First Impressions: Empire

After a week of skirmishing with randomly generated AI opponents, I'm giving up Dawn of War II. I know, after my spectacular losing streak, I left the game's ranked multiplayer arena with a bad name. But I don't really care because I can't go on and play this game any longer. Especially if a marvelous game like Empire: Total War is installed in my PC.

American Militiamen defending against the Iroquois skirmishers.

True to the Total War franchise, Empire is a very sublime historical game. Even more so now because, with the game set in the 18th century, the world map is larger than the previous games -due to the inclusion of the Americas. As for its complex battle system, it still plays out the same as before. Except that the use of gunpowder and cannon fire brings the experience to a new level. The only new feature in this series is the addition of naval battle. I actually find naval battles boring. Unlike Sid Meier's Pirates, naval battles in Empire is just way too slow.

Overall, Empire: Total War is a pretty enjoyable game. It's not as engaging like Dawn of War II or as addictive as Civilization IV. But I'm definitely going to lose some sleep over it.

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Demo Monday: Empire

The release date of Empire: Total War is just right around the corner. Because of its strategical depth, combining the elements of turn-based and real-time strategy games, I've been a big fan of the Total War series ever since Shogun. Unfortunately, because of financial reasons, I missed out on Medieval II. So I haven't played this excellent strategy game series since Rome: Total War. That's why I'm so excited about getting this game. It's like I'm going to be reunited with an old playmate.

But before I made the commitment on pre-purchasing the game (so I could get Rome: Total War for free on Steam), I downloaded and played the demo first. I know that the demo is unnecessary because the game will be more than awesome. But I thought a little demonstration wouldn't hurt.

In Empire's naval combat, you can board and capture an enemy ship.

There are two modes available in the demo, the tutorial and the battle. Compared to other demos, the tutorial in Empire's demo is short and sweet. It only covers the combat aspect of the game, both ground and naval. As for the battle mode, it whets your appetite by showing you how ground and naval combat works in game. I didn't really play the ground battle because I assume it wont be as different as it was in other Total War games. The naval battle, however, is a lot of fun. Although, at first, it starts out really slow. But it gets engaging once you and the opposing fleet are locked in combat. It's like Sid Meier's Pirates except that you have to control and manage a whole fleet.

The only thing that bothered me about the demo was the loading times because it takes a while. I hope this won't be a problem with the full game. Other than that, I think this game will be a lot of fun. I'll probably lose some sleep over it too. If you haven't played any Total War games, I urge you to try the demo.

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Let the games begin!