"A military operation involves deception. Even though you are competent, appear to be incompetent.
Though effective, appear to be ineffective."
-- Sun Tzu --
Empire: Total War
Written by Ares
Friday, 18 January 2008
Sega and Creative Assembly reveal the fifth game in the acclaimed Total War series, which is set during the Age of Sail.
Empire: Total War is about exploration and conquest, founding colonies and fighting wars away from home, and is an epic strategy game spanning the 18th and 19th centuries, in which you direct your nation to dominate Europe, North Africa, America, India and South East Asia. The player will use both complex strategies on the campaign map and fierce commands on the battlefield—both on land and sea. The game will feature gameplay correlating with that of the previous games in the Total War series, but with major additions to the campaign map and battlefield.
More than fifty factions will be included in the game, ten of which are expected to be playable. The confirmed factions are:
* The British Empire
* The Kingdom of France
* The Ottoman Empire
* The Kingdom of Prussia
* The Spanish Empire
* The Thirteen Colonies
* The United Provinces (Dutch Republic)
* The Swedish Empire
* The Russian Empire
* Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Features:
Empire: Total War will feature 3D naval battles, a feature new to the series, as well as large land battles with muskets, cavalry and artillery. Buildings and structures can be garrisoned, as well as the being destructible, and there is a plethora of new formations and strategies to be mastered. The naval battles feature destructible sails, realistic cannon fire, grape shot and boarding action.
Not only is naval warfare a change in the battle system; the battles on land have been given a major makeover too:
* The firing of cannons, and arrows and muskets is made more realistic.
* Music makes its way into the battlefield in the form of bagpipes, drums, fifes and trumpets.
* Weapons may jam and misfire, and cannons can explode.
* Generals shout orders at their troops as the regiment goes into combat or fires at enemies.
* The battlefield becomes strewn with dead, dying and dismembered bodies, which uses ragdoll physics to add to the chaos.
A full list of confirmed features can be found in the frequently updated TotalWar.org forum summary thread.
Campaign map
The previous title's diplomacy and military AI have been given major changes and have been completely refined. There are also new systems in place to draw armies out of cities, by the inclusion of barracks and mills outside the city walls to defend. The all-new animated campaign map features a huge cast of characters, and shows every single building and upgrade, rather than just the cities and castles of previous games. The auto-management system is greatly improved along with the advice system, and the game itself will feature better tutorials that makes the game much easier to learn. There will also be an added focus on managing unrest in the player's empire, and the degree to which the player expands or denies political freedom to the population.
** :: However, Creative Assembly denies the magazine's printed release date for Empire: Total War as March 2008 as well as the suggested 75% completion estimate. :: **
