Empire: Total War

Empire: Total War
Developer(s)	Creative Assembly
Publisher(s)	Sega
Designer(s)	Mike Simpson (Studio Director) James Russell (Lead Designer)
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows
Release	TBA 2008
Genre(s)	Real-time tactics, Turn-based strategy
Mode(s)	Single-player, Multiplayer

Empire: Total War (commonly abbreviated as E:TW) is an upcoming game in the Total War series of video games that is being developed by the Creative Assembly, by the team that developed Rome: Total War, Shogun Total War and Medieval Total War.

Gameplay

Empire: Total War is about exploration and conquest, founding colonies and fighting wars away from home, and is a strategy game spanning the 18th and early 19th centuries, in which you direct your nation to dominate Europe, North Africa, the Americas, the Indies, and the Indian subcontinent. 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.

Factions

There will be around 50 factions in the game, with around 10 playable. The known playable factions so far and other confirmed factions are listed below.

• The British Empire
• The Kingdom of Prussia
• The Kingdom of France
• The Spanish Empire
• The Ottoman Empire
• The Thirteen Colonies
• The Swedish Empire
• The United Provinces (Dutch Republic)
• Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
• Russian Empire
• Venice
• Mughal Empire
• Austrian Empire

It is also confirmed that changes in government may occur during the campaign as the rise of democracy becomes an issue in this time period. For instance, the United States of America may only come into existence if the rulers of that area are unable to maintain social order. Another example is the French Revolution that may occur if the people of France are no longer satisfied with their sovereign.

Features

Empire: Total War will feature a new game engine as well as 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 being destructible, and there is a plethora of new formations and strategies to be mastered. The naval battles feature destructible sails, realistic cannon fire, grapeshots and boarding action. Weather effects are also a key chapter in naval battles. Nations will also have a varying number of objectives such as establishing successful colonies, trade routes and dominance in certain regions.

The battles on land have been given a makeover too:

• 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. The game makes use of ragdoll physics to add to the chaos.
• Players can change the form of government of their empire from an absolute monarchy, constitutional monarchy, and Republic.

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 new animated campaign map features a huge cast of characters, and shows every single building and upgrade, rather than just the cities, castles and docks of previous games. The auto-management system is improved along with the advice system, and the game itself will feature better tutorials that make the game 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.

Press

• At the 2007 Leipzig Games Convention, GameSpot released some of the earliest information on Empire: Total War as it was announced.
• The November 2007 issue of Total PC Gaming Magazine (UK edition) published an exclusive Empire: Total War preview. It included an interview with lead designer James Russell and some never before seen screenshots.
• The Total War website constantly releases information about the upcoming game.

External links

• Total War.com - Official developer website.