I have an embarrassing amount of hours in this game and wholeheartedly agree. The sheer scale of the game with the managing of multiple theatres truly makes this a grand campaign (see what I did there? No apologies). Something that really helped this game was the famous DarthMod that helped the poor AI a little bit as well as expanding the game even more so, fleshing it out to an even more amazing scale.
I like Darthmod, but imo it makes the game too easy... My favourite is Imperial Splendour 2.1, it's kinda buggy at times, but it has a sense of grounded realism, hefty costs. Wars, casualties and everything is so darn expensive. Every dead soldier will cost you. Every industry you build feels like an achievement. Battles matter, since armies cost rivers of money. It's indeed a blast.
My favourite part of Empire is when it pops up saying “A new nation has formed: The United States Of America.” And I say to myself “ Time to nip that in the bud.”
Empire: Total War is still my favorite Total War game. For some reason that time period just clicks with me. Biggest issue I had with it was the fact that you could conquer most of Europe in the span of a campaign, which felt completely unrealistic. If this game is ever given a sequel, it needs a larger map, with lots of smaller settlements per province (mostly in Europe) and a culture mechanic that'd it really difficult to seize provinces that are of a different culture from your own in peace deals. Being forced to release provinces you conquered as allied states or return them to your enemy in exchange for colonial holdings seems like it might be a good alternative. Here's hoping we get to see a sequel sometime in the near future!
There are other features that are too broken to be exploited for example, when a nation is destroyed all its the active armies and naval forces vanish automatically which looks super unrealistic
Of the historical Total Wars, I agree. This is the best. It's a more interesting time period, the world was a much more complicated place in the 18th Century.
I love all of the Total Wars. However Empire touches every major theater and is epic. I wish they would do an Empire II, and/or expand Napoleon Total War.
@Konstantinos Masios Fall of the Samurai is great. With mods the combat is slowed down and it has that American Civil War pre WWI vibe. I play as the Satsuma with British and French help early on...switching to American late game.
@Konstantinos Masios I am playing it right now. Before that I played Shogun II with Darthmod. Both Shogun II play throughs are great. I play Empire with Imperial Splendor and other times with Darthmod. You can't play both at the same time in Empire as they conflict. I would love Shogun II with a world focus. The diplomacy in Empire was abysmal. Just about everything being rejected was pure stupidity. Trade was the lifeblood of that era. Even among enemies.
I have almost 2000 hours of gameplay on Empire and I've never fallen out of love with it. The Darthmod really propelled it into a whole other level. I've been waiting patiently for a remastered version of this game, where a lot of the annoying bugs are fixed, and the AI in battle and in diplomacy are much more intelligent. Hopefully someday this will happen.
@@steveisthecommissar4013 Yes they are great. I make sure to get howitzers early on. The horrible diplomacy is the down spot. Trade was the lifeblood of even enemies then and now.
I've always found musket warfare to be illogical and counter-intuitive, until I (like many others) started reading more about the Napoleonic wars. Now, just like you, this is one of my favorite periods of warfare, not to mention Empire being my favorite game of the Total War series, even more so than Napoleon. All war requires bravery, but standing in open fields less than 100 yards from your opponent, trading volleys of heavy lead, watching your mates fall over to either side of you, must have been among the most nervewracking parts of any type of warfare of any time in history. Not to mention the advanced tactics required to properly utilize your troops for maximum firepower. I tip my imaginary triangular hat to all the soldiers who served in this incredibly interesting (and deadly) period in the history of warfare.
This is part of why the Americans were so effective in the revolutionary war. They had rifles instead of muskets, and would pick off officers at a distance where muskets were ineffective. Of course there was standard line infantry as well, but it must be noted that most were simply minuteman who came with their own arms.
@@SavageHunter1112 The Brits had rifles too, often better rifles and better riflemen. The Continental Army would also very much disagree with your bit about the Minutemen who while useful to fill in the ranks in short notice have had their role in the war greatly overstated. We also cannot forget that the French carried the rebellion quite heavily, only to have their own people see what the Colonists were doing and did the same to the French nobility.
@@demomanchaos Not quite. If the French had followed the American example, 99% of the French Revolution wouldn’t have happened. Why? Because the US changed remarkably little. The French, on the other hand, decided to completely turn everything upside down, with predictably horrific results.
It's a buggy mess, but my god the naval battles are amazing, and the time period amazing, the map amazing, and when the battles work amazing. it deserves a sequel. #Empire2
best game for me would be a 16th century game with: 1. Medieval 2's city and recruitment system. 2. Empire's trade system. 3. Medieval 2's cavalry charges. 4. Rome's infantry mechanics. 5. Medieval's range mechanics (gunpowder/archers). 6. Empire's naval warfare. 7. Empire's research system.
@@daarom3472Medieval just doesn’t have the same charm in my opinion. Empire and Napoleon was gentlemanly warfare where the 1500s was still pretty much slam into each other and start swinging
The economy of Empire is by far my favorite in any total war. The concept of region wealth is revolutionary in a total war game. Bigger Population dose not equate more taxes. Learning the economic system in Empire took me a long time, but once I got the hang of it I fell in love with it.
@@Droneriverswhen I build and upgrade plantations does it automatically upgrade my trade income? I keep not making trade ships since im not really sure what im supposed to do with them and constantly back burner it
@@stephengrigg5988 trade ships are only for the trading outposts in south america, africa etc. upgrading plantations increases the amount of resources produced which will increase your trade income if you have somebody to trade them to. the capacity of trading ports in your home nation and the trade partners you have decides how much money you will make from trade resources
I just want the cutscenes back every time you do a hero action like assassinating people. That used to be one of my favorite features from the original Shogun Total War game. Eventually I got tired and skipped them, but at least half the time each campaign I would sit through it and wait to see how events played out. I especially loved the different geisha cinematics.
Empire: Total War served as my first introduction into the Total War franchise and I absolutely love it. I love how it was the first game I ever played that truly allowed me to have tactical and strategic flexibility, more so than other games I played.
When I was a kid this was my first total war experience. Me, my brother and our father would gather around the computer and take turns commanding the empire. We shared tactics and advised each other what was the best move to make. I was the best at naval combat so I tried my hand at saving our fleet from whatever conundrum we threw them at. My brother was the best at empire management so he planned our economy. It was a lot of fun and the nuances to the gameplay was really rewarding.
One thing about this game I have come to appreciate is that you can't Tech your way to victory. In Rome and Medieval Total war I would always lean heavy into Tech to field overpowered armies so the fights were not even close. Not so in Empire since your fully Teched out armies are not that much stronger than the A.I. starting armies.
@@arkos4366 As would ring/socket bayonets, canister shot, percussive shot, carcass shot, quicklime shot, and 3rd Rate ships. Granted these are mostly early-mid to midgame techs, but they will annihilate a starting army every time.
@@jamesnagle5221 True, but I do agree with the main point. The ai can keep up fairly well tech wise, it never feels as one sided as marian reforms or italian milita
I think you're overstating it. The tech alters how units are used and some techs are big advantages. I think rather, it's because the units themselves don't change and it really is just a matter of researching the tech that alters how they behave (something I love). The AI doesn't have to get to the right tech and build the right building and decide the right army comp (which won't be the same as an army comp a casual player will enjoy playing against) and have all these things work together to create an effective army. The mainstay of your force will be line infantry and occasionally you'll get techs that make them better. When you get them and you have a brief period where you dominate it feels satisfying, but then you start facing enemies that have the same tech and you're looking for the next advantage.
I love Empire, I just wish that the Diplomacy was better so your Allies didn't start hating you for taking 3 of the ENEMY regions in short order, and you could give regions back to them if liberated, and also that the naval battles weren't made worse when actually using tactics. Oh and some regions were too large for 1 city, should've been several regions so you could take part of it - I'm looking at you France and Spain...
@@LordVader1094 They aren't, they are clearly visible both in Custom Battle and Campaign. The fact they all seem like clones but aren't is the only reason anyone would claim the differences are "hidden"
Aside from the AI, the only thing I didn't like about Empire was the sieges. Empire has the worst siege battles in the entire series by far. They're just incredibly boring due to how easily you can just wipe a fort with cannons and howitzers.
Nothing would please me more than for CA to revisit this time period for their next historical total war game (or at least roughly) - anything from 1700-1880 or so would just be great.
19th century would be epic, you go from flintlocks to percussion, from smooth bore innacuracy to rifles, to breechloaders etc etc, tech tree upgrades would be amazing
I liked how Empire introduced the wealth system, which made keeping your areas properly defended much more important, and actually gave you a reason to pay closer attention to your economy. It was also in Shogun, but then for whatever reason it was eventually ditched later on. Which is a shame, because I haven't liked any of the games after Shogun nearly as much without that feature.
