Napoleon: Total War – PC Game Review
Napoleon: Total War. PC Game. Developer: Creative Assembly. Publisher: Sega. $39.99
Passed Inspection: Extensive replay, detailed graphics, multiplayer option, big improvement from Empire: Total War
Failed Basic: Short campaign map, lacks multiple theaters in campaign map (America, Egypt), only a select list of countries to play
Once the battle begins, you may find yourself at a loss for words as the battlefield takes on a life of its own
Napoleon: Total War is the follow-up to Creative Assembly’s Empire: Total War. When news spread of Napoleon’s release, many veteran Total War players were severely disenchanted as they felt Empire was never thoroughly finished and that the same would be true of Napoleon. Well, veterans and new players alike can rejoice, for Napoleon is a big step forward with a revamped battle AI, more diplomacy options and fantastic battles.
Napoleon is not an extension of Empire, but it does begin where Empire left off. The game’s main focus is on Napoleon and his conquest of Europe and Egypt. Players have the option of retracing Napoleon’s campaigns as he tries to become the master of Europe. Like Empire’s "Road to Independence," Napoleon’s campaigns are scripted with certain missions that need to be completed in order to open the next Chapter. It begins with a basic tutorial, which is very helpful for new gamers to the series, as it gives a background of Napoleon’s development into a military tactician, plus details on how to build buildings and navies and, most importantly, how to fight. After the tutorial, players begin with Napoleon’s conquest of Italy and Egypt, followed by his mastery of Europe with the final battle being Waterloo. If you are a fan of "Road to Independence," then Napoleon’s campaign will be right in your wheelhouse. Like all previous Total War games, this is a turn-based game, but each turn represents two weeks instead of a month, which means you finally get to see the seasons change on the map. It also adds another level of micromanagement to your empire.
If you are looking to jump right into the action, you can choose to play "Campaigns of the Coalition." Your choices of which nation to play are limited to Great Britain, Austria, Prussia or Russia, a step back from the numerous nations of Empire but still plenty to keep you busy. Once you begin your campaign, you’ll notice right away the different campaign map. The campaign map is limited to only Europe, which at first glance may seem like a disappointment, but once you start you will certainly have your hands full. Trade nodes along the border of the map act as the trade regions, which makes it a little bit easier to set up trade routes or pillage your enemies.
Napoleon: Total War really differs from Empire in the battlefield environment. Before a battle starts, the loading screen shows you your position on the battlefield. If your army’s general is more prestigious than your opponent’s, you get second choice in deployment, allowing you to pick the field of battle. Once the battle begins, you may find yourself at a loss for words as the battlefield takes on a life of its own. Battles are similar to previous Total War games but have been tweaked with new features such as smoke and the flash of the muzzle from muskets, camera-shaking artillery and destruction of the surrounding terrain.
When troops begin to fire, you practically smell the gunpowder as the battlefield slowly becomes covered in musket smoke. You begin to feel the utter chaos that was land warfare in the black-powder era as you lose sight of your troops. Zoom in close as your cannon let off a barrage and the screen image will shake. As the cannon fire erupts amongst both sides, the surrounding terrain will be covered with smoking craters and skid marks from flying cannon balls. This new feature heightens already epic battle scenes and paints a realistic picture of how battles of this era must have felt to the soldiers. When the battle is coming to an end, an eerie smoke snakes its way across a field littered with bodies of luckless soldiers. For those few battles that are momentous and daring against another mammoth army, Creative Assembly added a "Heroic Battle Marker" to the Campaign map, recording the country you defeated as well as the month and year.
The troops on the battlefield have a little more character than previous generations. Unique faces mean you aren’t commanding a unit of clones, and if you listen carefully you can hear your men complain about the lousy weather or someone may say, "Die quietly, men!" As the soldiers march to their destination, kicking up dirt along the way, you have an aide de camp who will provide you with useful intelligence throughout the game. If your general is being attacked, men are being routed or if victory is near, a small screen pops up showing you exactly where these events are happening. Finally, the melee bug that was prevalent in Empire has disappeared in Napoleon, and at times the new battle AI tries to take the high ground or even outflank you.
