Total War players who are comfortable sending units of Dark Elf Executioners to reap tolls amongst their enemies in Total War: Warhammer 2 may find a welcome challenge in the line infantry based warfare of Empire: Total War as it requires the player to think in a different way to many of the other traditional Total War franchise entries.Īs for the United Dutch Provinces, 1707 has been a good year for Dutch expansion, but a new conflict with Sweden simmers on the horizon as they move to invade the allied nation of Hannover. With this in mind, it is a welcome challenge that Empire: Total War provides as it not only focuses on the overall geopolitical map-based gameplay that has been a major portion of the franchise’s success, but also pays huge amounts of attention to the detail and reality of 18th century warfare through player-controlled battles fought in a real-time strategy setting. While artillery and cavalry have been a mainstay of Total War mechanics for some time, the introduction of firearm based warfare was, and still is, a refreshing change for veteran Total War players as tactics found in other games may not be nearly as effective in Empire: Total War. By focusing on the military mechanics of the 18th century, Empire: Total War forces players to understand the tactics of the period in order to effectively utilize armies composed of units of flintlock armed line infantry, cavalry, and various types of artillery. In addition to the engaging value of being able to rewrite history, the historical accuracy found in the game is always an attention-grabber for an aspiring history buff such as myself.įocusing specifically on the period of military conflict between 17, Empire: Total War fills a particular niche for historical gamers by giving a platform for a type of warfare that is still rarely seen in video games today. Each play-through starts with the player making an agonizing decision regarding which 18th century nation they will represent in the following struggle for geopolitical dominance across various different theatres of conflict such as North America, Europe, the Middle East, and India.
With the destruction of French and Spanish holdings both in the New World and in continental Europe, my new found freedom as the commander of all United Dutch Provinces proved to be just as exciting as I remembered as I found the entire modern world open for the taking – politically or by military force! It is for this reason that Empire: Total War continues to be one of the games that I find myself returning to year after year as the title remains engrossing even after being released nearly ten years ago.Įmpire: Total War’s intrinsic value does not come from the the mere gameplay as many of the quality of life mechanics introduced in later titles (Total War: Rome II, Total War: Warhammer 1&2, and Total War: Attila) were not available when this title was released, but the draw of Empire: Total War has always been the ability to rewrite history as the player deems fit. Usurp French and Spanish control of the Caribbean, but have recently become the predominant player in continental Europe. The year is 1707 and the United Dutch Provinces have not only been able to completely