@@DisturbedAidan2 Each region has "wealth", or basically how rich that region is Your tax rate takes a percentage of that wealth in each region and places it in your treasury, which can decrease as you expand due to administration fees Wealth can be increased with economy buildings or gradually by being good Makes Empire and Shogun 2 nicer in terms of economy, no longer a, "build farm = stonks"
@@DisturbedAidan2 I think town wealth - where tax is based off of a percentage of the wealth of a town. Not directly linked to population - it's instead linked to buildings (some give a flat addition to town wealth, while others give a steady growth to town wealth) I haven't played many TW games so idk if the others dont have that mechanic
There's something so epic feeling when you 1st see 1 of your infantry regiments fire a volley into the enemy line and you see those casualties drop then watch the reload with anticipation knowing a return volley is inbound. This game was also the 1st game in the line and volley style combat I ever played that had proper bayonet combat. Any other game I played before that the bayonets were purely decorative and nobody ever stabbed with it so this was so pleasing to see
Your opening comments about the 'just one more turn' followed by "wait, why is the sun coming back up?!" is so true! So many hours played on this fantastic game.
This is probably the Total War game I spent the most time in, though Medieval 2 has more big mods. I personally love the gunpowder era of historical warfare and find it quite thrilling to strategize with in this game in particular. Where Napoleon disappoints for me is actually that it's a little too streamlined. Scrapping rank and platoon fire makes for a faster paced game, but I just like my muskets slow and authentic.
I love total war shogun 2 but not the vanilla one the fall of the samurai was the thing I loved the most and the ship mechanic on that game was really impressive
I do really love the 18/19th century eras and both Empire and Napoleon are absolutely mt favorite two by far! I do unfortunately have the same dilemma as you for wishing Napoleon was grander across the world, yet I love how flawless it is compared to Empire!
ive always been a fan of Empire Total War, ive always loved this era, people say its boring..but the thrill of being in one of these sort of old battles as muskets slowly aim, as cannons blaze above, followed bye a volley of fire as a line of infantry drops..MM its just good..diplomacy i improved from the older titles..along with its nice graphics, i also like naval battles..just something about warships unleashing cannon volleys into eachother, thought i should try shogun's, an all points in this video are just more evidence
I pretty much agree with you, only problem I really have is the AI in the campaign constantly recruiting nothing but cavalry and artillery or just militia spamming (I've faced some armies with 8 units of cav and 2 infantry units before) but this is a problem that's been around since medieval, and it's not always an issue for the larger factions
I remember 2 cases when my ETW gameplay became extremely economical: 1. My India invation as Prussia. India was united by Marathas by then and was really strong, stronger than anyone in Europe and even pushing in Persia, even up to Iraq. I have landed 2 full stacks which I really struggled to move further. But meanwhile my Kaiserliche Marine have destroyed he Indian fleet and started ravaging their ports non-stop. In several turns, Maratha was totally bankrupt. They even had a revolution at their capital which was suspended, but, as they were bunkrupt, the replanishment never came. After that, my armies just marched all through India like it was a parade -- no serious resistance was faced. So the glorious India fell despite having good western technologies, decent and big army and humongous territory -- they just couldn't protect their money. 2. My whole game as Netherlands, I had Austria as an ally and a trade partner. But as they lacked naval forces, thaeir ports have been raded many times -- and in those cases I started losing shitloads of money. So despite being absolutely uninterested in Central/Eastern Europe affairs (even shielded with long buffer state to avoid it), I had no choice but to get into those wars and protect the bloody austrian seaside. And when I was pissed off completely, I conquered the whole swedish clay and some lands in Baltics. Despite the situation being pretty anoying, it's also quite exciting and realistic: geting into war not just to paint the map on your color, but to protect your money.
The 18th century, and specifically the colonial American frontier of that period, is my favorite historical period for a variety of reasons, and so I agree that personally this game is my favorite. And you're right about the scale. I'd love to see a new total war game focus on JUST the American frontier and really dive deep into the imperial, colonial, and Native American factions. If they could get wilderness combat correct it would be amazing. Objectively, overall, I will still say that Rome 1 is ultimately the best, hands down, with Shogun II a close second
"Objectively, overall, I will still say that Rome 1 is ultimately the best, hands down, with Shogun II a close second" I'd agree, but Medieval II has to be tied with Rome I, they are literally the same game, your preference will simply come down to the period you find more interesting.
It's my favourite. If it actually had worked it would be 10/10, given the actual state it was released in and how it was never satisfactorily fixed, I can't rate it as the best TW game unfortunately. Also One thing I really liked in empire is how techs you research would change the way you used units. Bayonets and firing drills in particular, progression of dragoons, you have the same roles, and often the same units in those roles but the way you use them from the start of the campaign is quite different to how you use them by the end of the campaign. I never minded at all that "everything is just line infantry", it's true to the period and in a weird way it made me care more about my troops. I actually like when TW depicts, usually via mod, the reality that the forces that win wars are not hyper trained elite knights taken from the aristocracy and kitted out from birth with the best weapons and armour (though those are certainly useful tools to deliver crushing blows and can be key to hard victories), but actually the random bloke with a spear or a gun, the plentiful foundation upon which conquest lies and honestly I don't think any game in TW encourages the use of your average joe units like empire does.
Which is funny because warfare in the 18th century was still dominated by the aristocracy and being a soldier was still a career, and a good one at that. Only by the Napoleonic Wars, (Empire Total War's brother that everyone hates for some reason) was it like you described it where mass conscription and overwhelming man power won the day.
@@alarminglyfastmovingskelet7289 The rank and file was not made up of nobles. At no point in history (except maybe very early) have nobles been the bulk of military forces and aristocrats would not have carried armies by themselves (look at what happened at agincourt). Roman Republic armies were perhaps the last time the landed classes still made up the bulk of forces. The Marian reforms turned the soldiery into professional non-citizens hoping to earn citizenship. The medieval era relied on feudal levies, each lord had to provide a certain number of men, usually by requiring each family to provide a man. They were usually outfitted by whatever they could afford to bring with them. The Early Modern Era was when modern professional standing armies became a thing and it wasn't nobles picking up jobs as soldiers for "decent" pay, these were people who didn't have better prospects. Nobody is talking about "overwhelming numbers", we're talking about the composition of the bulk of an army which was typically the ordinary man.
This video is vindicating on so many levels. Yeah some other games may be more polished, but when I play something like Napoleon I am disappointed because all I have to fight in is Europe. Meanwhile in Empire, I have the Americas, Europe, Northern Africa, the Middle East, and India. Besides, there's so many mods out there that fix the majority of Empire's problems - like: Darthmod, Pirates Uber Alles, Imperial Splendor/Destroyer, and now the Empire Total War 2 mod.
I cannot agree with you more. Empire is also my most favorite Total War title, and I agree with you that it's the best Total War game of all. No other Total War game has given me such a sense of massive scale. I have played hundreds of hours of Empire since the day it was released, and each time is more epic then the last. Every time I play the game there's always at least 4 or 5 big Empires on the map by the time the year 1800 comes around. These large empires always end up fighting world wars together that take decades. Within the past year, I played as the United States, and built an impressive empire controlling most of the Americas and even large parts of Europe. During that same USA game, a massive war broke out in 1850 that I could only describe as a World War. The war lasted until 1878 and was between 7 Huge empires on the map; USA (me), Britain, Sweden and Maratha against Spain, Prussia and Russia. This war ended with the defeat of Spain and Prussia, Russia reduced to only a few provinces, and the loss of at least 100 million Europeans, 60 million of which were French who suffered a genocide by the Spanish. I could honestly write a book about that particular game experience as it lasted until 1901 if I remember the last time I saved correctly.. but that story isn't finished. There are now only 4 major Empires on the map, and only one of them likes me (USA); Maratha. Britain hates me because before the first world war of 1850, I kept going to war with them, and they haven't gotten over it. I have a feeling that it wont be long before the second World War starts, and it will be the USA vs The World.
I love the multiple theaters, naval combat and protecting trade routes! This is probably my second favorite even with all the hate it gets! I still think their best game is warhammer total war, really let them break loss with creativity
"really let them break loss with creativity" I mean... wasn't it the guys who made Warhammer, the ones who let lose with their creativity, the CA guys just adapted it into their gameplay loop.
Empire really is a great game that has quite some nostalgic value to me. It was always fun to play as a great or small nation, and as you say the combination of military, economic and technological systems make this title special. Despite having bought it 12 years ago, I still enjoy it a lot and occasionally am playing campaigns - something I cannot say for Rome 1 or Medieval 2 (Rome 2 is just better, imo). It's a game that has accompanied me for many years in the last decade and beyond, and I remember it very fondly.
Empire was my first Total War and my first real attempt at an RTS game back in 2013. I’ve played it and Medieval 2 for many hundreds of hours, and I can’t say which one is absolutely better, but I can say that when I think of those mid-2010 days, one of the sounds that pops up most often in my head was Empire’s menu theme. Such an undeservedly underrated gemstone. Rough around quite a few edges, but with brilliance few games can match.
Empire to great to me because of one big reason, I can play as Sweden, it is not often I can play my homeland. I am currently reinstalling the game on the 500 anniversary of our independence.
You mention that musket era warfare was all about accuracy and numbers, but you forgot two other key aspects of warfare from the period- speed and coordination. In ancient combat, once units clashed it was usually a slugfest until one retreated or died. Musket battlefields were FAR more dynamic, with movement orders being far more impactful later into the battle. Constantly switching between column, line and square to try and minimize exposed bodies while maximizing firepower, changing the shape of your battle line to lure in enemy units and SWIFTLY crush them before reforming to focus fire elsewhere. If a commander did not have good organization and communication mid-battle it doesn't matter how accurate or numerically superior they were as we repeatedly saw by armies like Napoleon beating opponents of comparable equipment and far superior numbers. I would say unit coordination>accuracy. I mean, shoot a musket into a wall of 100 bodies and your chances of hitting one are pretty good even if you're a bad shot.
