A great game for all the RTS fans and it also has a Civilization style gameplay where you gather armies, research new tech and play with tax management system.

High points: Strategy & tactics, accurate historic setting and visual effects.

Low points: Some small annoyances with AI on siege maps and controlling issues in naval battles

This game is very different from previous TWs. Some things like diplomacy are now easier and more logical and others like cities management are deeper and this way better to play with.

Thats good game and if you like strategies and like to check your tactical abilities buy it. Mechanics is well known from other strategy games but the thing is CA is going with this title closer to Grand Strategy Games (like developed by Paradox) and thats the right way. Game give you not only best tactical feeling of battlefield but also some great possibilities on strategy stage and because of that its one of the best games not only for teenagers :)

Empire Total War is by far the game in the series that has the greatest scope of events dealing With Europe, America and India set in era of Empires and gunpowder. The switch to modern settings changes the battle dynamic somewhat and you have to place units to most efficiently make use of their musket fire. New for the series is also research and technological advancement as well as political pressure. The more civil rights you develop the more unhappy with the status quo of government the people will become. This lends a new interesting dynamic to the mix and another thing you need keep track of in order to have a happy populous. The only thing that drags down the score a bit is some technical issues with the games battles. There´s a particularly nasty AI loop bug that affects siege battles and makes the fps drop down to a crawl when a wall is breached. Other than that its one of the fines strategy games ever made. If you like Total wars style of games and don't hate the era for some reason you really can´t go wrong with this.

My first game from TW Saga. Monumental troops - but easy to control and order. Great graphix, Naval battles look amazing. A combination all of the things that you love in strategy games. Excellent fusion of turn-based and real-time strategic action. If you are a strategy gamer, you must have in your collection.

This is a good addition to the Total War Series. I've played Rome, Medieval 2, and Shogun 2 pretty extensively, and thought the game was of comparable quality. The extensive use of gunpowder is a lot of fun, but the naval battles are not fun when you've got many ships involved - too much stuff to control at once. The map is huge, and the fact that non-city entities in provinces can be developed makes the game probably the most complex of the series.

Initially I did not get into this game like I did with Mediaval II and Shogun II. But after giving it a second try, I got hooked. Obviously the big thing here is the naval battles, which are challenging and exciting. Initially, I found these to be incredibly difficult. But once I got a better handle on them, I began to appreciate this game much more. The different factions are also very fun and require very different strategies. Western European powers need to command the sea, while Austria, Prussia or Sweden need to focus on land power in order to stay alive. As always, the campaign aspect is very fun, with various options and trade-offs that you need to manage, especially in the early game. The trade apsect is also great, with many theaters to develop and grow your empire, though some of the factions really will not get to participate outside of Europe.

The game does have some downsides - although the factions require different strategic approaches, there are few things that separate them in terms of units available. A greater variety would have been good. As always, AI issues abound, with silly battle tactics as well questionable campaign moves. However, the campaign AI is better than Medieval II - at least here if you are completely destroying a faction they are willing to negotiate for peace.

Overall, great game and a solid addition to the Total War franchise.

The strategy aspect of the game is very enjoyable, just the right amount of options to keep the game interesting without too many micromanagement. Although it will feel a bit boring once you have a large empire.

The tactical aspect is also interesting, although there seems to be many disappointing bugs and drawbacks in the AI's tactics, such as meaningless charge or not being able to exploit opportunities.. Napoleon: Total War is much better in this regards

Vanilla game is terrible as AI is beyond stupid in both campaign and battles! Just download and install DarthMod Empire mod.

One of the best RTS games out there. If you enjoy historical games and games were one can strategically manage an empire and micro-manage battles and units, you will love this game.

The vegetation graphics are very crisp when zoomed in but the models could be better. The controls have a learning curve and camera is a bit awkward. But replayability is great as you can play any of the factions and gain experience as you go.

You can't go wrong on this classic game.

Empire: Total War is, of course, an entry in the Total War series. This series mixes a Civilization-style empire management/4X game with a unit/squad-based real-time battle game. Battles are entered from the world map when two enemy forces (represented by their commanding officers) meet, or when an army marches into an enemy holding.

The world map level breaks buildings out from the towns that 'own' them, a change from previous games in the series. It ends up working fairly well, with experienced players being able to tell what cities do what at a glance.

The battles are entertaining, the in-battle graphics are quite good, and the controls are responsive (though it, realistically, takes time for your units to begin to act on your commands).

The biggest changes in battles are the increased use of ranged attacks (this being set in the late Age of Sail, where gunpowder-based weaponry is viable for armies to field en masse) - a change which is handled well. Less good, to me, is the lack of announcement when a general (your own or your enemy's) is killed.

