Empire:Total War.

[Chazlene]

Many people here play or have played some of the existing Total War titles, such as Rome:Total War and Medieval 2:Total War. If you didn't already know, you'll be pleased to hear that a new game in the Total War series, Empire:Total War, is due to come out this winter.

The game is around the 18th Century, the age of sail and muskets, from about 1680 to 1820, my favourite time period because Britain effing pwned. This means the game will cover famous periods and wars such as The Golden Age of Piracy, the American Revolutionary War, the Industrial Revolution, the French Revolution and the Napoleonic/Coalition Wars, and of course worldwide expansion and trade. You will take control of the greatest nations of this time, such as Britain, the Thirteen Colonies, the different German states and the Ottoman Empire, France will also be playable.

The most notable new feature to be added to this game is the ability to actually play Naval Battles, rather than having the auto-resolve them as in previous titles. The naval aspect of the game will stand out from other naval games due to features such as more dynamic water, with waves, etc. Dynamic models of ships, so they will receive damage specifically in the area where they are hit as well as visually being damaged in that area. Wind and weather will affect the course of naval battles. Other changes from the previous Total War games include a campaign map that goes beyond Europe, including North and South America, more of Africa and of course India. Also individual buildings such as Palaces outside of a city will be able to be captured separately from the actual city itself.

In terms of weapons, this game will no longer be about spears and bows, but will include pikes in the early stages of the game, bayonets, muskets, rifles, cannons, and, last but not least, rocket launchers which the British will get instead of the Mongols this time . Music will enter the battlefield, with trumpets, drums and not forgetting bagpipes, as well as other battlefield features including more tactical terrain, like being able to garrison your units inside of buildings and have shoot out of windows, and cover such as walls which can be fired over.

You'll also be pleased to hear that Empire:Total War is being developed by the British wing of Creative Assembly rather than the Australian one, and since Rome:Total War was developed by the British section and was considered utterly awesome, Empire:Total War should be also.

The current release date for the game is Autumn 2008.

Here are some links with more information:

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_total_war

Official Total War website: http://www.totalwar.com/ (look at the forums and blog).

Sega website: http://www.sega.co.uk/games/?g=238 (good naval screens here).

Screenshots:





Links to land battle magazine scans (very big):

http://recensioni-videogiochi.dvd.it...l-war-06-m.jpg

http://recensioni-videogiochi.dvd.it...l-war-05-m.jpg