Empire is my favorite as well. The thing about linear warfare is that long-ranged fire was desultory and ineffective, whereas close-range fire eas devastating. That puts a premium on a combination of fire and maneuver. Also, implementing cover and taking over buildings was a game changer. Regularly in my battles, a wall or a garrisoned building was key to my position, and engendered heavy fighting and a mini narrative around that point in the battle that was, in my mind, the equal of Little Round Top, or Culp's Hill, or Hugamont.
Those people who say Napoleonic era warfare is boring don't know squat about what they're talking about. Sure melee fighting is flashy and right to the point but there's far more interesting tactical plays that can be used in musket battles IMO. Not to mention the atmosphere gunfire brings to the battlefield is just so good. The gameplay it offers is so much more dynamic than other total war games I have played.
I have a soft spot for this game. I like what it was trying to do but mistakes were made. My biggest peeve was how agents are trained. Instead of just recruiting agents they spawn randomly making it impossible to get them where they are needed. For example I had Gentlemen spawning in the Bahamas instead of England where they were needed at my universities. This forced me to load them on a ship and a send them Europe wasting tons of time. They really should make an Empire 2 in order perfect this time period
To some degree, if it was just the "gentlemen", its not the craziest idea. A genius might not be born in London. If that was the only issue, id play it constantly, but the poor AI is shit. Still come back to it.
Because it has the biggest map in all total war title and one of the finest working naval battle. Although I say Medieval 2 is the best total war, since it has so much freedom in modding
I agree! It's even better with darthmod in my opinion. It isn't my favorite though, it is my second favorite. For current playability my list is: Rome 2 Empire Shogun 2 Medieval 2 For nostalgia my list is completely different haha.
I remember when I was hyped for Empire to the point of playing guns only battles in Medieval 2. And then Empire came out and I went back to playing normal Medieval 2.
Empire is the only true grand strategy in the series. There is so much detail in running your empire, from trade, technology, government, naval strategy, regiknal settlements, population etc. There is just so much you can do. The scale is massive, you touch basically every continent and can go in any direction. Also the battles, either land and sea are very tactical and much more complex than melee focused games. Honestly I consider Empire to be the peak of Total War and think all the following games seemed simplistic and minimal in comparison.
Just saw this and I totally agree! I love Empire in spite of its many flaws. The tactics in this game were so different than the other entries, love the artillery and the eventual unlocking of riflemen. I also found the trading to be really satisfying, trying to get all the different commodities available, and the naval combat was really cool, even when it was frustrating. I think the worst part was the fortification battles. The AI never knew what to do with the fort walls, and I think that pissed a lot of players off, but that was the real low of the game, the rest of it really outshines the problems.
Man, what a change several years can make. I remember seeing people absolutely hate this game, there was even an unfair review made about this game back then by some biased neck beard claiming this game was worse than Atari's ET, I'm glad to see it's getting the love it actually deserves.
When I played Rome and Medieval 2 I basically just went all out on warfare and my economy was “take a place to fund the army needed to take the next place”. So when I got to Empire I hit a brick wall because that just does not work. But now over a decade later I do really enjoy it because you have to be a lot more calculated and you need to spend time just building your economy to fund future wars, and going to war is a very expensive affair because of the loss in trade. I remember playing as Britain and it was just me and Russia left and I couldn’t go to war with them without going bankrupt without someone to trade with, so I had to wait like 30 turns just building stuff to be able to afford being the only power in the world. Just so different to the other games that came before. Oh and building a first rate and watching it obliterate a Brig is so fun
I just hope they come out with an Empire total war 2 and finally give it the attention it needs, instead of making more war hammers which I know not many people like.
I honestly hate the Warhammer games, but unfortunately (for me) they were a huge success. Meaning there are tons of people who liked them. I'm pretty sure CA is working hard to find a new fantasy property. It wouldn't surprise me if they announced acquiring the rights to make a Game of Thrones, or Lord of the Rings Total war with the popularity both of those properties are enjoying right now. I think enjoyability of a Total War game is linked directly to your interest in the setting. I didn't like Three kingdoms when it first dropped either, I just couldn't get into it. I also had no interest in Chinese history at the time. That changed, recently I got into learning about Chinese history, so I loaded up a 3K campaign, and had one of my favorite Total War experiences conquering all of china. Creative Assembly could take a gamble and make a historical title, Hoping that the majority of their core fanbase (which is small compared to that of other major properties) has an interest in the setting, or they could buy the rights to use a setting that has a large and established base of highly passionate fans. It's an easy decision honestly.
Took me until recently to get back into total war and after buying a few of them on sale as much as I love medieval or Rome I find myself going back to empire all the time. I love the early modern combat and playing as the great empires of the time expanding your territory across the world as Britain or Russia etc if anything just wish I didn't need mods to play as minor nations it would have been fun to create a Scottish empire which isn't an option. I wish the time period of the game as well started earlier with pike and shot warfare fighting the English civil war for the example though I know there is a mod for that I need to try though.
Haven't played all Total War but if I have top 5: 1. Shogun 2 (unless I got better PC for Warhammer 3 this is top 1) 2. Warhammer 3 (You just gotta love Fantasy Warfare in your fingertips) 3. Medieval 2 (not as smooth as Shogun 2 but is still there nonetheless) 4. Three Kingdoms (it's like a pre-Warhammer 3 but in real world/history also Three Kingdoms!!) 5. Empire (closest we got to modern/WW2 warfare total war) Tbh I love all Total War games how clunky or broken it maybe, I just love having large army battles.
Empire is my favorite as well. But I love gunplay. Was a huge fan of Sid Meier's Gettysburg and this game brought back that itch in great ways. The scope of this game is gigantic as well when compared to the others. I never could get into Shogun 2 Total War, it honestly felt boring when compared. Building up an economy was fun in Empires. Empires is also great because you have such a variety of units as well. My favorite being Light Dragoons and Light Infantry. They're irregular in how you use them, and you can devastate if used correctly. For example a full volley from hidden light infantry into a advancing formation can change the entire course of a battle. In fact when this game came out, I jumped into multiplayer using old Light Infantry tactics learned from the handbook that Gettysburg came with years ago, and absolutely dominated multiplayer matches... with Light mobile formations, like Light Infantry, Dragoons, and Horse Artillery. Up until people started learning how to play. It was interesting using real tactics in a game that few knew how to play when it first came out and saw how effective the results were. lol For example, dismounting light dragoons and manning a brick wall or house was a good strategy at the time. Reminding me of the opening day of the Battle of Gettysburg. But really tripped people up. As it would delay and sometimes even acted as bait. Had one player walk into 4 regiments of light infantry hiding in a tree line by baiting them with dismounted dragoons which sound like such an easy target. I distracted them with the dragoons returned to my lines after my units were hidden as they were not paying attention to the light infantry but the dragoons, then dismounted the dragoons, and watched all their cavalry just ride into a wall of musks. xD
I recently came back to Empire after playing Total Warhammer as the Dwarves. I found myself enjoying the style of warfare and remembered where I'd played wiht it before... After many years and some evident patching out of AI exploits this game was much more enjoyable. I only completed 1 campaign of it back in the day and now I've happily done another 3 (2 short, 1 long) and found each very enjoyable for the variety of gameplay as you said. I wouldn't have it as my top pick in the Total War series, but I would have it third among the non-Warhammer games after Medieval 2 and the OG Rome.
Agreed! I'd also like to add how is watching units for guns any different from watching units in melee combat or firing arrows? In all cases, the player is choosing the enemy unit to attack and then sits back to watch it play out. To me gunpowder warfare is better for total war games because it is more about strategy, like you mention when discussing cornering/flanking units. Meaning, battles can still be won even if the player does not have the "correct" units to combat the enemy or is numerically inferior. Is it more difficult, yes, but it is still possible. Conversely, with melee warfare, yes strategy plays a part, but I feel more emphasis is placed on numbers versus strategy.
I agree with every point. Unfortunately the weak enemy AI does mean some battles are far too predictable (though occassionally hilarious, like when they run their cavalry lengthways across my huge line of riflemen within range). That said though, there are some glorious moments. I once held Punjab against maybe eight full stack attacks back to back across three turna with a pretty scrappy army because the terrain made approaching the fort under canon fire so brutal. One of the best moments I've had in a TW game.
I want to agree but I find it impossible for me to play vanilla. In fact, I find it impossible to play any mod in Empire except for "Imperial Destroyer". If vanilla Empire is a 4/10 and Darthmod Empire is a 7/10, then Imperial Destroyer Empire is a 12/10. THAT modded version of Empire is one of my absolute favourite Total War games ever! But if we're talking vanilla, I'll take Napoleon and Fall of the Samurai any day.
Couldn't agree more....'Imperial Destroyer' is a must play mod. Iv'e heard good things about the 'Empire 2 Mod' but until i'm sure Imperial Destroyer remains installed. Would love to see a remastered version with unlimited modding.
