bit-tech News: Empire: Total War hands-on preview

news · November 29, 2008

Hi all,

We have just published a hands-on preview of *Empire: Total War* - if

you could post a link on your site that would be very much appreciated.

*Link:*

*Picture:*

*Quote:

*/In Empire, the power of gunpowder means that almost every effective

unit is a ranged one. Fields of fire need to be considered, cover should

be hid behind, and buildings can even be garrisoned and fired from. And

while bayonets may have been standard issue for most soldiers,

committing troops to melee combat isn't a decision to take lightly as

it'll bog troops down.

The developer, Creative Assembly, promises that the Grand Campaign

victory conditions for Empire will be tighter and more relevant to the

faction you're playing. This will be especially true of the smaller

factions which will have more manageable goals than having to conquer

half of the known world as was the case in so many previous Total War games.

For a more narrative campaign, there's the new Road to Independence

mode, which chronicles the founding of the British colony in Jamestown

through to the French-Indian war and finally the American War of

Independence.

CA wouldn't say much about this beyond it not being a cynical inclusion

to boost US sales, but the campaign will 'introduce newcomers to the

series to the incredible size of the Total War experience, as well as

give Total War veterans a new way to experience the game.' Yep, it

sounds like an extended tutorial mission to us too.

The developer has also introduced the notion of a Prestige win, where a

faction wins because it's just too awesome for any other to compete,

much like the mechanism in Civ. CA has also teamed up with Valve to

distribute Empire via Steam as well in the shops. This has the knock-on

bonus of letting Steam handle multiplayer matches - a much better system

than Total War games had previously - while freeing up CA's time to

actually develop the game./*

*Cheers guys!

Tim Smalley

www.bit-tech.net

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