the most logical NapoleonTW review so far

[Madoushi]

this is also the 'critical' review i was looking to read. maybe it will go on sale shortly? ;)

they will probably never redo shogun eh? i've had enough of muskets and cannons.

Most North Americans and Europeans know at least something of European history.. far fewer know much about Japanese history, making it a tougher sell.

That said, I'd love a Shogun 2 set in 1560 or earlier, when Japan was still broken up onto 48 states like in the Nobunaga's Ambition/Lord of Darkness series.

That said, China hasn't gotten any TW love either.

[Fisherking]

It was pointed out by Captain Fishpants that Darth may not have had the final version.

I think that his evaluation of artillery and its effectiveness is a confirmation that, indeed he did not.

Remember also that Darth compared NTW with his own mod. While NTW’s behaviors might not be what Darth would want from his mod, that mod also reduced or eliminated a number of game features that CA may not have wanted to compromise.

Besides, BAI behavior could be a mute point for many people who play mostly with drop-in opponents.

I don’t think the game is perfect but I think it is a very good expansion for ETW.

[t1master]

It was pointed out by Captain Fishpants that Darth may not have had the final version.

I think that his evaluation of artillery and its effectiveness is a confirmation that, indeed he did not.

fisherking,

from darth's own hand... ;)

My main test version of the game was the “Dev Edition” which was pre-released for the journalists. I also have checked the retail version from a friend to see that the main problems were still evident (The Dev version lacks only some minor fixes to graphics, sounds etc. if it is not completely identical).

[caravel]

It was pointed out by Captain Fishpants that Darth may not have had the final version.

He claimed to have tested both the pre release and a full release version.

I think that his evaluation of artillery and its effectiveness is a confirmation that, indeed he did not.

I think the criticism was AI handling of artillery, not "effectiveness" as such.

I don't think the game is perfect but I think it is a very good expansion for ETW.

"Expansion" (rather than "evolution") is the right word.

Yohei

[Fisherking]

@ Yohei

Your first part, wasn’t it he asked a friend if it was the same?

Your second, it could have been but I am yet to observe anything the AI is doing poorly with its artillery...so far as any AI goes that is.

Third, we agree. It lacks the dept and scope of a complete game, unless of course you are only interested in the battle rather than the wider range of management.

The Campaigns from 1805 to 1812 are okay but even for Napoleon they don’t handle the full scope and if Bonaparte had defeated Russia and Spain there is little that would have deterred him from turning his attention back to a Navy.

It sort of leaves you feeling unfulfilled.

[gollum]

To be honest, scope wouldn't have been a problem for me. As long as the campaign is well balanced and challenging. But i will (unregretfully) never know - tw as an ongoing thing is dead for me.

[Fisherking]

Sorry to hear that, though you may have said it before...don’t remember...

Your opinions and thought on play and mechanics have always been insightful.

Anyway, I think you had ETW but I don’t know if you played 1.5.

There is the news of the unexpected next patch for ETW but I don’t know how much that will cover.

Back to the point of the thread though, NTW, for once seems to live up to what they said it would be, and in play it is the best they have done so far.

You could even say when they billed it as the best total war ever their was some justification for what they said, even though it is more expansion to me than full blown game.

Adding mod tools is still important. I hope they come through with more than just the uniform editor...

I couldn’t believe the block-headed ness of the fans that thought that was the most important tool when they conducted the poll.

[gollum]

I had ETW, yes, and played 1.5. I thought that it was only fair to give it a chance, although M2 was very poor imo. Unfortunately ETW just confirmed that there is no turning back for TW in terms of the tactical/strategic depth, imo.

1.5 was much better than 1.0, but nowhere near what tw was in terms of quality. I got rid of my etw copy and i;m not buying NTW or anything else further more, unless its clear from reactions/videos/screens that the game has drastically improved and does not have commercial goals above all others. Of course this is not going to happen.

I also hope the mod-tools come out, the modding community is a big part of TW, especially given how much unfinished, uncalibrated and unoptimised the vanilla versions are. However its clear that most likely they are leaving the option to themselves for dlcs - which again doesnt endear ca/sega to the community.

My interest is purely academic in future tws, and yes i won't post that again here.

[caravel]

@ Yohei

Your first part, wasn’t it he asked a friend if it was the same?

I believe he actually played on a friend's copy in order to verify that the bugs in the pre-release were still present in the full release? I must admit his wording on that part is not at all clear.

Your second, it could have been but I am yet to observe anything the AI is doing poorly with its artillery...so far as any AI goes that is.

His claims were that artillery were still hitting his own men and being "stupid" in not calculating a good trajectory. He also mentioned that it went "wandering". He seems to have been misquoted/misrepresented here as stating that arillery were "nerfed" or ineffective. I have not seen that part of his post? Is the AI control of artillery good or bad?

Third, we agree. It lacks the dept and scope of a complete game, unless of course you are only interested in the battle rather than the wider range of management.

The Campaigns from 1805 to 1812 are okay but even for Napoleon they don’t handle the full scope and if Bonaparte had defeated Russia and Spain there is little that would have deterred him from turning his attention back to a Navy.

It sort of leaves you feeling unfulfilled.

A game that leaves one feeling unfulfilled can't be a good game in my book. From my perspective this should have been an expansion and patch up for those that bought ETW, not an expansion that masquerades as a full game. The whole thing smells like an attempt to sweep ETW under the carpet.

Yohei