebody else, which doesn't accurately reflect what history books say. Carthage didn't own the whole of North Africa, for instance.

On the ++ tip, you can avoid the big 20 minute battles with the autoresolve button, which lets you concentrate on the building and diplomacy side of things. I'm a big fan of turn based games, because i can wander off and not miss any action.

Anyway... 'Empire' seems to be getting 90+ everywhere, so will definitely be checking it out.

[kendo]

thumbs down.
tedious campaign play.
slow AI processing (cup of coffee between turns).
stupid (illogical) immersion ruining research tree.
clickfest of micro management.
dull sea battles.
no right click to 'speed up' units along their paths.

Unless you like the 17th century, avoid.
Save your money, and buy Sid Meier's PIRATES.
(which is actually FUN to play).

They obviously put a sh1tload of work into the graphics department.
And the units are all impressively historically accurate.
BUT.... the new engine sucks.
imho, MTW2 looks and plays better.

[Spiffing]

One excellent reason not to play it: not enough time in the world to do it justice. I still haven't quite forgiven you for recommending me MTW2.

[kendo]

not enough time in the world to do it justice.

it's not that mate. i'm not scared of a BIG game. but there are too many
abstractions in there that spoil it. Got the feeling that I was cranking
a handle, rather than forging an empire. The engine is noticably slower,
less graphical thrilling, and more creaky than MTW2. The sea battles
look "kindof" nice, but the outcomes are arbitrary and i found myself
clicking the 'autoresolve' rather than wasting my time, incredulous at
my sailor's ineptitude.

I still haven't quite forgiven you for recommending me MTW2.

still the king of the total war games. have you tried the 'stainless steel' mod ?

I wish they'd made one about the 1800's.
gunboat diplomacy, opium wars, et al.
oh well.

[Elementlmage]

thumbs down.
tedious campaign play.
slow AI processing (cup of coffee between turns).
stupid (illogical) immersion ruining research tree.
clickfest of micro management.
dull sea battles.
no right click to 'speed up' units along their paths.

Unless you like the 17th century, avoid.
Save your money, and buy Sid Meier's PIRATES.
(which is actually FUN to play).

They obviously put a sh1tload of work into the graphics department.
And the units are all impressively historically accurate.
BUT.... the new engine sucks.
imho, MTW2 looks and plays better.

Both AI processing and your own unit movements can be sped up by pressing the space bar.

I do agree that the sea battle were a bit lack luster. After playing Pirates of the Burning Sea for so long and being God of the 4th Rates and what not, I was expecting deep, tactical naval combat but got something a bit more complicated than Sid's "Pirates"; needless to say I was highly disappointed. However, I do love the colonial and Napoleonic battle tactics. There is nothing quite like defeating your enemies flanks and encircling his lines and then watching in delight as your men execute the enemy's terrified troops.

I think they made a lot of good decisions with the research, but I didn't like the decentralized nature of it. Nor did I like the fact that your scholars would be forced into endless duels with the AI.

1800's would have been more fun. Hands down I would be playing the Russian's and I would do everything in my power to accelerate the birth of Sergei Mosin! "Oh, what's that Germany? You don't have bolt action rifles? Oh noes! We are going to have to do something about that. EAT COSSACK SPAM!!! MWUAHAHAHAHA!!!"

[kendo]

I was expecting deep, tactical naval combat but got something a bit more complicated than Sid's "Pirates"

nicely put. i thought they looked good. but they weren't FUN... unlike Sid's Pirates. there was a whole lot of thumb twiddling, while your crews lazily meandered their way into combat. an 'accelerate time' button would have helped enormously. East India Company naval battles look and play a little better. But that is "not fun" too. the trouble is, that they look nothing like the sea fights i have seen in paintings, and described in literature.

However, I do love the colonial and Napoleonic battle tactics.

there sure are an impressive number of units in the game.

I think they made a lot of good decisions with the research, but I didn't like the decentralized nature of it. Nor did I like the fact that your scholars would be forced into endless duels with the AI.

i hated the 'research tree'. it didn't seem to make any difference. you could still mongol horde everywhere by stacking units. the enemies technology didn't seem to matter at all. the whole of America took something like 20 turns to steamroller through. and lets not discuss the "trading zones", where you get jumped by pirates incessantly, without even being able to set up a fort or coastal battery.

overall, i felt some things were done well. and others, glossed over.
i guess it was a brave stab, and if it was 'my' period of history, i'd
be more into it. The 1800's would have been better. More "grand manner'.
stil, i suppose that is to come. twenty years ago, a battalion of men was
represented by a red rectangle. the graphical equivalent of a monopoly hotel.
now they are all individually painted, animated, and running about. shouldn't
really grumble.