Empire: Total War: Amazon.ca: Computer and Video Games

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Call the shots in epic battles all over the world and expand your realm of influence throughout the tumultuous eighteenth century with Empire: Total War for your PC. Set against the bold intellectual landscape of the Enlightenment, this extension of the Total War franchise brings you out of the middle ages and into a realm where guns, gunpowder, and naval warfare have a dramatic influence on the face of combat.

Realistic landscapes and weather add drama to your campaigns. View larger.

Dynamic, 3D naval warfare expands the combat zone. View larger.

For the first time, North America is open as a field of battle. View larger.

Ships boast destructible sails. View larger.

Historic Factions, Expanded Horizons, and an Updated Campaign Map
Total War's detailed, turn-based battle system has received some serious upgrades that will have an impact on both seasoned commanders and newly minted combatants. The UI has been streamlined, and the systems for handling trade and diplomacy have been updated. You have improved advisors at your disposal, and realistic espionage techniques can be carried out using agents.

Empire puts a variety of major political factions into your hands, including France, Spain, Great Britain, Sweden, the United Provinces in northern Europe, Prussia, the Ottoman Empire, and Russia. Detailed strategic elements come into play, whether you're fighting in the heart of Europe, warding off Mamluk horsemen in the middle east, or working to capture the wealth of India. Beyond all this, for the first time in Total War history, the continent of North America is an open field of play that portrays the unique strategic problems encountered by the founding fathers during the revolutionary war.

Dynamic 3D Naval Battles and Forces of Nature
Total War's signature 3D battle scenes are paired with a new graphics engine and improved technology, allowing war and conquest to take on an even more realistic feel. Advanced landscape and flora systems add both realism and depth to the world stage, while dynamic weather consistently threatens to throw a wrench in your attack plans.

Whether you're coordinating platoon firing or supporting a defensive square formation, the musket and the cannon take center stage as newly developed implements of war. And they're not just for use on land. Real-time naval battle set on dramatic seascapes help shape the balance of power and determine the scope of your Empire, and they're rendered in the same impressive 3D as battles on land. You may find yourself directing a vast fleet through intricate maneuvers, controlling the helm of a single tall ship, or grappling to the enemy's boat and dictating the course of hand-to-hand combat on deck.

New Multiplayer Action
Additional updates to the Total War model include a multiplayer component that provides player rankings for competitive commanders, leagues and ladders, and a selection of entirely new modes of game play.

Customer Reviews

Most helpful customer reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Rip off Aug 20 2009

By Edward P. Gravelle

Fun: 1.0 out of 5 stars

I have been ripped off with this purchase ($49.00)- it has already been installed on another computer and can not be installed on another computer with out registering it and pay a aditional fee. I have asked for a authorization to return it to you as I ordered it from you - all I get is a run around.

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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Please don't buy this, you'll suffer.... Mar 29 2009

By Grizzly Rafting

Fun: 3.0 out of 5 stars

Been playing total war games for years and this is a disaster, it has been released with numerous errors and it crashes constantly. It looks like it would be a good game if it worked. I have a top of the line system with the latest hardware, quad core processor, 6 gigs of ram, and a 1 Gb video card etc. The game seemed to be working ok and then they released a patch and it is unplayable now, you get into a good game and having fun and then bang it shuts down without notice. Also you cannot remove the patch once it's installed.

I have been to many forums and blogs on the subject and its not only me, there are literally thousands of people having the same problems or worse and are mad as hell about it. Please save yourself the money and frustration, this game is too unstable and constantly shuts down, has sound issues, and many video glitches.

- Al

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19 of 25 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars The End of Total War Mar 21 2009

By Raoul

Fun: 2.0 out of 5 stars

I've been a huge fan of Total War since the first Medieval - in fact, I've played no other PC games. Empire could not be more of a disappointment. The problems are 3: (1) STEAM; (2) bugs; (3) game play.

First, there's no point in buying it if you don't have a fast internet connection, as you can't install it without installing STEAM (3rd party spyware/nagware). Many people have been unable to successfully install it even WITH a fast connection; I had no problems there. Suffice to say, large chunks of the game will be coming from online, not from the disks you buy. You also can't resell it because of STEAM. It does have small print on the back of the box about STEAM; amazon ought to give you a warning.

Second, the game is packed with bugs, from minor annoyances to Crash To Desktop. I have a computer well above the minimum specs, but everything takes a LONG time (whole MINUTES between turns - no exaggeration - and even moving the map around has a delayed response). The list of bugs is long; no doubt many of these will be fixed in time with patches; smart consumers will stay away until then. Clearly they just didn't have time to debug, since there are basic, major issues here, and reading the forums, many people have had far worse experiences than I have (I've only had three CTDs).

Finally, while there is an amazing game lurking in there somewhere, CA needed more time to bring it out. The fact is, ETW simply isn't that fun. The AI is so flawed it's pretty much worthless - e.g., it can't put troops in a ship and put them on your coasts, meaning that if you play as Britain, your home islands are invincible without any troops in them. There are plenty of other AI problems - it's amazingly passive, and enemy troops wander back and forth aimlessly, accomplishing nothing. They've changed the battle controls, and despite spending a lot of time on it, I find the new controls difficult to use, almost to the point of being unplayable. Battles are glitchy enough to be no fun, and I now auto-resolve all battles on ETW (don't worry - the AI is so stupid, I still crush it easily overall, and I play on Difficult). Clearly they just didn't have enough time to playtest.

I could go on and on in this vein, but the bottom line is that after less than a week with it, I stopped playing, and will not return, except perhaps in a few months, when I wil download whatever patches have come out. Maybe in time it will be bug-free to the point of being playable, and they'll have fixed it up so it's actually FUN.

Don't buy this now; wait until you hear that major fixes have been made. ETW is a disgrace to Total War and Creative Assembly. I will never again buy a game that requires STEAM, or any other 3rd party software, and if that's the future for PC games, I simply won't buy PC games in the future. I also will not buy anything from CA in the future in the first few months after release, since they can no longer be regarded as reliable.

Finally, on a positive note, if you're new to Total War, get Rome or Medieval II, the two best games I have ever played (I bought Medieval II on release day, incidently, and had no problem with it at all).

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