Best Games
Empire Total War
Sega’s popular Total War strategy series has already spanned hundreds of years of history, from feudal Japan to the Roman era and medieval times.
For all its reason and sophistication, the 18th century also had more than its fair share of bloody empire building, political and industrial revolutions and general global unrest- all of wich makes it the perfect setting for a combat-led strategy title.
If you’ve played a Total War game before you’ll recognize the familiar blend of turn-based strategy and real-time battles. This time around there are two types of campaign on offer: the story-led Road to independence, which focuses on the American struggle against the British, and the “full’ Grand Campaign, which allows you to pick a nation of your choice and slowly build it up to be the biggest power on the planed. There are also one-off battles as well as online and multiplayer modes available.
As with previous entries in the series, it’s the sense of scale that really sets Empire Total War apart. The game takes in more than 100 years of history and encompasses Europe, America and the Indian subcontinent
Gameplay is satisfyingly sophisticated, and yet no overly complicated. Combat-including the all-new 3D naval warfare element- is clearly the main focus, but a surprising amount of progress can be made by employing less violent tactics, such as diplomacy, trade and technological achievement. Even religious evangelism and espionage get a look in.
Visually, this is the best-looking Total War yet and an overall high level of presentation polish helps to augment the sense of grander.
The occasional gremlin aside, Empire Total War is classy, colossal instant classic.