No it isn’t, you’re completely wrong. It’s the third best game and that’s being generous since it’s a bit of a mess with bugs etc and certain parts of the combat didn’t even work properly. Medieval II total war is by far the best game and even to this day, still more fun to play than any other TW game. The original Rome is second.
Empire has always been my favorite, I do 18th century reenacting so this period is one I have a deep love for, bashing someone with a sword is great, but it’s not compared to blasting the enemy away with cannon then giving them 2 feet of cold steel with a bayonet charge, and it’s the only game where you can truly conquer the world. It’ll be a golden day when we get Empire 2
Empire still Holds my favourite Total war moment. My last men standing on top of a hill in India, Outnumbered, out of Ammo Fixing bayonets and charging down the hill time and time again smashing into the enemy as they tried to advance. Up and down again and again. They eventually carried the day and in my head were mentioned in despatches. Pure Gaming joy
I've played world domination campaigns on shogun 2 and empire, and while I love the ai on shogun, and the fact naval can be used in seiges, empire is superior to me just because of the musket combat. Absolutely wild to me our ancestors poured out by the thousands and many watched others or ate musket balls and kept pouring powder. Thousands of men charging from the open field and hundreds of calvary waiting for just enough to get lost in the battle to not hear the hoof beat of death approaching. It's a perfect mix of modern and medieval
I totally agree! And never understood the hate. I have an embarrassing amount of hours on there and I still can’t get enough. Of course some issues, but man it’s so fun sending volleys of musket fire down range with artillery in support. Not to mention the complex campaign aspects that are challenging and fun.
I agree its great. From time to time im drawn back to Empire and Napoleon. Right now I'm playing an Austria Napoleon Total War campaign. But I also have to agree the Empire campaign has a global scope no other game has. I have to remember to send reinforcements to mt colonjes on America and have escorts for my Oceania trading ships. The strategizing of naval campaigns like preventing French reinforcements to get to America and so on is amazing. I once had Eugene of Savoy go a total Chad campaign all thr way from Viena to Calcutta on foot
Empire was my entry point to Total War and I still remember it fondly. Im still here waiting for a Remaster or Total War Empire 2. I wish Total War explored more battles during the 18th and 19th century a period where swords and gunpowder were used side by side.
This is the only TW game I have ever played (Vanilla and Darthmod), I love watching Napoleon TW on RUclips too but I've just never gotten it for some reason. And I don't think I'll ever play another TW game until they release another like it - i,e; Another 17th, 18th, or 19th century era-centric game. So basically, you really don't need to do any convincing for me!
You should try the Fall of the Samurai, or better yet the mod for it "Total Fall of the Samurai" it's an alternate history mod, basically the scramble for Africa, but in Asia.
honestly, I started playing total war games when thrones of britania came out. Then I got three kingdoms and three kingdoms is the title that eally sold me on the franchise. it's the one that convinced me to try out the older games and thus I got myself Rome 2 and recently, napoleon. I'm planning on one day trying shogun 2 as well, but I never thought of playing empire before now. Maybe I'll give it a shot
Rome 1, Medieval 2 and Shogun 2 are generally considered the best games in the franchise. I'd recommend checking them out. For playing Empire I would recommend using at least Darthmod. It really is a wonderful game if you can get past the technical failures like the AI and bugginess, it's honestly a travesty that CA never fixed it and just moved on to make Napoleon which "fixed" half the problems by just removing the associated mechanics.
if you don't use mods at all, you will hate Empire total war AI . It's that bad. Sometimes the ai take 2 minutes to form a battle line. and get confused pretty quickly when you just charge them
My favorite as well. Bought it at release, first campaign I played non-stop from Friday evening to Sunday morning - I was young 😜 but to this day I play a campaign per year - always with Prussia. I am always amazed how each campaign run differs from the last. The game still has its issues (nothing compared to the first years though) yet it is the best TW I ever played. We need an Empire 2 - would love World War 1 setting
generally i dont have an interest in this time period but youve definitely convinced me to give it a try. even with the ai issues im sure theres mods for that
As someone with very little experience in the genre, I was very interested by your comparison to the flexibility of musket gameplay vs classic medieval gameplay. Regarding the historical context, I see all the benefits to gameplay. I will say, it raises questions for me about the handling of things like colonialism in the period and gameplay. I would have appreciated any thoughts you had on that, as it raises interesting questions and concerns regarding the romanticizing of a period with some widespread tragedy recent enough to feel impact today
I’m daring to hope that the recent release of mortal empires is sort of a tech test for a huge multi-theatre historical title. Lots of the empire units also fit this theory, but we’ll see..
My top 3 have always been Rome, Shogun 2 and Empire in that order. Always loved the time period (as someone who was raised on Sharpe and hornblower, first on the TV and then the books), and the scale felt like a nice introduction to games like the much-DLC bloated Crusader Kings and Victoria series.
I was always a Total War person, going back to Medieval One. Empire was my favourite for the reasons you point out. The scale was unique and probably because i always played as Great Britain this was always maximised. However, the reasons i loved Empire is why i left as i eventually discovered Europa Universalis 4 which satisfied the scale but in even more detail. Empire was my last Total War game.
I’ve always loved musket warfare far more than melee. In high school I was talking to friends about total war and they always said that they preferred sword combat because it “required more skill and was more honourable” which I think are both also applicable to muskets. Just because you can easily teach someone to fire a gun doesn’t mean it required zero skill to do it properly.
The worst auto resolve I’ve had was when I send 4 heavy first rates to deal with a sloop and fifth rate and lost 3 of my ships definitely rage quit after that
All their games were good and some were very good (except the fantasy ones which are not my taste). MTW1 + 2 prob the best imho. ETW,NTW,STW2+RTW1 also good!
Don’t know why people don’t like this time period it’s so epic every battle is so critical in empire napoleon ....:.the other TW games are also great but napoleons total war was jus a masterpiece
I have 1,800 hours in Empire and 2,500 in Napoleon. The 2 biggest issues I have with Empire is the fact that France is only one territory, and each in-game turn is six months. Like for one of the most powerful factions in game, if you capture a single city (Paris) you capture the entirety of their country. This is different in Napoleon, where France consists of 5-6 provinces. That being said, I feel like the ETW campaign is the single greatest campaign of any total war game. I grew up playing it back before I even tried to get into multiplayer games and all 1,800 hours are single player campaign. This is in contrast to my 2,500 hours in Napoleon, where probably 90% of my hours are from multiplayer games in vanilla, ACW, and NTW3. Napoleon has a better engine and is more refined, but you can’t beat a campaign that allows you to fight a century’s worth of warfare over three continents in Empire.
this has always been ma favorite as its set in ma favorite time period i hope we get an empire too but would settle for a medieval 3 as medival 2 is my 2nd . have subbed and pressed the bell hello from Scotland :D
This video is basically proof that we need an Empire 2 / Napoleon 2. I'd love to see Napoleon with the Empire map and improved AI.
Preach!
Second! Is there any hope that they’ll make an “Empire:Total War II” - ?
My god yes, ETW biggest draw back is the AI
and fots cannons
Or Empire with proper Coop for those of us with friends.
I have an embarrassing amount of hours in this game and wholeheartedly agree. The sheer scale of the game with the managing of multiple theatres truly makes this a grand campaign (see what I did there? No apologies).
Something that really helped this game was the famous DarthMod that helped the poor AI a little bit as well as expanding the game even more so, fleshing it out to an even more amazing scale.
Same.
Wo du es schon sagst weißt du wo ich mir den Darthmod Herunterladen kann
I've just restarted with darthmod. It really does clear up a lot the glaring issue with vanilla.
I have 3k lol
I like Darthmod, but imo it makes the game too easy... My favourite is Imperial Splendour 2.1, it's kinda buggy at times, but it has a sense of grounded realism, hefty costs. Wars, casualties and everything is so darn expensive. Every dead soldier will cost you. Every industry you build feels like an achievement. Battles matter, since armies cost rivers of money. It's indeed a blast.
My favourite part of Empire is when it pops up saying “A new nation has formed: The United States Of America.” And I say to myself “ Time to nip that in the bud.”
bro we are the same
*cowabunga it is*
Its treason then
My brain goes "SPLAT!", always seems to happen when I'm over there kicking France out anyway so while I'm there 😊
Or Colonize GB with Maharatha :)
Empire: Total War is still my favorite Total War game. For some reason that time period just clicks with me. Biggest issue I had with it was the fact that you could conquer most of Europe in the span of a campaign, which felt completely unrealistic. If this game is ever given a sequel, it needs a larger map, with lots of smaller settlements per province (mostly in Europe) and a culture mechanic that'd it really difficult to seize provinces that are of a different culture from your own in peace deals. Being forced to release provinces you conquered as allied states or return them to your enemy in exchange for colonial holdings seems like it might be a good alternative. Here's hoping we get to see a sequel sometime in the near future!
Yeah, having the entirety of France being 1 province felt wrong
There are other features that are too broken to be exploited for example, when a nation is destroyed all its the active armies and naval forces vanish automatically which looks super unrealistic
@albertoibort910 Also, all their colonies become rebels
Basically an Europa Universalis but with real time battles... I would be down dor sure !
Sounds dumb. Conquest is fun.
Of the historical Total Wars, I agree. This is the best. It's a more interesting time period, the world was a much more complicated place in the 18th Century.
