I've tried to get into the total war series for a wail now and I've tried out a few of the games. But still, there is something that just doesn't appeal to me. I can not really pin point the problem or what exactly it is that I don't like about it. Overall the game seems good enough for other people that might like the Total War games, but it's simply not for me. Maybe the new ROME TW that is coming out will change my mind but this didn't. Don't get me wrong, it's probably not a bad game. The graphics are OK, the game play for those how like TW is probably fun. So, there you have it. If you like total war then try it out.

empire total war takes place in the late Napoleonic era with the first iteration of the series to include artillery and guns as the main part of the game with horses no longer being your go to strike force (especially against a box formation learned that one the hard way). other new features to this ever growing dynasty that creative assembly is making is naval now no longer are you a mere observer as your ships get destroyed naval combat ads a lot of verity to the game and more strategic element. the second great innovation was the map as any fan could tell you we all knew what Europe would look like but to add America and India makes it even better (still no Asia :( ). the last innovation (well really two) science and diplomacy all you need to know is science is good and if your countries science is better than others you win wars. finally diplomacy finally gone are the days where you have to send your lone diplomat agent to explore the globe (Europe) now they added an interface where you can just click on a country and talk to them. in the diplomacy screen you can forge alliances and broker trade agreements (or just go bat shit crazy and declare war on everyone form turn one).

I have been looking for a Strategy Sim with sea battle elements and found ETW to fulfill this, though I bit frustrated with some bits of the fights, eg: morale of the ship's crew which I will get into later.

1) Visuals, ambiance, music, sound, narrative == these are all very well done. Lush crisp graphics flow with the overall game play. Ambiance and all the sounds associated to it are very well done.

2) Controls, UI== is a bit awkward, especially during sea battles. The camera controls feel a bit sticky and the default mapped actions feel a bit unintuitive like the way you would zoom and view the battlefield. UI is pretty standard.

3) Game play, substance, ease == Even though there are tutorials for sea and land battles, the actual game itself lacks helpful tool tips and tutorial scenarios. If you're looking for a quick start and a way to customize your game scenario, you'll be duly disappointed. Starting out as either of the great nations of the era, you will find yourself in a choice between presets. That means no you cannot start off as a nation with only one or two cities and one fleet, to help you learn the ropes. Instead, you start off all over the globe depending on your nation and you are then left to govern all of it.

Just imagine you're some Joe or Jane Doe fresh out of high school school, then suddenly plucked out and forced to govern an entire nation. It really feels that way.

The game has a lot of potential, but at this point in time, unless you have lots of time and lots of patience, you might find the entirety overwhelming. Don't get me wrong though, the game IS GOOD. It's just that to start it up, you may find it quite frustrating.

This game is one of the best strategy games I have ever played. It has great replay value, the game has a lengthy campaign, and it allows you to relive many historic battles. The Total War Franchise keep their games fresh and are unlike any strategy game I have ever played. I highly recommend this game to someone who has never tried any of the Total War games before.

Well I think this game lives up to all the hype. if you love games like medieval total war then this game is a must have. the world is big and you can play so many nations. The only down side to this game is you need a lot of time to play it, once you start playing it you just cant stop and before you know it a lot of time has passed. I give this game 5 stars :)

this is a great game if you like repeating certain events in history, or even changing them! its a challenging and very addictive game especially with the mod community.

I really enjoyed this game as it was a new era for the Total War series and is one that i find very interesting. The research feature in this game meant it was important to plan your moves more carefully. Although I felt the was a lack of uniqueness between most of the factions as they relied mostly on the same units, this game was good overall and worth picking up.

Good addition to the Total War series. You are allowed to control naval battles in this one if that is your thing. You also get a technology tree, have to research, and develop your territories. There are gentleman units that help you to research, or can duel, and a government full of ministers that you can appoint/fire. You have to balance economy with military. If you tax your citizens too high you will not get population growth which is a bummer since you need your pop to grow to get new villages/towns. A new town can be used to bolster your economy, research, or citizen happiness. The battles themselves are fun, but I found the larger fights tend to bog down your system, so you'll need a good system to run this game. I found it harder to try and keep my army organized as well compared to other total war games, but overall the battles are still good. A lot of people have problems with the font being small and blurry (myself being one of them) so be prepared to have to search how to fix it. Pretty solid game.

