Napoleon: Total War – MMOMFG Review
Napoleon Total War
The Total War series that The Creative Assembly has constructed throughout the years is one of the few RTS series I’ll dive into. The scope of their battles is unprecedented and unmatched. Thousands of men charging at each other, arrows flying through the sky, cannons crushing through infantrymen, and cavalry stomping across the field of battle are all staples of a franchise that has seen great success. Now, they mean to tell the story of one of France’s most intriguing sons, a boy who grew up on a small island only to become a general and then emperor. The Creative Assembly is hoping to strike gold once again, recreating his campaign in their own unique way.
What’s Good
I don’t remember history class being this fun – If you take anything from the Total War series it should be the historical references and settings. As with Medieval and Empire, Napoleon Total War brings you back to 18th Century France and follows one of the most prolific generals/emperors in all of history. From the start of your campaign to the end, the narrative and background information makes this a “smart” person’s kind of game.
I’ll take 300 Cannons please – N:TW has received a bit of a face lift from last year’s iteration. The most noticeable are the animations and further zoomed in details on the battlefield. Even during the tutorial, I blasted my way through lines of infantry with cannons watching soldiers fly through the air. The booming sounds of canon fire accompanied by the screams of soldiers on the battlefield portrays both an audio and visual experience many games should aspire to. Even better are the naval battles. Though a much slower pace, the raw firepower that your ships can carry (80 canons on one boat) is a truly awesome experience.
Time flies when you’re having fun – Normally a turn in the Total War series would be six months. For N:TW, it wouldn’t make much sense given the timeline of Napoleon’s reign. Instead, each turn is two weeks long. Though it’s not a huge difference in the scope of the entire game, a two week lapse in time seems much more realistic. It’s almost as if I get more accomplished and I’m better in tuned with my campaign. Consider it micro-managing in a good way.
Outnumber and Outmatched – I’m not much of a strategist, but with N:TW I find myself becoming one very quickly. At the beginning of every battle, you’re given a slider that shows your chances of victory. There’s been a few times I’ve gone into battle knowing my chances of survival were slim. One time in particular, I was defending against a group of 2,000 + soldiers versus my 1,000. My only advantage were the three cannons I had. So I deployed them in strategic locations and just started firing. I lined my infantry up single file so there would be plenty of shots taken even before the enemy was situated. The fight lasted about 25 minutes but I did come out victorious. It’s one of the few times in an RTS I just didn’t pile numbers up and send everyone in to get slaughtered.
What’s Bad
A thinking man’s game – You could probably lump this as a pro or a con depending on the type of person (and gamer) you are. Even though the Total War series is known for its brilliant display of combat, the campaigns aren’t exactly something you rush through. Recruiting soldiers, constructing the proper buildings, managing taxes, and deciding on the amount of army you wish to upkeep are all part of the game. If being emperor isn’t your thing, take solace in the fact that a few of these chores can be auto managed by the AI. Regardless, there have been multiple occasions where I had to reload from a previous game, because I was too low on coin, went into a battle ill-prepared, or forgot to construct some key buildings in my kingdom. There is a definite learning curve for those just starting out. The tutorial does a good job of moving you along, but the amount of information you’ll need to store in your memory banks might make N:TW seem a bit daunting at first.
Don’t shoot till you see the whites of their eyes – Maybe I had too much coffee during my playtime with N:TW, but it seems like everyone reacted a little slower than I wanted. When I would tell my soldiers to shoot they’d take a few seconds to think about it. Not a great idea when the enemy is two feet in front of you. I understand this isn’t the 21st century and there aren’t automatic weapons, but the pauses in between certain actions was noticeable. I understand strategy games are inherently slower, but the Total War series has always been about huge battles. Those battles look a little less realistic at times when the system takes a few seconds to churn out the next animation. Thankfully, the overall scope of things keep these instances few and far between.
Empire 2.0 – Napoleon Total War, for all intents and purposes, is a new campaign built from the backbone of Empire Total War. The Total War series has been a successful franchise for the last 10 years and has been a staple for real time action/strategy. Empire brought a new engine, graphics, animations and naval battles to the table, whereas N:TW doesn’t add much. After reading this review, you more or less could say the same pros and cons for either Empire or Napoleon. It’s not that this is a bad game by any stretch, but besides the allure of a short French guy, you may or may not want to put your hard earn dollars down on it. Die hard fans might not mind as much, but those looking for the next best thing might find it a little stale.
Worth Remembering
Going online with six other people (if you can find them) and actually coordinating some of the biggest land battles ever witnessed in a video game is definitely a gaming experience to remember. There’s a good chance you’ll stop and stare at all the casualties laying on the field, only to remember that you’ve got a battle to win!
Worth Forgetting
Having the AI give you military access only to take it away two turns later and push you back to your borders. It makes zero sense and is a huge mood killer.
So is Napoleon: Total War worth getting? That depends on how much of a die hard RTS fan you are. Or maybe you’re just a fan of the franchise. Either way you can’t go wrong. Napoleon: Total War is interesting, chock full of historical battles, and an all around well polished title. On the other hand, if you’re still playing Empire: Total War and are having fun doing so, you might want to wait for a price drop.
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