@Konstantinos Masios
So unless you mod the game it doesn't compare? Noted!
@Konstantinos MasiosIndeed.
I love all of the Total Wars. However Empire touches every major theater and is epic. I wish they would do an Empire II, and/or expand Napoleon Total War.
@Konstantinos Masios Fall of the Samurai is great. With mods the combat is slowed down and it has that American Civil War pre WWI vibe. I play as the Satsuma with British and French help early on...switching to American late game.
@Konstantinos Masios I am playing it right now. Before that I played Shogun II with Darthmod. Both Shogun II play throughs are great. I play Empire with Imperial Splendor and other times with Darthmod. You can't play both at the same time in Empire as they conflict. I would love Shogun II with a world focus. The diplomacy in Empire was abysmal. Just about everything being rejected was pure stupidity. Trade was the lifeblood of that era. Even among enemies.
Alleged Total War Fans saying Muskets are dumb
Shogun 2 Fans:- "Then you are blind. Matchlocks and rifle infantry are the way."
I have almost 2000 hours of gameplay on Empire and I've never fallen out of love with it. The Darthmod really propelled it into a whole other level. I've been waiting patiently for a remastered version of this game, where a lot of the annoying bugs are fixed, and the AI in battle and in diplomacy are much more intelligent. Hopefully someday this will happen.
Darthmod really made me understand how my love howitzers especially phosphorus shells Oh those beautiful phosphorus shells
@@steveisthecommissar4013 Yes they are great. I make sure to get howitzers early on. The horrible diplomacy is the down spot. Trade was the lifeblood of even enemies then and now.
Check out the mod Imperial Spleandor. It's pretty solid. Starts in like 1788 but is really awesome.
@@jonny-b4954 I have. It is 👍 great.
check out the new 4.3 Empire 2 mod
I've always found musket warfare to be illogical and counter-intuitive, until I (like many others) started reading more about the Napoleonic wars. Now, just like you, this is one of my favorite periods of warfare, not to mention Empire being my favorite game of the Total War series, even more so than Napoleon.
All war requires bravery, but standing in open fields less than 100 yards from your opponent, trading volleys of heavy lead, watching your mates fall over to either side of you, must have been among the most nervewracking parts of any type of warfare of any time in history. Not to mention the advanced tactics required to properly utilize your troops for maximum firepower. I tip my imaginary triangular hat to all the soldiers who served in this incredibly interesting (and deadly) period in the history of warfare.
The musket era warfare style reminded me of *something* and then I realized: It has a similar feel to phalanx battles, with muskets instead of spears.
This is part of why the Americans were so effective in the revolutionary war. They had rifles instead of muskets, and would pick off officers at a distance where muskets were ineffective. Of course there was standard line infantry as well, but it must be noted that most were simply minuteman who came with their own arms.
@@SavageHunter1112 The Brits had rifles too, often better rifles and better riflemen. The Continental Army would also very much disagree with your bit about the Minutemen who while useful to fill in the ranks in short notice have had their role in the war greatly overstated. We also cannot forget that the French carried the rebellion quite heavily, only to have their own people see what the Colonists were doing and did the same to the French nobility.
@@demomanchaos
Not quite. If the French had followed the American example, 99% of the French Revolution wouldn’t have happened. Why? Because the US changed remarkably little. The French, on the other hand, decided to completely turn everything upside down, with predictably horrific results.
@@John-fk2kyTrue, napoleon was kind of a shitty person
It's a buggy mess, but my god the naval battles are amazing, and the time period amazing, the map amazing, and when the battles work amazing. it deserves a sequel. #Empire2
Few things more satisfying than a line of battle sending withering fire into the enemy ships.
best game for me would be a 16th century game with:
1. Medieval 2's city and recruitment system.
2. Empire's trade system.
3. Medieval 2's cavalry charges.
4. Rome's infantry mechanics.
5. Medieval's range mechanics (gunpowder/archers).
6. Empire's naval warfare.
7. Empire's research system.
@@daarom3472Medieval just doesn’t have the same charm in my opinion. Empire and Napoleon was gentlemanly warfare where the 1500s was still pretty much slam into each other and start swinging
@@tommythetemplar you clearly don't know much about Medieval warfare then ;-)
@@daarom3472 well the most hyped historical game from polling shows it would be empire 2 so it seems the majority agree with me :)
The economy of Empire is by far my favorite in any total war. The concept of region wealth is revolutionary in a total war game. Bigger Population dose not equate more taxes.
Learning the economic system in Empire took me a long time, but once I got the hang of it I fell in love with it.
economy of troy?
@@Skankhunt668 don't care about troy.
Trade trade and trade, could rack up serious cash in this game
@@Droneriverswhen I build and upgrade plantations does it automatically upgrade my trade income? I keep not making trade ships since im not really sure what im supposed to do with them and constantly back burner it
@@stephengrigg5988 trade ships are only for the trading outposts in south america, africa etc. upgrading plantations increases the amount of resources produced which will increase your trade income if you have somebody to trade them to. the capacity of trading ports in your home nation and the trade partners you have decides how much money you will make from trade resources
I just want the cutscenes back every time you do a hero action like assassinating people. That used to be one of my favorite features from the original Shogun Total War game. Eventually I got tired and skipped them, but at least half the time each campaign I would sit through it and wait to see how events played out. I especially loved the different geisha cinematics.
The ones in the original were so good tbf ❤
Empire: Total War served as my first introduction into the Total War franchise and I absolutely love it. I love how it was the first game I ever played that truly allowed me to have tactical and strategic flexibility, more so than other games I played.
This was my first Total War, and aside from very buggy siege defenses I love it.
When I was a kid this was my first total war experience. Me, my brother and our father would gather around the computer and take turns commanding the empire. We shared tactics and advised each other what was the best move to make. I was the best at naval combat so I tried my hand at saving our fleet from whatever conundrum we threw them at. My brother was the best at empire management so he planned our economy. It was a lot of fun and the nuances to the gameplay was really rewarding.
oh thats amazing I wish my dad and my brother liked this game as much as I do lol
My second boy is on the way. O hope i will be able to play this game with them, also
@@Akhenaton8187
Congrats
One thing about this game I have come to appreciate is that you can't Tech your way to victory. In Rome and Medieval Total war I would always lean heavy into Tech to field overpowered armies so the fights were not even close. Not so in Empire since your fully Teched out armies are not that much stronger than the A.I. starting armies.
Fire by rank would like a word with you lol
@@arkos4366 As would ring/socket bayonets, canister shot, percussive shot, carcass shot, quicklime shot, and 3rd Rate ships. Granted these are mostly early-mid to midgame techs, but they will annihilate a starting army every time.
@@jamesnagle5221 True, but I do agree with the main point. The ai can keep up fairly well tech wise, it never feels as one sided as marian reforms or italian milita
I think you're overstating it. The tech alters how units are used and some techs are big advantages. I think rather, it's because the units themselves don't change and it really is just a matter of researching the tech that alters how they behave (something I love). The AI doesn't have to get to the right tech and build the right building and decide the right army comp (which won't be the same as an army comp a casual player will enjoy playing against) and have all these things work together to create an effective army. The mainstay of your force will be line infantry and occasionally you'll get techs that make them better. When you get them and you have a brief period where you dominate it feels satisfying, but then you start facing enemies that have the same tech and you're looking for the next advantage.
I love Empire, I just wish that the Diplomacy was better so your Allies didn't start hating you for taking 3 of the ENEMY regions in short order, and you could give regions back to them if liberated, and also that the naval battles weren't made worse when actually using tactics. Oh and some regions were too large for 1 city, should've been several regions so you could take part of it - I'm looking at you France and Spain...
Yeah, combine Empire with the Diplomacy system and visual effects of Napoleon and I'm sold
I love the hidden stats for the different Nations Line Infantry in Empire.
Really shouldn't be hidden tbh
@@LordVader1094 They aren't, they are clearly visible both in Custom Battle and Campaign. The fact they all seem like clones but aren't is the only reason anyone would claim the differences are "hidden"
Aside from the AI, the only thing I didn't like about Empire was the sieges. Empire has the worst siege battles in the entire series by far. They're just incredibly boring due to how easily you can just wipe a fort with cannons and howitzers.
Nothing would please me more than for CA to revisit this time period for their next historical total war game (or at least roughly) - anything from 1700-1880 or so would just be great.
or a 1600 cent till 19 centuary would cool
19th century would be epic, you go from flintlocks to percussion, from smooth bore innacuracy to rifles, to breechloaders etc etc, tech tree upgrades would be amazing
You get pharaoh lol
Agree with you. This is my fav total war too. I use darthmod as a mod. It makes the game so much better!
I liked how Empire introduced the wealth system, which made keeping your areas properly defended much more important, and actually gave you a reason to pay closer attention to your economy.
It was also in Shogun, but then for whatever reason it was eventually ditched later on.
Which is a shame, because I haven't liked any of the games after Shogun nearly as much without that feature.
What do you mean by wealth system?