I played this Game some time ago but lost the Box when I moved. But now I found it price reduced on GamersGate and bought it again. This game must be in every shelf because the strategy part is awesome and the 3d battles are epic fun.

This is a 5 Star Game.

One of the great game in total war series, it provide great battle, map, and challenges. The only bad thing is its graphic is too old and the small character writing with shadow make it hard to read. If you can cut these out of your mind, this game is perfect and really worth.

ETW is a great step forward to make most of wonderful series better. I spent over 100h playing ETW and I enoyed every one of them. This game is glorious!

First of all this is one of the best total war games yet. the time period is the colonial times. this one more involves guns than actual sword fighitng. the graphics in this game are gorgeous some of the best i have ever seen in a RTS. You can now fight ship battles too which is a really fun new feature. The game is pretty long the campaign on hard difficulty took me about 18 hours with the different factions the game can easily last over 100 hours. so to put is simply if you like Total War BUY THIS GAME NOW!

This game lives up to the high standards set by previous and future titles in the Total War series. Personally I didn't enjoy the Imperial theme of this title quite as much as the feudal Japan setting of the SHOGUN games, but other than that it's a spectacular title as always. Highly recommended if you like the grand strategy genre.

Fascinating game, extremely addictive, first when you open it you feel lost due it's numerous options, nations and vast territories occupying europe, india and the america's, combining that with refined and excellent town upgrades, interesting researches and technologies, and providing interesting historical info on each of them really makes the game not only a historical Epic game but also a great encyclopaedia.

The Battles are a masterpiece, they are fun, addicting and have a good realism in them, the sea battles are fun too, and can get really epic.

Overall : It's a great Epic game telling the story of the golden ages of humanity, a must for everyone who wants to lead a nation and dominate the world and you will NOT be disappointed.

Another amazing Total War game, placed in the age of gunpowder, cannons, and new tactics. The concept is the same as in all other TW games, but this time, introducing naval battles resembleing those on land, and new industries, located outside of cities. Follow the footsteps on American revolutioneers as they try to push away the English, or take some other country, and destroy the opposition. This game is worth every single penny you use to buy it, and i can't even begin to explain how much time you will spend near it.

The Total War never disappoints with their games and Empire lives up to that. The game is both great with the campaign map as well as the battle map. The added feature of being able to personally fight naval battles adds an exciting new feature to master for those who have played previous games.

empire total war takes place in the late Napoleonic era with the first iteration of the series to include artillery and guns as the main part of the game with horses no longer being your go to strike force (especially against a box formation learned that one the hard way). other new features to this ever growing dynasty that creative assembly is making is naval now no longer are you a mere observer as your ships get destroyed naval combat ads a lot of verity to the game and more strategic element. the second great innovation was the map as any fan could tell you we all knew what Europe would look like but to add America and India makes it even better (still no Asia :( ). the last innovation (well really two) science and diplomacy all you need to know is science is good and if your countries science is better than others you win wars. finally diplomacy finally gone are the days where you have to send your lone diplomat agent to explore the globe (Europe) now they added an interface where you can just click on a country and talk to them. in the diplomacy screen you can forge alliances and broker trade agreements (or just go bat shit crazy and declare war on everyone form turn one).

A MUST for all strategy games lovers.

You cannot avoid to play to Empire. Even if you don't know Total War series you MUST HAVE this title!

Try it alone or buy the bundle with Napoleon. The two are very similar but the tactics are completly differents.

A great game of total war series despite it was made about 2 years ago it has great graphics The gameplay and multiplayer is a masterpiece I reccomend it

I avoided this game for the longest time because I saw the terrible release it went through (94% by PC Gamer, 9.5/10 from IGN? Did they even play the game?). You couldn't play a game without some kind of crash, slowdown or other game-breaking bug. Fast forward to today when most of these bugs have been eliminated and you have a game that is very fun to play. Are the game changes revolutionary? No, although naval battles are fun and you don't have to send diplomats and merchants all the way across the map just to die at the hands of an unskilled assassin. Much more open field battles instead of sieges as well. There's still some weird battle mechanics that are counter-intuitive but for the most part this game is a nice upgrade from Medieval 2. Too bad it's overshadowed by Napoleon with Shogun 2 on the way, it'll fade even further. It does require Steam to play, thank goodness there's an offline mode.