Napoleon also provides new features that bring the gaming experience to a different level. Portraits of the generals are actually those of the historic person, and generals truly have a noticeable impact on troops in battle. With a ring of influence, a general can rally and inspire nearby troops, helping to push green troops beyond their breaking point to fend off another cavalry charge. Selecting generals now becomes more strategic than the random generation of previous games. When choosing a general, you will have an option of selecting the man who fits the job you are looking for; however, depending on your distance from the capital, a four-star general will be much more expensive than a three-star general, so choose wisely. All these features, along with developing spy rings and sabotaging an army, immerse the player more deeply in the game and make it difficult to turn off.
Square formations are still the same, but this time enemy cavalry will not blindly charge into the square. Numerous times I watched the cavalry pull up their horses or run around the square, almost reminiscent of the scene in the movie Waterloo.
While Napoleon is a step in the right direction, it’s still not a perfect game. During battle, bullets flying across the field almost look like lasers or arrows. While it’s probably there to give you a better idea of where your bullets are going, it takes away from the realism of the battlefield. For players with a high-end machine the graphics are fantastic, but those with an older machine or video card may find the same graphical troubles as in Empire. One aspect that seemed to lack any improvement was the unit cards. After reading about how Napoleon would have better graphics, this was one of the first things that stood out, and it felt like a step backwards. Each unit picture seems a touch smaller than previous entries and gives it a cartoonish look. Finally, the grand campaign only lasts until 1812 (but still with 200 turns), making the game feel a little shorter which may affect some replayability. The campaign map in general is smaller than Empire’s, but Napoleon’s map is more detailed. There is still plenty to do in a campaign, but only being based in Europe may turn off those who enjoyed the multiple theaters and trade locations that Empire provides. Even with a smaller campaign map you still will be kept rather busy, as a player can always be at war with numerous nations and the AI is very engaging in offering peace, trading technologies and attacking regions.
Napoleon truly delivers with its multiplayer option, which finally allows you to beat your friends and win bragging rights as the true master of Europe. From engaging in land or sea battles to playing a campaign versus your friends or the online community, you will likely never get tired of this game. Campaign multiplayer, new to the Total War experience, finally lets you take on someone just as smart as you. Also, if you are only looking for someone to compete against in battle, you can now allow someone to drop in and replace the AI. It’s an interesting feature and can be loads of fun when you have the two fully stacked armies pitted against one another.
Overall, Napoleon delivers where Empire did not. Those who were unhappy with Empire will be pleased to find Napoleon is what a lot of people hoped Empire would be, with better battle AI, more diplomacy options and hardly any (I have yet to experience one) crashes to desktop errors that were so common before. With breath-taking battle scenes and complex diplomacy options, it is a perfect balance of a strategy, history and fun. Also, waiting in the wings will be the modding community who took Empire and made it playable; we can only image what awaits us with Napoleon
Armchair General Rating: 92%
About the author:
DeWitt Cave has been an avid gamer since Wings of Fury II on his Apple IIe. Living in Boston has provided him with a strong connection to everything American Revolutionary War, and he believes the 1700s was the golden age of military prowess and honor. When not writing for ACG, he provides online marketing advice to a law firm and asks his wife permission to continue to indulge his love of video games.
Thanks for the review! I’m avid TW player and was skeptical about purchasing Napoleon as Empire was a epic failure! Sounds like they finally got it right! Can’t wait to play
What really bothered me with previous Total War games, including Empire, was that on the operational and strategic level the AI was horrible. Not just bad, but outright self-destructive. Completely random decision making would often have been preferrable. Countries that had excellent relations with me, profited much from our trade and didn’t really stand a chance against me in a war nevertheless declared war on me. To make matters worse, they didn’t do this when I was busy doing something else, but typically did this after I had just finished another war and had plenty of available troops.
Sensemaker