Napoleon: Total War - This is a single offshoot of a fairly well-known franchise, but in terms of the dynamics of the game and the quality of performance, the game is exactly similar to its progenitor Empire: Total War.
Only now, historical events are rigidly tied even not to decades, but to years, starting from the takeoff of Bonaparte's career in 1796 and ending with the defeat at Waterloo in 1815. A very small segment for world history, but for the player all the actions of this strategy will be concentrated ...
The main difference between Empire and Napoleon: Total War is the addition of a more strongly developed, more rigidly tied to real historical events of the narration. While the previous game was open about the choice of paths, today's strategy follows the story quite strictly.
Now you can follow Napoleon's journey through Italy, Egypt, Europe and Russia all the way to Waterloo in an attempt to change the course of world history. Or you can take control of a coalition of countries, put a merciless end to his conquests.
Now we have before us a very tight sandbox Empire, but no matter how shocking it sounds, such changes are only beneficial. From the previous story, it was easy to throw out some missions, and now the gameplay is more time-focused and the player has a stronger influence on what is happening.
The game mechanics have remained the same, in many ways repeating the previous games in the series, such as Rome and Medieval 2. We have three playable arenas at our disposal - a global strategy map, tactical land battles and battles at sea.
Urban expanses
The campaign map, practically a game in itself, displays your armies, territories in general, regardless of whether you are playing for France or one of its many opponents, who appeared like mushrooms after the rain at that time.
The gameplay is practically the same as in any global strategy - you manage your cities, expand infrastructure, trade and engage in diplomacy, simultaneously sending large armies across the map. Cities are the main places for recruiting new military units, and also have their own opportunities for expansion and improvement, which allows you to recruit the best troops.
You can send your representative on a diplomatic or espionage mission, trade with allies - but the main actions will be associated primarily with the army.
While managing an empire and empowering cities is key to defeating a rival, there's a reason the game isn't called Napoleon: Total City Management.
The main event of the games in the Total War series has always been and will be battles. Creative Assembly has done everything to further improve and improve this aspect. As before, land and sea battles are played out in real time, and we are pleased to announce that improvements have appeared in both the visual part and the gameplay.
The first thing that amazes you when starting a tactical battle is sheer graphic elegance. She is great. Napoleon: Total War is based on the same graphics engine, but now a picture unfolds in front of our eyes that did not even exist before.
Nearly photorealistic water effects and vast rural landscapes create an incredible sense of being on the battlefield. Grass glades sway in the breeze, puffs of smoke from gunfire sweep across your frontline, sunlight lurks across the ocean. All these small details add an incredible level of realism.
By zooming in directly to a field or water, you will see a picture that is simply stunning in its detail. All units got personality, different faces, structure and height.
Watching a bayonet attack up close is a really beautiful and mesmerizing sight, for the sake of which it is worth bringing the camera as close as possible. The infantry wielded bayonets with grace and grace. Dust rises from the cavalry run. The officers shout cheering on their soldiers.
In terms of gameplay, land battles are definitely worth playing. With a diverse array of infantry, cavalry, and artillery, two (and sometimes more) armies maneuver into battle, placing troops in battle formation. Once they are done doing so, the formations of infantry lines, cavalry units, and artillery pieces converge in the most stunning battle of all strategies.
Naval conflicts look just as awesome, but it's worth noting that the controls are a bit heavy and battles at sea will not be as enjoyable as on land. However, they definitely add an element of realism from a period when naval battles were almost as important as land battles.
Intelligent design
Artificial intelligence is smart, although it is far from perfect. For example, he likes to send a computer to your city, fortified by a dozen advanced thugs, his one small detachment of lightly armed militia. Although here you can also see noticeable changes.
Of course, it all depends on the level at which you play. You can set the difficulty level to normal and, in principle, cope with the game. But do not hesitate, it is better to raise the difficulty to the highest - and the game will surprise you more than once with simply ingenious finds, so it's a pity to lose this opportunity to show Napoleon: Total War all its potential in action.
Since now it is possible to quickly conquer a vast map due to the increased speed of armies, now logistics will often come to the fore. With the introduction of the depletion of the army, you will have to puzzle over how to keep the army efficient and of high quality.
But more important to the game is reliability. Empire: Total War suffered from bugs a lot and it was one of the most talked about topics on the official forums. Many people have complained about constant system crashes and reboots.
In light of past events, improving the stability of the game has been a primary concern for the developers, and we are pleased to announce that there are concrete improvements here. The problem has not been completely resolved, but now the bugs are not showing up on the same scale as in Empire: Total War.
You will be glad to find in this game an amazing strategy based on the familiar mechanics of the Total War series, which gives an incredible picture in ordinary tactical battles. The opponent is very smart, capable of making people wonder more than once at his actions at a high level of complexity. So fans of the series will be happy, and newcomers won't be disappointed. This is definitely an example of a great strategy game that should definitely be in your collection.
Ratings:
Gameplay - 9.0
Graphics - 9.0
Sound - 9.5
Interestingness - 9.0
Overall rating - 9.3
You can buy this great game on our website.