@@DisturbedAidan2 Each region has "wealth", or basically how rich that region is
Your tax rate takes a percentage of that wealth in each region and places it in your treasury, which can decrease as you expand due to administration fees
Wealth can be increased with economy buildings or gradually by being good
Makes Empire and Shogun 2 nicer in terms of economy, no longer a, "build farm = stonks"
@@DisturbedAidan2 I think town wealth - where tax is based off of a percentage of the wealth of a town. Not directly linked to population - it's instead linked to buildings (some give a flat addition to town wealth, while others give a steady growth to town wealth)
I haven't played many TW games so idk if the others dont have that mechanic
I always thought I was crazy for loving this game so much so it’s nice to see that I’m not the only one around who does
There's something so epic feeling when you 1st see 1 of your infantry regiments fire a volley into the enemy line and you see those casualties drop then watch the reload with anticipation knowing a return volley is inbound.
This game was also the 1st game in the line and volley style combat I ever played that had proper bayonet combat. Any other game I played before that the bayonets were purely decorative and nobody ever stabbed with it so this was so pleasing to see
Your opening comments about the 'just one more turn' followed by "wait, why is the sun coming back up?!" is so true!
So many hours played on this fantastic game.
This is probably the Total War game I spent the most time in, though Medieval 2 has more big mods.
I personally love the gunpowder era of historical warfare and find it quite thrilling to strategize with in this game in particular.
Where Napoleon disappoints for me is actually that it's a little too streamlined. Scrapping rank and platoon fire makes for a faster paced game, but I just like my muskets slow and authentic.
I love total war shogun 2 but not the vanilla one the fall of the samurai was the thing I loved the most and the ship mechanic on that game was really impressive
I agree. Empire is my favorite. Despite its flaws it’s the one I always go back to. The time period is by far the most interesting to me.
I do really love the 18/19th century eras and both Empire and Napoleon are absolutely mt favorite two by far! I do unfortunately have the same dilemma as you for wishing Napoleon was grander across the world, yet I love how flawless it is compared to Empire!
The French Empire of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. Vive L’Empereur 🇨🇵🦅
New SideQuest video! Booyah!
You guys are my favourite Games channel on the You Tubes, just edging out Mandalore.
ive always been a fan of Empire Total War, ive always loved this era, people say its boring..but the thrill of being in one of these sort of old battles as muskets slowly aim, as cannons blaze above, followed bye a volley of fire as a line of infantry drops..MM its just good..diplomacy i improved from the older titles..along with its nice graphics, i also like naval battles..just something about warships unleashing cannon volleys into eachother, thought i should try shogun's, an all points in this video are just more evidence
I pretty much agree with you, only problem I really have is the AI in the campaign constantly recruiting nothing but cavalry and artillery or just militia spamming (I've faced some armies with 8 units of cav and 2 infantry units before) but this is a problem that's been around since medieval, and it's not always an issue for the larger factions
I remember 2 cases when my ETW gameplay became extremely economical:
1. My India invation as Prussia. India was united by Marathas by then and was really strong, stronger than anyone in Europe and even pushing in Persia, even up to Iraq. I have landed 2 full stacks which I really struggled to move further. But meanwhile my Kaiserliche Marine have destroyed he Indian fleet and started ravaging their ports non-stop. In several turns, Maratha was totally bankrupt. They even had a revolution at their capital which was suspended, but, as they were bunkrupt, the replanishment never came. After that, my armies just marched all through India like it was a parade -- no serious resistance was faced. So the glorious India fell despite having good western technologies, decent and big army and humongous territory -- they just couldn't protect their money.
2. My whole game as Netherlands, I had Austria as an ally and a trade partner. But as they lacked naval forces, thaeir ports have been raded many times -- and in those cases I started losing shitloads of money. So despite being absolutely uninterested in Central/Eastern Europe affairs (even shielded with long buffer state to avoid it), I had no choice but to get into those wars and protect the bloody austrian seaside. And when I was pissed off completely, I conquered the whole swedish clay and some lands in Baltics. Despite the situation being pretty anoying, it's also quite exciting and realistic: geting into war not just to paint the map on your color, but to protect your money.
The 18th century, and specifically the colonial American frontier of that period, is my favorite historical period for a variety of reasons, and so I agree that personally this game is my favorite. And you're right about the scale. I'd love to see a new total war game focus on JUST the American frontier and really dive deep into the imperial, colonial, and Native American factions. If they could get wilderness combat correct it would be amazing.
Objectively, overall, I will still say that Rome 1 is ultimately the best, hands down, with Shogun II a close second
"Objectively, overall, I will still say that Rome 1 is ultimately the best, hands down, with Shogun II a close second" I'd agree, but Medieval II has to be tied with Rome I, they are literally the same game, your preference will simply come down to the period you find more interesting.
It's my favourite. If it actually had worked it would be 10/10, given the actual state it was released in and how it was never satisfactorily fixed, I can't rate it as the best TW game unfortunately.
Also One thing I really liked in empire is how techs you research would change the way you used units. Bayonets and firing drills in particular, progression of dragoons, you have the same roles, and often the same units in those roles but the way you use them from the start of the campaign is quite different to how you use them by the end of the campaign. I never minded at all that "everything is just line infantry", it's true to the period and in a weird way it made me care more about my troops.
I actually like when TW depicts, usually via mod, the reality that the forces that win wars are not hyper trained elite knights taken from the aristocracy and kitted out from birth with the best weapons and armour (though those are certainly useful tools to deliver crushing blows and can be key to hard victories), but actually the random bloke with a spear or a gun, the plentiful foundation upon which conquest lies and honestly I don't think any game in TW encourages the use of your average joe units like empire does.
Which is funny because warfare in the 18th century was still dominated by the aristocracy and being a soldier was still a career, and a good one at that. Only by the Napoleonic Wars, (Empire Total War's brother that everyone hates for some reason) was it like you described it where mass conscription and overwhelming man power won the day.
@@alarminglyfastmovingskelet7289 The rank and file was not made up of nobles. At no point in history (except maybe very early) have nobles been the bulk of military forces and aristocrats would not have carried armies by themselves (look at what happened at agincourt). Roman Republic armies were perhaps the last time the landed classes still made up the bulk of forces. The Marian reforms turned the soldiery into professional non-citizens hoping to earn citizenship. The medieval era relied on feudal levies, each lord had to provide a certain number of men, usually by requiring each family to provide a man. They were usually outfitted by whatever they could afford to bring with them. The Early Modern Era was when modern professional standing armies became a thing and it wasn't nobles picking up jobs as soldiers for "decent" pay, these were people who didn't have better prospects.
Nobody is talking about "overwhelming numbers", we're talking about the composition of the bulk of an army which was typically the ordinary man.
1. Rome 2
2. Warhammer 2
3. Napolean
4. Medieval 2
This video is vindicating on so many levels. Yeah some other games may be more polished, but when I play something like Napoleon I am disappointed because all I have to fight in is Europe. Meanwhile in Empire, I have the Americas, Europe, Northern Africa, the Middle East, and India. Besides, there's so many mods out there that fix the majority of Empire's problems - like: Darthmod, Pirates Uber Alles, Imperial Splendor/Destroyer, and now the Empire Total War 2 mod.
I cannot agree with you more. Empire is also my most favorite Total War title, and I agree with you that it's the best Total War game of all. No other Total War game has given me such a sense of massive scale. I have played hundreds of hours of Empire since the day it was released, and each time is more epic then the last.
Every time I play the game there's always at least 4 or 5 big Empires on the map by the time the year 1800 comes around. These large empires always end up fighting world wars together that take decades. Within the past year, I played as the United States, and built an impressive empire controlling most of the Americas and even large parts of Europe.
During that same USA game, a massive war broke out in 1850 that I could only describe as a World War. The war lasted until 1878 and was between 7 Huge empires on the map; USA (me), Britain, Sweden and Maratha against Spain, Prussia and Russia. This war ended with the defeat of Spain and Prussia, Russia reduced to only a few provinces, and the loss of at least 100 million Europeans, 60 million of which were French who suffered a genocide by the Spanish.
I could honestly write a book about that particular game experience as it lasted until 1901 if I remember the last time I saved correctly.. but that story isn't finished. There are now only 4 major Empires on the map, and only one of them likes me (USA); Maratha. Britain hates me because before the first world war of 1850, I kept going to war with them, and they haven't gotten over it. I have a feeling that it wont be long before the second World War starts, and it will be the USA vs The World.
Good
Empire 2 is overdue.
Agreed, long overdue
I love the multiple theaters, naval combat and protecting trade routes! This is probably my second favorite even with all the hate it gets! I still think their best game is warhammer total war, really let them break loss with creativity
"really let them break loss with creativity" I mean... wasn't it the guys who made Warhammer, the ones who let lose with their creativity, the CA guys just adapted it into their gameplay loop.
2:01 Using Sharpe clips to demonstrate how muskets work? Now that's soldiering!
Empire really is a great game that has quite some nostalgic value to me.
It was always fun to play as a great or small nation, and as you say the combination of military, economic and technological systems make this title special.
Despite having bought it 12 years ago, I still enjoy it a lot and occasionally am playing campaigns - something I cannot say for Rome 1 or Medieval 2 (Rome 2 is just better, imo).
It's a game that has accompanied me for many years in the last decade and beyond, and I remember it very fondly.
