Questions for the MTW hardcore RE: Empire TW

[Roark]

(Mods: I specifically want to get the opinions of MTW players, so please don't move the thread!)

Hi guys,

For those of you who have purchased and played Empire Total War:

I want to hear any and all impressions and opinions of the game and its mechanics. What are your thoughts overall? How does it play out? Does it compare favourably to M2:TW? Rome? Any really annoying bugbears or game-winning combos that make strategic skill redundant?

Thanks heaps.

[seireikhaan]

I would say it is easily a better game than M2TW or Rome. The "core" of ETW is much, much more solid, from my view, than either M2 or Rome were. The new features work very nicely and are fairly well integrated. The AI now takes advantage of all of its diplomatic options. It techs up at a highly competent rate, upgrades facilities at a good pace, and takes advantage of trade pretty well. From what I've seen thus far, the strategic AI is quite a bit more sensible, probably due to the re-integration of diplomacy and military. Particularly nice, in my view, is that there are no longer any rebels at the start of the game- only small, independant nations. Each of the small, minor nations seems to put up a good, quality fight for what its capable of, which is a pleasant surprise. The naval battles are pretty nice, adding a bit of diversity. I'm still trying to figure them out, however, as they are a bit of a different can of worms.

However, that said, there are still things in need of fix. The AI currently does not transport troops with its navies, which means the UK can't lose. The AI still fudges up more than I'd like on the battlefield, though it generally does pretty alright. The biggest problem is that it does not issue strategic retreats like it did in MTW, no matter how badly it has been outnumbered. And though balance is no issue for most of the campaign, when the player has gotten to the end of the tech tree, mortars are a bit too powerful...

Some have noted stability problems with the game. I'm not sure how the patches have worked for others, but they've made my old games unplayable, though if I start a new game I have no problems with CTD's.

And, as for balancing issues- this is I think where the campaign shines. Until the last techs have been researched on artillery shells, there really isn't any single troop that can be spammed that is totally superior. The Europeans all of pretty similar rosters- mostly relying on line infantry, a generic musket armed troop, along with some variants of cavalry and horse drawn cannons. Different factions get different variants of each troop, though they are all very similar, overall. The biggest differences that will be noted as the player fights will be tech differences between factions- different bayonets, differnt firing drills, different cannon shells. Since the AI does a good job of keeping up on tech, the player generally won't get huge leaps up on troops.


All in all- I would advise waiting, personally. CA seems to be committed to continually patching the game through Steam. The game still has kinks to be worked out. I think that if/when they get it patched, it will be a far superior game to its two predecessors(not terribly difficult, mind you). Will it be better than MTW? Eh.... We'll just have to see. MTW is currently a superior game, but ETW still retains a boatload of promise. It just has to be fulfilled.

[chrisRRR]

Just as a bit of a thread hijack - I haven't been on these forums long and was wondering what everyone thought/thinks about RTW/M2TW... Personally, I dislike the new movement/province system implemented in RTW but maybe thats just me...

Its mainly because of this that I have not even thought about getting ETW, but my brother has it and he says that its pretty darn good.

[Peasant Phill]

Damn Khaan, I think you just about convinced me to buy ETW when I get a new PC.
I'll buy in a shop though. I still prefer something in my hand.

[seireikhaan]

Damn Khaan, I think you just about convinced me to buy ETW when I get a new PC.
I'll buy in a shop though. I still prefer something in my hand.

Again, to summarize; the CORE of the game is much improved from the last two titles. HOWEVER, its still got kinks to work out with a number of auxillary features. I would advise WAITING for the time being. I don't want to get anyone's hopes raised too high. Its a far from perfect piece of work as of now. I don't know how or what the patches are going to improve the game. Until the patches are released, I would advise holding off.

Of course, kinks with the auxillary features is a big improvement over a lot of the hyper-kinks with the MAIN features of RTW and M2TW. If they keep working on it, which they seem to be comitted to doing, it should be an excellent game eventually.

[Roark]

Shinseikhaan: Thanks dude! That's just what I was after!!

*Fonzie thumbs*

[Turbosatan]

Again, to summarize; the CORE of the game is much improved from the last two titles. HOWEVER, its still got kinks to work out with a number of auxillary features. I would advise WAITING for the time being. I don't want to get anyone's hopes raised too high. Its a far from perfect piece of work as of now. I don't know how or what the patches are going to improve the game. Until the patches are released, I would advise holding off.

Of course, kinks with the auxillary features is a big improvement over a lot of the hyper-kinks with the MAIN features of RTW and M2TW. If they keep working on it, which they seem to be comitted to doing, it should be an excellent game eventually.

Sorry to chime in on such a thorough job of answering the OP's post, but I totally concur with the Khaan.

Just thought I'd add another voice (albeit one who has only played MTW for about three years) to the chorus, as it were.