Lastly, I'll mention the biggest and most-touted change in Empire: sea battles. Sea battles were hugely important at this junction in history, and are handled with love and care in-game. A skilled player will find quite a bit of fun in these, with a good selection of options during battle, easy controls, and a surprising amount of depth to the strategy (all puns intended). The automatic commands are less useful, I suggest you take the time to learn the controls and tactics yourself, if you want to have any great successes in sea fights.

Pros: good graphics, effective empire management screens, an overall refinement of the game series, fun sea battles.

Cons: Nothing truly 'new' outside of the sea battles, sea battle auto-commands (double-click to attack, etc) don't choose good ways to implement your orders

Empire: Total War is without a doubt one of the most ambitious computer games ever made. It is filled to the brim with content and features: historical campaigns, numerous playable powers, hundreds of historically accurate units, a custom battle mode and a grand campaign playable with any nation, from the United States to India.

This game is highly recommended for strategy enthusiasts, fans of the Total War series, and those interested in the historical background of 18th century warfare.

Better than Napoleon in my opinion and as good as any Total War title I've played. The graphics are sharp, the battle ai is challenging and the scope of the map is as epic as Medieval 2 Total War. An excellent title and worth owning.

A great game that has a few minor bugs to work out but overall enjoyable if your looking for this style of combat.

Although Empire: Total War is basically an excellent strategy game, it just feels short of what other titles in the series achieved. First, it is buggy to the point that it crashes multiple times within an hour. Second, battles start to feel repetitive after awhile. Third, diplomacy and alliance systems are quite a nightmare. If I were to recommend an old title from the series, I'd rather recommend Medieval II over this one.

A visually very impressive game. The AI is fairly stupid though and it's diplomatic part is simply bad like in all Total War games.

It's a great game - maybe not as diffrent as we could suspect but it's still a lot of fun. My biggest worries were about battles - wouldn't they be too static, way too slow? So, they are not. What is more, battle requires more tactical thinking than Rome and Medieval. Tactical map was also improved. Now turns are definitely more interesting. Science gives us many possibilities to expand our country and rise our might. It's must have for strategy fans.

Empire:Total war Gold includes the main game and all DLC, for example the warpath campaign, elite units of the west and elite units of the east.

The game focuses on playing as one faction, taking over provinces from other factions, switching between the campaign map to the battle map.

The addition of gunpowder units in this game is nice, but it takes away a little of the action from the battles.

The game is great, but there are a few downsides.

For example, if you order you cavalry to WALK towards sharpened stakes, thinking they'd walk beside them to avoid getting impaled. They wont. They will walk straight at the stakes and kill themselves.

Other than that (Stupid soldier AI) and some other bad things and errors it's a great game.

This game is yet another masterpiece added to the Total War series. It definitely earns its title under the series and has very few flaws. The game was on sale, so I picked it up in a heartbeat, but it is definitely worthy of a full-price buy, even being that it is a older game, still worth it! Buy it, pick it up, grab it, whatever it is that you call it, you NEED to own this game if you're a Strategy fan, fan of the series, or simply love masterpieces. This game is beautiful, and entertaining as hell. GET IT NOW!

His strong point is the introduction of some new excellent as the implementation of the naval battles, superb graphics and amazing audio.

This title can be safely regarded as a must buy for fans of the saga.

The single player lasts almost infinite, the multiplayer is interesting and the naval battles are well integrated. For 5$ is a must-have!!!

one of the best of totalwar serious. the game is fun and easy . you can play as president and your people vote on ministers and government or play as a king and you choose your ministers and your people has no right at all.

the battles are amazing units are perfect graphics is cool and the new is the sea battles using amazing ships so real and in naval battles the graphic is perfect

its so real game you have to think and put plans before move your troops and even build them

you can play the american history from the beginning and be george w. and attack the british and liberate america

alliance is essential and all the nations will respect it and they wont attack you from behind , but you can stab them in their backs if you want.

trade is very very important

the keeping cost of naval units is very expensive but you have to have some units to protect you trade routs and you can steal some money from others by using your ships to pirate on the trade routs of others

there are many nations to play and each nation has its own strategy and weakness and strongness points and plans it depends on the location the units of the nation and enemies

Empire total war is a good entry into the total war franchise. My favorite so far was Rome Total War so this ended up in a close second place. For someone who likes close combat, this new age is all range. In my opinion the firing is very inaccurate and annoying leading to very long battles. Cavalry is pretty useless until units charge since they can get shot down pretty easily. The combat is still fun and strategy is even more key here than in previous games.

Overall it's a good game, I miss the stories of the Rome total war though.

This game is perfect for wasting hours on, it takes a lot of concentration to not get the whole world attacking you at once, but so satisfying when you destroy everyone else.

One of the best RTS of the present generation; For veterans and beginners alike... And nothing before has more grandiosely portrayed the great naval battles... Stunning visuals, fast learning curve, and excellent presentation...5/5