Empire was my first Total War and my first real attempt at an RTS game back in 2013. I’ve played it and Medieval 2 for many hundreds of hours, and I can’t say which one is absolutely better, but I can say that when I think of those mid-2010 days, one of the sounds that pops up most often in my head was Empire’s menu theme. Such an undeservedly underrated gemstone. Rough around quite a few edges, but with brilliance few games can match.
Empire to great to me because of one big reason, I can play as Sweden, it is not often I can play my homeland. I am currently reinstalling the game on the 500 anniversary of our independence.
You mention that musket era warfare was all about accuracy and numbers, but you forgot two other key aspects of warfare from the period- speed and coordination. In ancient combat, once units clashed it was usually a slugfest until one retreated or died. Musket battlefields were FAR more dynamic, with movement orders being far more impactful later into the battle. Constantly switching between column, line and square to try and minimize exposed bodies while maximizing firepower, changing the shape of your battle line to lure in enemy units and SWIFTLY crush them before reforming to focus fire elsewhere. If a commander did not have good organization and communication mid-battle it doesn't matter how accurate or numerically superior they were as we repeatedly saw by armies like Napoleon beating opponents of comparable equipment and far superior numbers. I would say unit coordination>accuracy. I mean, shoot a musket into a wall of 100 bodies and your chances of hitting one are pretty good even if you're a bad shot.
Empire is my favorite as well. The thing about linear warfare is that long-ranged fire was desultory and ineffective, whereas close-range fire eas devastating. That puts a premium on a combination of fire and maneuver.
Also, implementing cover and taking over buildings was a game changer. Regularly in my battles, a wall or a garrisoned building was key to my position, and engendered heavy fighting and a mini narrative around that point in the battle that was, in my mind, the equal of Little Round Top, or Culp's Hill, or Hugamont.
Those people who say Napoleonic era warfare is boring don't know squat about what they're talking about. Sure melee fighting is flashy and right to the point but there's far more interesting tactical plays that can be used in musket battles IMO. Not to mention the atmosphere gunfire brings to the battlefield is just so good. The gameplay it offers is so much more dynamic than other total war games I have played.
I have a soft spot for this game. I like what it was trying to do but mistakes were made. My biggest peeve was how agents are trained. Instead of just recruiting agents they spawn randomly making it impossible to get them where they are needed. For example I had Gentlemen spawning in the Bahamas instead of England where they were needed at my universities. This forced me to load them on a ship and a send them Europe wasting tons of time.
They really should make an Empire 2 in order perfect this time period
To some degree, if it was just the "gentlemen", its not the craziest idea. A genius might not be born in London.
If that was the only issue, id play it constantly, but the poor AI is shit. Still come back to it.
Because it has the biggest map in all total war title and one of the finest working naval battle.
Although I say Medieval 2 is the best total war, since it has so much freedom in modding
I agree! It's even better with darthmod in my opinion. It isn't my favorite though, it is my second favorite. For current playability my list is:
Rome 2
Empire
Shogun 2
Medieval 2
For nostalgia my list is completely different haha.
bro putting sharpe in there MHHH *chef's kiss*
I remember when I was hyped for Empire to the point of playing guns only battles in Medieval 2. And then Empire came out and I went back to playing normal Medieval 2.
Empire is the only true grand strategy in the series. There is so much detail in running your empire, from trade, technology, government, naval strategy, regiknal settlements, population etc. There is just so much you can do. The scale is massive, you touch basically every continent and can go in any direction. Also the battles, either land and sea are very tactical and much more complex than melee focused games. Honestly I consider Empire to be the peak of Total War and think all the following games seemed simplistic and minimal in comparison.
Just saw this and I totally agree! I love Empire in spite of its many flaws. The tactics in this game were so different than the other entries, love the artillery and the eventual unlocking of riflemen. I also found the trading to be really satisfying, trying to get all the different commodities available, and the naval combat was really cool, even when it was frustrating. I think the worst part was the fortification battles. The AI never knew what to do with the fort walls, and I think that pissed a lot of players off, but that was the real low of the game, the rest of it really outshines the problems.
Man, what a change several years can make. I remember seeing people absolutely hate this game, there was even an unfair review made about this game back then by some biased neck beard claiming this game was worse than Atari's ET, I'm glad to see it's getting the love it actually deserves.
I played this game for 2 years continuously. I can't stop playing it
Musket warfare is essentially melee warfare at an extended range lol but with the option to bayonet charge for closer melee combat
When I played Rome and Medieval 2 I basically just went all out on warfare and my economy was “take a place to fund the army needed to take the next place”. So when I got to Empire I hit a brick wall because that just does not work. But now over a decade later I do really enjoy it because you have to be a lot more calculated and you need to spend time just building your economy to fund future wars, and going to war is a very expensive affair because of the loss in trade. I remember playing as Britain and it was just me and Russia left and I couldn’t go to war with them without going bankrupt without someone to trade with, so I had to wait like 30 turns just building stuff to be able to afford being the only power in the world.
Just so different to the other games that came before. Oh and building a first rate and watching it obliterate a Brig is so fun
That time period naval battles are the main reason why i love empire the most, and also its a worldwide campaign map.
I just hope they come out with an Empire total war 2 and finally give it the attention it needs, instead of making more war hammers which I know not many people like.
I honestly hate the Warhammer games, but unfortunately (for me) they were a huge success. Meaning there are tons of people who liked them. I'm pretty sure CA is working hard to find a new fantasy property. It wouldn't surprise me if they announced acquiring the rights to make a Game of Thrones, or Lord of the Rings Total war with the popularity both of those properties are enjoying right now. I think enjoyability of a Total War game is linked directly to your interest in the setting. I didn't like Three kingdoms when it first dropped either, I just couldn't get into it. I also had no interest in Chinese history at the time. That changed, recently I got into learning about Chinese history, so I loaded up a 3K campaign, and had one of my favorite Total War experiences conquering all of china. Creative Assembly could take a gamble and make a historical title, Hoping that the majority of their core fanbase (which is small compared to that of other major properties) has an interest in the setting, or they could buy the rights to use a setting that has a large and established base of highly passionate fans. It's an easy decision honestly.
I so enjoy Empire but it is just too unstable. If anyone has any tips to avoid the save game bug and other bugs in the game, I'd love to hear them?
Darthmod or Imperial Splendor
Access to more nations would’ve been a nice addition to it
I always had empire as my favorite, loved playing as the Dutch and just spreading out over the colonies.
I hold out that they’ll make a second one.
I'm with you. I realize the AI in Empire is lacking but I still find the Empire the best, especially because no other entry matches naval warfare.
They made a far more complex and flexible AI, just to never manage to make it actually work properly. Irony.
Took me until recently to get back into total war and after buying a few of them on sale as much as I love medieval or Rome I find myself going back to empire all the time. I love the early modern combat and playing as the great empires of the time expanding your territory across the world as Britain or Russia etc if anything just wish I didn't need mods to play as minor nations it would have been fun to create a Scottish empire which isn't an option. I wish the time period of the game as well started earlier with pike and shot warfare fighting the English civil war for the example though I know there is a mod for that I need to try though.
Haven't played all Total War but if I have top 5:
1. Shogun 2 (unless I got better PC for Warhammer 3 this is top 1)
2. Warhammer 3 (You just gotta love Fantasy Warfare in your fingertips)
3. Medieval 2 (not as smooth as Shogun 2 but is still there nonetheless)
4. Three Kingdoms (it's like a pre-Warhammer 3 but in real world/history also Three Kingdoms!!)
5. Empire (closest we got to modern/WW2 warfare total war)
Tbh I love all Total War games how clunky or broken it maybe, I just love having large army battles.
Empire is my favorite as well. But I love gunplay. Was a huge fan of Sid Meier's Gettysburg and this game brought back that itch in great ways. The scope of this game is gigantic as well when compared to the others. I never could get into Shogun 2 Total War, it honestly felt boring when compared. Building up an economy was fun in Empires. Empires is also great because you have such a variety of units as well. My favorite being Light Dragoons and Light Infantry. They're irregular in how you use them, and you can devastate if used correctly. For example a full volley from hidden light infantry into a advancing formation can change the entire course of a battle.
In fact when this game came out, I jumped into multiplayer using old Light Infantry tactics learned from the handbook that Gettysburg came with years ago, and absolutely dominated multiplayer matches... with Light mobile formations, like Light Infantry, Dragoons, and Horse Artillery. Up until people started learning how to play. It was interesting using real tactics in a game that few knew how to play when it first came out and saw how effective the results were. lol
For example, dismounting light dragoons and manning a brick wall or house was a good strategy at the time. Reminding me of the opening day of the Battle of Gettysburg. But really tripped people up. As it would delay and sometimes even acted as bait. Had one player walk into 4 regiments of light infantry hiding in a tree line by baiting them with dismounted dragoons which sound like such an easy target. I distracted them with the dragoons returned to my lines after my units were hidden as they were not paying attention to the light infantry but the dragoons, then dismounted the dragoons, and watched all their cavalry just ride into a wall of musks. xD
Would maybe be my favourite too, if it hadn't been so frustratingly buggy.
I recently came back to Empire after playing Total Warhammer as the Dwarves. I found myself enjoying the style of warfare and remembered where I'd played wiht it before... After many years and some evident patching out of AI exploits this game was much more enjoyable. I only completed 1 campaign of it back in the day and now I've happily done another 3 (2 short, 1 long) and found each very enjoyable for the variety of gameplay as you said.
