The beautiful land battles in Empire:Total War
October 20th 2008 01:36
At first, the games just seemed like an interesting kid on the block - you went around to jump on his trampoline, but you didn't want to be his best friend.
With Rome: Total War, though, gamers fell in love, myself included. The campaign map took a life of it's own, giving up the static 2D map that we were used to, and breathing in the life of the European mountains and plains.
You took control of one of the Roman families, with a patriarch and sons, trying desperately to expand the control of Rome over Europe. The game captured the feeling of power struggles to perfection, having you compete with the other Roman families, taking orders from the Senate, and finally trying to overthrow the Senate.
Rome: Total War gripped me for months, as I struggled to expand into North Africa. I had a powerful fleet and devastating armies. My treasury was full and it seemed like nothing would stand in my way, so I started ignoring commands from the Senate.
Your family was of utmost importance, though, as you used your sons and son-in-laws to act as generals and leaders of cities - without a powerful family, you were lost.
What happened? Two of my sons turned out to be gay, refusing to bear children. A third was an alcoholic and a fourth was just plain unlucky, making the armies unwilling to follow him into war.
Tough, turbulent times, that's for sure.
The latest game from Creative Assembly seems to bring it up a notch... Empire: Total War has had a total graphic makeover, with stunning battles and incredible water effects.
Everyone's seen the trailer for the naval battles:
Wow - that's something else. The old Total War games often left much to be desired in naval battles, which is a shame, since fighting on the water was a huge part of the power of Rome.
Rock, Paper, Shotgun posted the latest trailer, which is the Land Battles Trailer for the game, making me want to go out and buy a computer that can actually run it!
As Jim Rossignol writes:
" The land battles trailer for Empire: Total War shows those 18th century musketeers in action, with the ultra-detailed new battle maps that allow proper use of terrain, and of buildings. The game is coming up in February 2009 and I’m already writing off most of the month’s potential productivity"
You and me both, Jim...
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