I wouldn't have it as my top pick in the Total War series, but I would have it third among the non-Warhammer games after Medieval 2 and the OG Rome.
Agreed! I'd also like to add how is watching units for guns any different from watching units in melee combat or firing arrows? In all cases, the player is choosing the enemy unit to attack and then sits back to watch it play out. To me gunpowder warfare is better for total war games because it is more about strategy, like you mention when discussing cornering/flanking units. Meaning, battles can still be won even if the player does not have the "correct" units to combat the enemy or is numerically inferior. Is it more difficult, yes, but it is still possible. Conversely, with melee warfare, yes strategy plays a part, but I feel more emphasis is placed on numbers versus strategy.
I agree with every point. Unfortunately the weak enemy AI does mean some battles are far too predictable (though occassionally hilarious, like when they run their cavalry lengthways across my huge line of riflemen within range).
That said though, there are some glorious moments. I once held Punjab against maybe eight full stack attacks back to back across three turna with a pretty scrappy army because the terrain made approaching the fort under canon fire so brutal. One of the best moments I've had in a TW game.
WE NEED EMPIRE 2
I want to agree but I find it impossible for me to play vanilla. In fact, I find it impossible to play any mod in Empire except for "Imperial Destroyer". If vanilla Empire is a 4/10 and Darthmod Empire is a 7/10, then Imperial Destroyer Empire is a 12/10. THAT modded version of Empire is one of my absolute favourite Total War games ever! But if we're talking vanilla, I'll take Napoleon and Fall of the Samurai any day.
Couldn't agree more....'Imperial Destroyer' is a must play mod. Iv'e heard good things about the 'Empire 2 Mod' but until i'm sure Imperial Destroyer remains installed. Would love to see a remastered version with unlimited modding.
No it isn’t, you’re completely wrong. It’s the third best game and that’s being generous since it’s a bit of a mess with bugs etc and certain parts of the combat didn’t even work properly.
Medieval II total war is by far the best game and even to this day, still more fun to play than any other TW game. The original Rome is second.
Empire has always been my favorite, I do 18th century reenacting so this period is one I have a deep love for, bashing someone with a sword is great, but it’s not compared to blasting the enemy away with cannon then giving them 2 feet of cold steel with a bayonet charge, and it’s the only game where you can truly conquer the world. It’ll be a golden day when we get Empire 2
I've been playing so much Empire lately it's so fun
Empire still Holds my favourite Total war moment. My last men standing on top of a hill in India, Outnumbered, out of Ammo Fixing bayonets and charging down the hill time and time again smashing into the enemy as they tried to advance. Up and down again and again. They eventually carried the day and in my head were mentioned in despatches. Pure Gaming joy
I've played world domination campaigns on shogun 2 and empire, and while I love the ai on shogun, and the fact naval can be used in seiges, empire is superior to me just because of the musket combat. Absolutely wild to me our ancestors poured out by the thousands and many watched others or ate musket balls and kept pouring powder. Thousands of men charging from the open field and hundreds of calvary waiting for just enough to get lost in the battle to not hear the hoof beat of death approaching. It's a perfect mix of modern and medieval
I totally agree! And never understood the hate. I have an embarrassing amount of hours on there and I still can’t get enough. Of course some issues, but man it’s so fun sending volleys of musket fire down range with artillery in support. Not to mention the complex campaign aspects that are challenging and fun.
I agree its great. From time to time im drawn back to Empire and Napoleon. Right now I'm playing an Austria Napoleon Total War campaign. But I also have to agree the Empire campaign has a global scope no other game has. I have to remember to send reinforcements to mt colonjes on America and have escorts for my Oceania trading ships. The strategizing of naval campaigns like preventing French reinforcements to get to America and so on is amazing. I once had Eugene of Savoy go a total Chad campaign all thr way from Viena to Calcutta on foot
Greetings from man, who enjoys this is game as you. There are lags, there are bags, but I do not stop playing it. You answered why.
Empire was my entry point to Total War and I still remember it fondly. Im still here waiting for a Remaster or Total War Empire 2. I wish Total War explored more battles during the 18th and 19th century a period where swords and gunpowder were used side by side.
I’ve only just started playing empire after being a med2 fanboy for over a decade and my goodness i think its even better
This is the only TW game I have ever played (Vanilla and Darthmod), I love watching Napoleon TW on RUclips too but I've just never gotten it for some reason. And I don't think I'll ever play another TW game until they release another like it - i,e; Another 17th, 18th, or 19th century era-centric game.
So basically, you really don't need to do any convincing for me!
You should try the Fall of the Samurai, or better yet the mod for it "Total Fall of the Samurai" it's an alternate history mod, basically the scramble for Africa, but in Asia.
I love playing multiplayer battles because the battles are always interesting to end because you always have options to turn the battle around
honestly, I started playing total war games when thrones of britania came out. Then I got three kingdoms and three kingdoms is the title that eally sold me on the franchise. it's the one that convinced me to try out the older games and thus I got myself Rome 2 and recently, napoleon. I'm planning on one day trying shogun 2 as well, but I never thought of playing empire before now. Maybe I'll give it a shot
Rome 1, Medieval 2 and Shogun 2 are generally considered the best games in the franchise. I'd recommend checking them out. For playing Empire I would recommend using at least Darthmod. It really is a wonderful game if you can get past the technical failures like the AI and bugginess, it's honestly a travesty that CA never fixed it and just moved on to make Napoleon which "fixed" half the problems by just removing the associated mechanics.
if you don't use mods at all, you will hate Empire total war AI . It's that bad. Sometimes the ai take 2 minutes to form a battle line. and get confused pretty quickly when you just charge them
My favorite as well. Bought it at release, first campaign I played non-stop from Friday evening to Sunday morning - I was young 😜 but to this day I play a campaign per year - always with Prussia. I am always amazed how each campaign run differs from the last. The game still has its issues (nothing compared to the first years though) yet it is the best TW I ever played. We need an Empire 2 - would love World War 1 setting
generally i dont have an interest in this time period but youve definitely convinced me to give it a try. even with the ai issues im sure theres mods for that
I actually love the scale and era. So I’m with you there
As someone with very little experience in the genre, I was very interested by your comparison to the flexibility of musket gameplay vs classic medieval gameplay.
Regarding the historical context, I see all the benefits to gameplay. I will say, it raises questions for me about the handling of things like colonialism in the period and gameplay. I would have appreciated any thoughts you had on that, as it raises interesting questions and concerns regarding the romanticizing of a period with some widespread tragedy recent enough to feel impact today
The 'one more turn lie, 5am' line resonates closer than it should...
I’m daring to hope that the recent release of mortal empires is sort of a tech test for a huge multi-theatre historical title. Lots of the empire units also fit this theory, but we’ll see..
empire total wars cannons were so satisfying. the way the cannon shot would skip along the terrain
My top 3 have always been Rome, Shogun 2 and Empire in that order. Always loved the time period (as someone who was raised on Sharpe and hornblower, first on the TV and then the books), and the scale felt like a nice introduction to games like the much-DLC bloated Crusader Kings and Victoria series.
I was always a Total War person, going back to Medieval One. Empire was my favourite for the reasons you point out. The scale was unique and probably because i always played as Great Britain this was always maximised. However, the reasons i loved Empire is why i left as i eventually discovered Europa Universalis 4 which satisfied the scale but in even more detail. Empire was my last Total War game.
I’ve always loved musket warfare far more than melee. In high school I was talking to friends about total war and they always said that they preferred sword combat because it “required more skill and was more honourable” which I think are both also applicable to muskets. Just because you can easily teach someone to fire a gun doesn’t mean it required zero skill to do it properly.
The worst auto resolve I’ve had was when I send 4 heavy first rates to deal with a sloop and fifth rate and lost 3 of my ships definitely rage quit after that
All their games were good and some were very good (except the fantasy ones which are not my taste). MTW1 + 2 prob the best imho. ETW,NTW,STW2+RTW1 also good!
Don’t know why people don’t like this time period it’s so epic every battle is so critical in empire
napoleon ....:.the other TW games are also great but napoleons total war was jus a masterpiece
I have 1,800 hours in Empire and 2,500 in Napoleon. The 2 biggest issues I have with Empire is the fact that France is only one territory, and each in-game turn is six months. Like for one of the most powerful factions in game, if you capture a single city (Paris) you capture the entirety of their country. This is different in Napoleon, where France consists of 5-6 provinces. That being said, I feel like the ETW campaign is the single greatest campaign of any total war game. I grew up playing it back before I even tried to get into multiplayer games and all 1,800 hours are single player campaign. This is in contrast to my 2,500 hours in Napoleon, where probably 90% of my hours are from multiplayer games in vanilla, ACW, and NTW3. Napoleon has a better engine and is more refined, but you can’t beat a campaign that allows you to fight a century’s worth of warfare over three continents in Empire.
Darthmod has an option to play 2, 3, or 4 turns per year, I play 4 turns per year, it's great! Nothing changes regarding France tho.
this has always been ma favorite as its set in ma favorite time period i hope we get an empire too but would settle for a medieval 3 as medival 2 is my 2nd . have subbed and pressed the bell hello from Scotland :D